$1.3 million grant for digital improvement
A community center, due to be completed in the fall, is planned to be built with the grant and is tentatively named, “Knight Community Center for Innovation.” A community council will set directions and organize the overall program.
GDIG is a GCSU initiative group that pulls resources together to enhance education, businesses and municipalities through digital technology.
The group will conduct workshops with basic education on how technology can help the citizens and businesses of Milledgeville such as conducting meetings with web conferencing tools.
The Knight Foundation advocates excellence in journalism and invests in the well being of U.S. communities where the Knight Brothers owned newspapers.
In 2008, the Foundation awarded 263 for a total of $140.5 million. These grants ranged from $5,000 to $25 million; however, the $25 million grant funded broadband support for each of the 26 Knight communities.
“The grant to GCSU of $1.5 million is one of the larger grants,” Blake said. “Milledgeville is Knight’s smallest community, so we are especially delighted to support such innovative work that will provide leadership to the other communities.”
The director of GDIG, Jim Wolfgang, hopes to help the community see what opportunities for improvement are for themselves.
“(GDIG’s) role is to facilitate, not run these programs,” Wolfgang said. “The community does that.”
It is hard for the community to see the value in a program for improvement if they don’t understand it. The community needs involvement to understand Wolfgang said.
GDIG has applied for grants from the Knight Foundation for the past three years.
“It was satisfying (to obtain the grant) because (GDIG) has worked so hard,” Wolfgang said.
GDIG is in the process of hiring for a new position created by this grant, director of Milledgeville Community Connections Project and is still taking applications for the position until May 15. The Group hopes to fill the position by June 1.
GDIG also focuses on the GCSU campus for its improvements.
GDIG hopes to provide real world opportunities for students like working with Oconee Regional Hospital. One of the heads of the nursing program has spoken with a representative from Oconee Regional Hospital about such a program, Wolfgang said.
The Knight Foundation has an open application process for any non-profit organization. The foundation supports 26 communities in the US where the Knight Brothers owned newspapers according to the Knight Foundation. Three of these communities lie within Georgia: Columbus, Macon and Milledgeville.
“The work that GCSU has done the past 10 years is the perfect foundation for this type of program,” said Beverly Blake, Program Director for Georgia’s communities.
The $1.5 million grant will be distributed over three years. The first payment has been given, but the remaining two payments from the Knight Foundation are based on the progress made by GDIG.
“(The Knight Foundation) has every confidence that the program will progress,” Blake said.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Apr 24 2009. Filed under News.
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