With expressions of gratitude for a generous individual donor who has made it possible, the Cook County Chamber and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic will organize a Great Place Project for 2017, Chamber Executive Director Jim Boyd has announced.
“After several grant applications fell through, we were in the process of designating 2017 as a fallow year in which we would focus on creating an annual fundraising mechanism for GPP,” Boyd said. “Then along came an anonymous donor who loves the project and did not want us to miss a year. With the $10,000 the donor volunteered, we can have a 2017 project and also work to develop our GPP fundraising.”
The Great Place Project is a partnership between the Cook County Chamber and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic’s Moving Matters program. The 2017 Great Place Project will be the fourth.
Deadline for submission of 2017 GPP grant applications is March 31.
GPP provides small grants to individuals, businesses and organizations to develop small outdoor projects that enhance the beauty and attraction of the outdoor built environment of Cook County. For the clinic’s Moving Matters team, the intention is to encourage healthy outdoor play and exercise. For the Chamber, the goal is creating a more pleasing place that draws visitors back, building a more pleasant environment for residents to enjoy, and creating a sense of cohesive community across Cook County.
In 2016, funded projects included a community paint-by-number set of murals for the side of Birchbark Books & Gifts, an outdoor ping pong table for the Grand Marais library lawn, a bench for the Hegg Wildflower Sanctuary and numerous others. Over its first three years, GPP funding has gone to projects as diverse as Little Free Libraries to handicap accessible picnic tables. More information on the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Great Place Projects can be found under the Great Place Project tab at becausemovingmatters.org
For 2017, the $10,000 gift from the anonymous donor will be used to fund grants of up to $1,000, Boyd said.
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