Shown above are representatives of Greene County groups awarded BBCF community and arts grants. At far left are: Dr. Carol P. Zippert, a BBCF Founder; Ms. Darlene Robinson, BBCF Greene County Board Member and Ms. Felecia Lucky, BBCF President.
BBCF presents grant award to the Society of Folk Arts & Culture which is sponsoring the 50th Celebration of the Black Belt Folk Roots Festival, August 23-24, 2025 in Eutaw, AL.
L to R: Felecia Lucky, BCF President; Darlene Robinson, BBCF Board Member, Carol P. Zippert, Festival Coordinator and Aaron Head, BBCF Arts Coordinator.
The Black Belt Community Foundation (BBCF) awarded $344,447.20 to 141 community and arts projects across its 12 county service area in the Alabama Black Belt Region, including Bullock, Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter and Wilcox. The presentations were made at its 2025 Arts and Community Grant Ceremony held Saturday, May 3, 2025 at Wallace Community College Selma. “As we continue to celebrate BBCF’s 20th anniversary through May, the Black Belt Community Foundation is proud to award these funds in 141 different grants to community and arts organizations across the 12 counties we serve,” said BBCF President Felecia Lucky.
Greene County received 13 grants for community and arts projects, in the amount of $41,263.24, awarded to the following organizations: Alabama Art Casting, Boligee Senior Center, Boss Ties LLC, Broader Horizons, Bundle of Joy Praise Team, Eutaw Elderly Village Inc., Greene County Human Rights Commission, Mount Pleasant Home Protection Society, Operations Taking Back Our Community (TBOC), Release the Earth, Society of Folk Arts and Culture (Black Belt Festival Grant,) United Purpose Inc. The 2025 arts grants, including the Black Belt Folk Roots Festival, totaled $14,125; community grants totaled $27, 138.24.
Ms. Darlene Robinson, BBCF board member representing Greene County, stated that each of the 12 counties has a group of volunteers, known as Community Associates, who raise funds for the Foundation and these resources, which receive a percentage match from BBCF, are allocated in grants to the respective county. “We hold a lot of fundraising activities in Greene County, but that money can only be spent in Greene County through grants,” she said.
“We continue our focus on empowering local initiatives by first listening and responding to the very needs voiced by the communities themselves — all while fostering growth and impacting the entire Black Belt region,” stated President Lucky.