But it’s a secret (shhhhh!) until December.  Good thing I’m good at secrets–I never tell what anyone’s Christmas present is, and I don’t peek at mine, either . . .

The Pittsburgh 250 Community Connections Grassroots Decision-Making Panel met on Monday, November 12th at the Armstrong County Community Foundation to review the scores of 17 grant applications submitted for projects in Armstrong County.   Grassroots projects can be funded up to $5000.  Nine panelists participated in the evaluation, and Dustin (Pittsburgh 250 Community Connections) and Matt (co-founder of The Sprout Fund) joined the panel to discuss the process and work to identify the winners. 

(Autumn Vorpe-Seyler, Sonie Mervis, and Connie Mateer contemplate on a few of the 17 projects submitted for consideration for Community Connections grassroots funding last Monday evening at the ACCF office.)

Dustin & Matt announced that we could award 5 or 6 grants, but the committee was determined and negotiated 7 funded projects for Armstrong County!  (Sonie Mervis, our County Treasurer, drives a hard bargain.)

The Regional Decision-Making Panel will meet later this month—regional grants may be up to $50,000.  I can hardly wait until all the project awards are announced.

When the ACCF and the Armstrong County Tourist Bureau hosted the Community Connections workshop last April, I had no idea that Armstrong County would generate more applications per capita than any other county!  I am so proud of our civic-minded citizens and communities.

I’ll keep you posted . . . .