The Peyton Anderson Foundation announced its latest round of grant recipients, where 18 community organizations will receive $3,797,652 towards place-based projects that benefit the needs of thousands of Central Georgians.

The largest grant is $1.5 million to Middle Georgia State University for its Center to Launch and Sustain Student Success. The proposed 8,000-square-foot Macon campus center will be a key resource in helping prospective, incoming and current students navigate the process of applying to college, securing financial aid, meeting with academic advisors, registering for classes and transitioning into their professional careers, all within one central space.

“This extraordinary gift from the Peyton Anderson Foundation will enable Middle Georgia State University to create a first-rate facility, one focused on serving the needs of our most important stakeholders: students aspiring to achieve a college education,” said Middle Georgia State University President Christopher Blake, Ph.D. “As the University for Maconites and Middle Georgians who build their lives and livelihoods in this region, we are committed to providing career-building, life-enriching degrees that allow and encourage graduates to strengthen both their families and communities. This gift allows the University to make significant progress toward providing a place and experience to ensure access to that opportunity.”

Other organizations and projects to receive funding in the latest round of grants from the Peyton Anderson Foundation are:
·       Campus Clubs: The Safety is Success project received $19,376 to install effective safety equipment for their academic performance and life skills resource center that serves 186 students in the Pleasant Hill Neighborhood.
 
·       Family Advancement Ministry: Funding of $25,000 will allow Family Advancement Ministries to meet the urgent needs of pregnant women and low-income families with young children in the form of rental and utility assistance.

·       Georgia Behavioral Health Services Foundation: The River Edge Recovery Center was awarded $500,000 to support the building of a new facility on Fulton Mill Road that provides critical care to children and adults in need of stabilization from a behavioral health crisis or addiction.
 
·       Georgia Research Alliance: Funding of $25,000 will expand university research capacity in Georgia and advance laboratory discoveries into valuable products, services and companies. This grant will enhance the economy, health and productivity of communities across the state, including Macon-Bibb County.
 
·       Georgia River Network: The organization was awarded $25,000 to support the production of the Ocmulgee River User’s Guide, part of a series of recreational guidebooks dedicated to Georgia Rivers.  The waterproof book will be a complete guide to the river from its headwaters in the Piedmont to its confluence with the Oconee to form the Altamaha River.  Every mile of the river will be mapped and documented, noting public access points; navigational hazards; and points of historical, social or natural significance.
 
·       Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation: The “Ruth’s Room” project of the Hay House received $74,276 to restore the alcove adjacent to the Music Room. This will make it possible for the statue of Ruth Gleaning to return to her original home.  
 
·       Macon Area Habitat for Humanity: The Lynmore Estates 2021 project received $150,000 towards the revitalization and stablization of Lynmore Estates. Habitat for Humanity has worked to return this once vibrant neighborhood back into a sustainable, safe and affordable place for families to live and grow. The completion of Lynmore Estates will allow the organization to take the successes and lessons learned over the last 13 years to facilitate their work in Pleasant Hill and other neighborhoods in Macon-Bibb County.

·       Macon Outreach at Mulberry: The Outreach Feeding Ministry has become the largest congregate hot-meal provider in Central Georgia and received $15,000 to support the meal program year-round for 2018.

·       Macon Volunteer Clinic: The Clinic received $100,000 to further their mission of providing medical services for people who are employed, but have no health insurance.

·       Macon-Bibb County: The Ocmulgee TAD Master Plan was awarded $68,000 to advance the vision for redevelopment of the Ocmulgee Crossing area, which includes approximately 135 acres by I-16, Emery Highway and Coliseum Drive.  The Plan will complement the work of Downtown Challenge grants and attract prospective master developers to the area.

·       Mercer University: The McDuffie Center for Strings received $150,000 to augment its curriculum with distance-learning technology. Internet 2, a dedicated fiber optic connection, will create real-time interaction, allowing students and faculty to teach, learn and collaborate without delays.  This will make it possible to livestream student and faculty performances to K-12 classrooms, and enable students to participate in master classes with professional musicians around the world.

·       Museum of Arts & Sciences: The Museum of Arts & Sciences was awarded $500,000 to develop its existing 4-acre pecan orchard into a vibrant outdoor program space that will include a natural amphitheater, aviaries, new trails and a bat house. This will allow the Museum to expand its extremely popular live animal and natural sciences programming, and establish the region’s only wildlife and raptor rehabilitation program.

·       Museum of Aviation: The Museum of Aviation received $30,000 for its Middle GA STEM Education program.  More than 4,000 students and 200 teachers will benefit through hands­-on, innovative activities that promote critical thinking, teamwork and problem-solving skills.
 
·       Rescue Mission of Middle Georgia: Funding of $16,000 will be used for installation of new ceilings throughout the 18-year-old facility.

·       Theatre Macon: Funding of $75,000 will be used towards replacing the 27-year-old roof on the Theatre.
 
·       The Urban CEO: The Urban CEO Leadership Academy received $25,000 to fund its Fall 2018 cohort. The seven-session seminar, facilitated by local and state business leaders, teaches young entrepreneurs how to create a strategic plan, develop partnerships and communicate effectively.
 
·       Wesleyan College: The Fast Forward II campaign was awarded $500,000 to continue the renovation of Willet Memorial Library, built in 1968.  The Foundation earlier funded a portion of the main floor renovation, which opened in 2017.
 
The Peyton Anderson Foundation accepts grant applications year-round from non-profit organizations whose funding needs fall in the areas of education, health, environment, arts and culture and civic and economic development. Selected grant recipients are announced twice a year. The latest round of recipients brings the Peyton Anderson Foundation’s investment to over $100 million in placed-based grant funding.
 
“These latest projects to receive funding from the Foundation take a collaborative, community-centered approach to improving the quality of life in Central Georgia,” said Peyton Anderson Foundation President Karen Lambert. “The Foundation and its Trustees are pleased to honor Peyton Anderson’s legacy through the tireless, committed work of these organizations and the thousands of residents who will benefit.”