Nov 30, 2016 | Elevate Upstate
Upstate, SC [November 30, 2016] – Ten at the Top (TATT), an organization created to enhance economic vitality and quality of life across the Upstate by fostering collaboration and strategic partnerships has announced the recipients for the 2016 Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Community Vibrancy Grants.
The program, which began in 2013, annually provides “seed funds” to support vibrancy initiatives in communities across the Upstate region. There were 19 applications for the 2016 grants and five finalists gave brief presentations before the selections were made during the Our Upstate Vision Forum on November 29th.
The two recipients of $5,000 Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Grants were the Town of West Pelzer for their Expand Your Wings project and the Anderson Free Clinic for their F.R.E.S.H. project. In addition, Hughes Investments presented each of the other three finalists (City of Pickens, Hub-Bub in Spartanburg and Children & Choices/Hello Saville in Union and Spartanburg) with $1,000 to be used to help start their vibrancy initiative.
“The goal of the Elevate Upstate program is to get communities thinking about what types of initiatives or programs might help spark vibrancy within their area and then provide some seed money to get some of them started,” said Hughes Investments President Phil Hughes. “In the four years we have done this program, I have been amazed by the great ideas and passion of communities across the region to grow their vibrancy and sense of place. It was a real challenge to narrow the field to five finalists and to select the recipients.”
In the four years of the Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Grants program, Phil Hughes and Hughes Investments has provided a total of $56,000 to help with 17 different vibrancy initiatives across the Upstate region.
The two $5,000 recipients for 2016 are:
F.R.E.S.H. (Food Resources Ensuring Satisfactory Health) – Anderson Free Clinic – Healthy communities are vibrant communities. The “Farm to Table” style event will promote awareness of food insecurity in low access communities in Anderson County while featuring local farms and food products.
Expand Your Wings – Town of West Pelzer – The Town of West Pelzer is established and declared to be a wild bird sanctuary. “Expand Your Wings” is both an educational venture and an art installation that will allow residents, visitors and passersby to West Pelzer to “Become like a bird, expand your wings, learn new things and fly high as you can.”
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Nov 3, 2016 | Elevate Upstate
Upstate, SC [November 3, 2016] – Ten at the Top (TATT), an organization created to foster collaboration, partnerships and strategic planning across the Upstate, has announced the finalists for the 20165 Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Community Vibrancy Grants.
The five finalists were chosen from a total of XX applications submitted for the two grants available in 2016. Hughes Investments is contributing $10,000 per year to the program with two recipients each year receiving $5,000 to support a new vibrancy initiative in the Upstate. The program began in 2013 in conjunction with a series of Community Vibrancy Workshops hosted by Ten at the Top.
During the Ten at the Top Regional Forum on November 29th the five finalists will each provide a brief overview of their initiative before the two 2016 recipients are selected and announced. The cost to attend the forum is $10, prior registration is required. The forum will be held from 3-5 pm at the Greenville Marriott. To register go to www.tenatthetop.org.
Here are the five finalists (applying organization and project name):
Under the Pickens Historic Water Tower – City of Pickens – The City would use the Elevate Upstate Grant to create a social gathering spot in downtown under the historic water tower, which would better serve our local businesses, who have expressed an interest in utilizing this space.
F.R.E.S.H. (FOOD RESOURCES ENSURING SATISFACTORY HEALTH) – Anderson Free Clinic – The event would feature local farms and food products. By working with local partners, the clinic could lead collaborative efforts addressing the nutrition needs of our patients and community.
Hub Crawl Interactive Games (Spartanburg) – Hub-Bub – As a part of HUB-BUB’s Downtown Programming Initiative, local artists will design an inventory of interactive games that can be used in partnership with the Hub Crawl series, a recurring event meant to inspire creative interactions and promote the Downtown Spartanburg area.
Family Fun Day (Union & Spartanburg) – Children & Choices/Hello Saville – The Family Fun Day Project will serve as a safe opportunity for families to gather for positive fun, an exchange of information as well as a time for youth to have increased exposure to positive and caring adults. It will include a series of fun activities including; Trivia, Movie Family Skate Nights. This project will also serve as an opportunity for participants to gain access to community and academic programs as well as provide a platform for families to share their ideals about community recreational offerings.
Expand Your Wings – Town of West Pelzer
The Town of West Pelzer is established and declared to be a wild bird sanctuary. “Expand Your Wings” is both an educational venture and an art installation that will allow residents, visitors and passersby to West Pelzer to “Become like a bird, expand your wings, learn new things and fly high as you can.”
The selection committee for the Elevate Upstate Grants Program includes Phil Hughes (President, Hughes Investments), Ingo Angermeier (SmartPulse), and Terence Roberts (Mayor, City of Anderson).
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Nov 23, 2015 | Elevate Upstate, Uncategorized
Upstate, SC [November 23, 2015] – Ten at the Top (TATT), an organization created to enhance economic vitality and quality of life across the Upstate by fostering collaboration and strategic partnerships has announced the recipients for the 2015 Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Community Vibrancy Grants.
The program, which began in 2013, annually provides “seed funds” to support vibrancy initiatives in communities across the Upstate region. There were 26 applications for the 2015 grants and five finalists gave brief presentations before the selections were made during the Our Upstate Vision Forum on November 19th.
The commitment from Phil Hughes and Hughes Investments is to annually provide two grants of $5,000 each. However, for 2015, Hughes provided an additional $5,000 with the third grant being split amongst two communities.
The two $5,000 recipients are:
celebrate agriCULTURE: Greenwood – The Arts Council of Greenwood County plans to celebrate national farmers market week with several activities: tailored pieces of art to exhibit and family fun day focused on our agricultural heritage, cooking demonstrations, etc. throughout the six week celebration.
Music at the Museum: Greenville – In a partnership between the Children’s Museum of the Upstate and the Furman University Partners in the Arts Program, student and faculty ensembles will perform a series of mini concerts.
Two other finalists will receive $2,500 towards their project:
Art in the Park: Woodruff – The Woodruff Living Arts Festival will be a downtown event which will bring art to life in the Upstate.
Walkable Cultural District: Spartanburg – The Art Partnership (TAP) in collaboration with the Spartanburg Arts Museum (SAM) aims to create a temporary public art installation to uniquely launch the newly designated Spartanburg Downtown cultural District.
“The goal of the Elevate Upstate program is to get communities thinking about what types of initiatives or programs might help spark vibrancy within their area and then provide some seed money to get some of them started,” said Hughes Investments President Phil Hughes. “In the three years we have done this program, I have been amazed by the great ideas and passion of communities across the region to grow their vibrancy and sense of place. It was a real challenge to narrow the field to five finalists and to select the recipients.”
Nov 9, 2015 | Elevate Upstate, Uncategorized
Upstate, SC [November 9, 2015] – Ten at the Top (TATT), an organization created to foster collaboration, partnerships and strategic planning across the Upstate, has announced the finalists for the 2015 Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Community Vibrancy Grants.
The five finalists were chosen from a total of 26 applications submitted for the two grants available in 2015. Hughes Investments is contributing $10,000 per year to the program with two recipients each year receiving $5,000 to support a new vibrancy initiative in the Upstate. The program began in 2013 in conjunction with a series of Community Vibrancy Workshops hosted by Ten at the Top.
“The goal of the Elevate Upstate program is to get communities thinking about what types of initiatives or programs might help spark vibrancy within their area and then provide some seed money to get some of them started,” said Hughes Investments President Phil Hughes. “In the two years we have done this program I have been amazed by the great ideas and passion of communities across the region to grow their vibrancy and sense of place. It was a real challenge to narrow the field to five finalists.”
During the Ten at the Top Regional Forum on November 19th the five finalists will each provide a brief overview of their initiative before the two 2015 recipients are selected and announced. The cost to attend the forum is $10, prior registration is required. The forum will be held from 3-5 pm at the Greenville Marriott. To register go to www.tenatthetop.org.
Here are the five finalists (applying organization and project name):
Art in the Park: Woodruff – The Woodruff Living Arts Festival will be a downtown event which will bring art to life in the Upstate.
Greer Made – A new project designed to honor Greer’s history and revitalize the maker’s spirit of our community, Greer Made will focus on highlighting companies and products that are made right here in the Greer area.
celebrate agriCULTURE: Greenwood – The Arts Council of Greenwood County plans to celebrate national farmers market week with several activities: tailored pieces of art to exhibit and family fun day focused on our agricultural heritage, cooking demonstrations, etc. throughout the six week celebration.
Music at the Museum: Greenville – In a partnership between the Children’s Museum of the Upstate and the Furman University Partners in the Arts Program, student and faculty ensembles will perform a series of mini concerts.
Walkable Cultural District: Spartanburg – The Art Partnership (TAP) in collaboration with the Spartanburg Arts Museum (SAM) aims to create a temporary public art installation to uniquely launch the newly designated Spartanburg Downtown cultural District.
The selection committee for the Elevate Upstate Grants Program includes Phil Hughes (President, Hughes Investments), Ingo Angermeier (SmartPulse), and Terence Roberts (Mayor, City of Anderson).
![Ten at the Top Announces 2014 Recipients of the Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Community Vibrancy Grants]()
Nov 17, 2014 | Community Vibrancy, Elevate Upstate, Forum
Upstate, SC [November 17, 2014] – Ten at the Top (TATT), an organization created to foster collaboration, partnerships and strategic planning across the Upstate, has announced the 2014 recipients for the Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Community Vibrancy Grants.
There were five finalists chosen from a total of 22 applications that were submitted for the two grants available in 2014. Hughes Investments is contributing $10,000 per year to the program with two recipients each year receiving $5,000 to support a new vibrancy initiative in the Upstate.
During the Our Upstate Vision/Ten at the Top Forum on November 13th the five finalists provided a brief overview of their initiative. After all presentations were given, Phil Hughes, President of Hughes Investments and a member of the Ten at the Top Community Vibrancy Task Force, announced the two recipients of the grants.
The recipients are:
Let’s Keep Travelers Rest Beautiful – Before I Die Wall – The ‘Before I Die’ wall concept has been implemented all over the world to encourage healthy discussions regarding dreams and hopes. Travelers Rest will construct several different walls to spark discussion and actions across the community.
Main Street Laurens – Finally Friday on the Square – Finally Friday on the Square will be a monthly celebration of all things Laurens with live music hosted in the historic downtown.
“I was absolutely amazed by the number of great ideas submitted for the program. It was a real challenge to narrow the field from 22 applications to five finalists, to two winners”, said Hughes. “While we cannot fund all of the finalists, I would like to provide $1,000 to the other three projects in the hopes that this will allow your projects to come to fruition.”
The other three finalists that will each receive $1,000 towards their project are:
City of Gaffney – Unforgettable Gaffney – The Unforgettable Gaffney project will create a coherent and engaging system for communicating the esthetic and historic value of properties in two historic districts in the city.
City of Clinton – Rhythm of the Rails – Rhythm of the Rails will be an annual celebration to be held the last Saturday of April as a finale of the Celebrate Clinton Month.
Pickens Revitalization Association – Pickens Main Street Challenge – The Pickens Main Street Challenge is designed to attract new businesses into downtown Pickens by providing reduced rent in currently vacant storefronts.
“The Elevate Upstate Community Vibrancy Grants are a great opportunity to provide seed funds to help communities increase the vibrancy and sense of place within their community,” said Ten at the Top Executive Director Dean Hybl. “Phil Hughes has been a great champion of the community vibrancy task force since the beginning and the idea for the grant program was his.
“Last year he surprised everyone by presenting a third grant and this year he decided to give all of the other finalists $1,000 to help get their projects started. It just illustrates how committed he is to helping our local communities grow their vibrancy and sense of place”
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May 22, 2013 | Community Vibrancy, Elevate Upstate
Upstate, SC– Ten at the Top (TATT), through a funding commitment from Phil Hughes and Hughes Investments Inc., has established the Hughes Investments Vibrancy Initiative: ELEVATE UPSTATE Grants (EU). The program is being announced in conjunction with the Ten at the Top Community Vibrancy Workshops being held at four locations across the Upstate this week.
The purpose of the ELEVATE UPSTATE Grants is to identify and provide initial funding support for community based programs that promote community and economic vibrancy in local areas across the Upstate. The initiative will award two grants annually with each being for up to $5,000 (total of $10,000 per year for five years) from 2013-2017 to entities including neighborhood associations, civic or community based organizations, non-profit organizations or local governments that are committed to developing and implementing programs designed to increase local vibrancy in communities within the Upstate. The TATT Community Vibrancy Task Force will provide some guidance through the project implementation process if it is needed.
“Communities often have great ideas for things they want to do to increase their local vibrancy,” Hughes said. “However, they often don’t have the seed money that can get an idea moving toward an action. We want ELEVATE UPSTATE to provide that initial support so communities can create new projects and grow the vibrancy within their community and thus within the Upstate region.”
Applicants must be located in and do their work within communities in one of the ten Upstate counties: Abbeville, Anderson, Gaffney, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, or Union. Successful proposals for projects funded by EU should be able to clearly demonstrate how the implementation of the initiative that they propose will benefit and provide vibrancy in the local community. These proposals may seek to produce a physical result, such as a mural, sculpture or signage that will increase the vibrancy and sense of place within a community, or implement the first of a reoccurring or annual event or program that helps grow vibrancy within a community. Examples of projects that have provided vibrancy within communities across South Carolina and the United States are being highlighted as part of the Community Vibrancy Workshops and a list of nearly 50 vibrancy projects is available on the TATT web site (www.tenatthetop.org).
“We are very fortunate to have leaders within our region like Phil Hughes who recognize not only the importance of promoting community vibrancy, but who are also willing to help provide funding support to help communities take projects from idea to action,” said TATT Executive Director Dean Hybl.
The application for the first ELEVATE UPSTATE Grants will be available on the TATT web site by June 1st and the application deadline is September 15th. Recipients will be announced at the final TATT Forum of 2013 to be held in late November or early December.
