Joy W. Pope Memorial Grant

Joy W. Pope Memorial Grant

The Joy W. Pope Memorial Grant Program is an annual competitive grant opportunity for organizations in the arts and human services.

Through the two grants, the foundation seeks to foster innovation and model solutions across the Tar Heel State. Since 2015, the Pope Foundation has awarded nearly $1 million to North Carolina nonprofits.

Grants Information

Each of the two grants offered awards up to $100,000 in project-specific funding. Applications for the 2021 grants will be accepted between June 15 – September 15, 2020.  You can read more about the individual grant opportunities and past recipients through the links below.

Joy W. Pope Grant in the Arts

Dates

Apply: June 15 – September 15, 2020
Award Date: January 2021

Historically, North Carolina has many unique arts traditions that date back centuries and include Appalachian folk and Piedmont blues music, Cherokee craftwork like beading and carving, and Seagrove pottery. But the scope of arts in our state isn’t limited to traditional arts or distinct geographic regions. As North Carolina has continued to grow and evolve, so have the state’s arts traditions. Today, North Carolinians from Murphy to Manteo celebrate, host, and create a broad spectrum of the arts in small and large venues alike. These arts have intrinsic value and bring important benefits to our communities. It’s why the John William Pope Foundation, traditionally a Triangle area-focused grantmaker, created the Joy W. Pope Memorial Grant in the Arts program in 2015. It’s a way for us to support innovative ideas beyond our normal geographic focus and highlight the valuable contributions in the nonprofit arts arena.

Description

The Joy W. Pope Memorial Grant in the Arts is designed to recognize innovative projects in visual arts, performing arts, and literary arts that ultimately serve the greater community.

For this grant, an innovative project would likely be one or more of the following:

  • A project that is an entirely new creation.
  • A project that addresses how things could be done better (improving processes, procedures, equipment, facilities, etc.).
  • A project that addresses how things could be done differently (expanding what is done to reach new populations).

Regardless of the what the project does, the end result should be a quantifiable gain for the organization and the people it serves. Organizations are limited to one project-specific proposal.

Amount Awarded

In 2020, the Joy W. Pope Memorial Grant program is operating with an amended funding model. COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on nonprofit activities and funding streams. These impacts spurred our foundation to consider how we can best support arts projects through this grant program. Where in the past the foundation has sought to award one$100,000 grant, this year’s funding will award a total of $100,000 to one or more projects. In making this change, we hope to create more flexibility for organizations who may have scaled back projects or who have lost funding streams for previously planned projects. Organizations are encouraged to apply for any amount of funding needed between $25,000 – $100,000. We may meet grant requests partially or fully, but applicants should not request less than $25,000 or more than $100,000. This may result in the foundation issuing one, two, or more grants.

Program History

The late John William Pope, Sr. was a WWII veteran, a retailer, and entrepreneur.  He took a small holding of five-and-dime stores and built Variety Wholesalers, Inc., the parent company of stores like Roses and Maxway. At John’s side through business and philanthropic ventures alike washis wife, the late Joy W. Pope. The John William Pope Foundation was established by the Pope family in 1986 with the mission to ensure future generations of North Carolinians have the opportunity to prosper. To accomplish this, the Pope Foundation makes grants to support public policy research, arts, human services, and education. The Joy W. Pope Memorial Grant program honors Joy’s lifelong commitment to philanthropic service, both within her state and her family foundation.

Current Fellow

– Branson Inscore, 2019-2020 Fellow (UNC Chapel Hill, Class of 2019)

Past Fellows

– Kayla Nguyen, 2015-2016 Fellow (University of Dallas, Class of 2015)

– Blake Brewer, 2017-2018 Fellow (Catawba College, Class of 2017)

– Will Rierson, 2018-19 Fellow (UNC Chapel Hill, Class of 2016)