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Funding Available - South Mountain Mini-Grant Program

The South Mountain Partnership is accepting applications for the 2014 funding round of its Mini-Grant Program

The 2014 funding round marks the 6th year in which the South Mountain Partnership has implemented a Mini-Grant Program. Designed to catalyze on-the-ground projects that conserve the Landscape Resources that sustain the quality of life and sense of place of the citizens and communities within the South Mountain landscape, the Mini-Grant Program has up to $80,000 available in funding within the competitive grant program.

The Partnership encourages applications from projects that align with the mission and goals of the Partnership - if interested in applying for a Mini-Grant in 2014, please contact Jonathan Peterson as early as possible.

WHAT: single-year grants ranging in size from $2,500 to $25,000, and requiring a 1:1 match (cash and/or in-kind);

WHO'S ELIGIBLE: Projects must occur within Cumberland, Adams, Franklin, and/or York County, and applicants must be Non-profit organizations with 501 (c)3 status, municipalities, counties, or academic institutions.

TIMELINE:

A pre-application form must be submitted by

Monday, June 30th, 2014 - NEW THIS YEAR

Following an initial review, applicants will be asked to submit a final application by Thursday, July 31, 2014.

Awards will be announced in October 2014, with projects to be completed by December 31, 2015.

More information can be found at:

http://southmountaingrant.blogspot.com/

South Mountain Partnership featured in the latest A.T. Journeys magazine!

illustration by Katie Eberts

Click here to read the article

featuring the South Mountain Partnership and landscape-scale conservation.

A.T. Journeys is the official magazine of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The cover story of the May-June 2014 issue explores the South Mountain Partnership as an example within an emerging trend toward landscape-scale conservation - and how much of the underlying principles of this trend can be found in the thinking of Benton MacKaye, the "father" of the Appalachian Trail.

From the inside cover of the magazine:

"The Appalachian Trail, as it enters Pennsylvania from the south, bisects the South Mountain landscape in a 60-odd mile jaunt from the Pennsylvania/Maryland border to the Cumberland Valley north of Boiling Springs," writes the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's Jonathan Peterson. "The South Mountain landscape is defined by folds of forested uplands and the surrounding fertile valleys and communities...its clear that what MacKaye envisioned in the early twentieth century, and spent his entire life thinking about, is increasingly reemerging in the field of landscape-scale conservation."

Partner Spotlight:

The Conococheague Institute's Annual Rose Walk

Sunday, May 25th, 2014

1 - 4 PM

Franklin County

The Conococheague Institute, located at Rock Hill Farm in Mercersburg, PA is hosting its annual Rose Walk on Sunday, May 25th. The Rose Garden at Rock Hill Farm features nearly a dozen different varieties of roses. On the 25th, self-guided and guided tours of the gardens and grounds will be available, as will be refreshments. Miller's Early American Games will host an assortment of outdoor games enjoyed by 18th Century American colonists.

Click here for more information on the Rose Walk!

The Conococheague Institute serves as a regional center for developing and fostering awareness, understanding and stewardship of the cultural and natural history of the Appalachian frontier of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.  

Pennsylvania Downtown Center's

2014 Annual Conference:   

Connecting Nature, Commerce & Community

The Spring 2014 Partnership meeting (April 25th, 2014) featured great discussion around the potential for communities to capitalize on nature- and place-based resources as non-conventional  community and/or economic development drivers. The Pennsylvania Downtown Center's annual conference is focusing on this very topic. The conference will bring together Main Street and Elm Street managers, experts in community revitalization, representatives of local governments and more, and offer opportunities to participate in educational sessions, network with and inspire one another. Partners inspired by the conversation at the Partnership meeting in April may be interested in attending the upcoming conference.

Sunday, June 1 - Wednesday, June 4th, 2014

Altoona, Pennsylvania

 Click here for more information.