Knight Foundation offering $5 million for innovative projects in Myrtle Beach, other Knight cities

Myrtle Beach residents who come up with creative and innovative projects to improve their city can apply for a shot at $5 million worth of grants to make it happen.

Myrtle Beach and Columbia are among 26 communities across the nation qualified to receive grant funding through the Knight Cities Challenge. The second-year program of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation seeks unique and even unorthodox ideas for city revitalization.

The challenge was created to spur ideas from within the community focused on one or more three key factors: attracting talented people, expanding economic opportunity and creating a culture of civic engagement, said George Abbott, lead for the Knight Cities Challenge.

“We care about making these cities successful while looking for really great ideas and the people who can execute them,” Abbott said.

While a number of applications were received from the Myrtle Beach area last year, Abbott said, only one -- the iconic loop routes idea submitted by the City of Myrtle Beach -- was selected as a finalist. Ultimately, the plan to create a series of walking and cycling routes throughout the city did not receive Challenge grant funding.

In its inaugural year, 32 challenges out of 7,000 applications submitted received funding. Among them were The Science Barge, a Miami-based floating, urban sustainable farm and environmental education center that is powered by renewable energy, which was awarded $298,633, and a pop-up pool project in Philadelphia awarded $297,000.

“We had some good feedback from some of the applicants who came up with good ideas and during the challenge formed a more coherent project plan and proceeded with their projects,” Abbott said.

He said while the Knight Cities Challenge is very competitive, applicants benefit from knowing that their ideas will be seen by the Knight Foundation. “It’s a good way for us to see what the community is thinking about,” Abbott said.

He noted that the Knight Foundation has other funding streams that might be a better fit for some projects.

“The Challenge has multiple avenues for funding success,” Abbott said. “So, there is a value of participating in the Challenge even if your idea is not accepted.”

Projects can range from small to large as long as the “idea is big” and will widely affect the community. Additionally, the applicant must be prepared with a plan to make the idea become a reality if funded.

Grant applications will be accepted starting Thursday and running through Oct. 27 via an online portal at www.knightcities.org. The Challenge is open to the public and an applicant does not have to live in one of the 26 cities to apply. But all the ideas must benefit one of the designated communities where Knight Ridder operated a newspaper at the time of newspaper group co-founder James Knight’s death in 1991. Only projects within that set number of cities are qualified to receive funds through the Knight Foundation, according to Abbott.

Abbott said the Knight Cities Challenge is the first program the Knight Foundation has run across all 26 cities and is a great way to connect the cities through projects.

The 24 other Knight cities are Akron, Ohio; Aberdeen, S.D.; Biloxi, Miss.; Boulder, Colo.; Bradenton, Fla.; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus, Ga.; Detroit; Duluth, Minn.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Gary, Ind.; Grand Forks, N.D.; Lexington, Ky.; Long Beach, Calif.; Macon, Ga.; Miami; Milledgeville, Ga.; Palm Beach County, Fla.; Philadelphia; St. Paul, Minn.; San Jose, Calif.; State College, Penn.; Tallahassee, Fla., and Wichita, Kan.

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 8:46 AM with the headline "Knight Foundation offering $5 million for innovative projects in Myrtle Beach, other Knight cities."