Five finalists have been announced for the 2014 Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Community Vibrancy Grants.
Of the finalists, two winners will be announced at the Nov. 13 Ten at the Top Regional Forum. Each finalist will provide a brief overview at the event of their initiative before the two 2014 recipients are selected and announced.
“The goal of the Elevate Upstate program is to get communities thinking about what types of initiatives or programs might help spark vibrancy within their area and then provide some seed money to get some of them started,” said Phil Hughes, president of Hughes Investments. “In the two years we have done this program I have been amazed by the great ideas and passion of communities across the region to grow their vibrancy and sense of place. It was a real challenge to narrow the field to five finalists.”
TATT said the finalists were chosen from a total of 22 applications submitted for the two grants available in 2014. Hughes Investments is contributing $10,000 per year to the program with two recipients each year receiving $5,000 to support a new vibrancy initiative in the Upstate.
“It’s a small amount of money but it can have a huge impact on a community,” said Dean Hybl, executive director of TATT.
Selection committee members include Phil Hughes; Betsy Fleming, president of Converse College; and Terence Roberts, mayor of Anderson.
