BY TAMARYN WATERS • DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER • PUBLISHED: DECEMBER 07. 2010 2:00AM

Five local projects are getting money so they can continue to keep residents informed and engaged.

A total $120,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Donor Advised Fund has been awarded to local projects in the Big Bend. The foundation’s goal is to promote informed and engaged communities.

Randy Hanna, chairman of the Our Region Tomorrow that received $48,000, said his non-profit hopes the grant will help fuel efforts to create meaningful conversations throughout the region on issues that need attention, such as under-employment, rural health care and protecting the environment.

“We are pleased because (the grant) will allow government, business and environmental leaders from across our region to be able to come together to clearly understand the important issues in all of the counties,” Hanna said.

The Knight fund is under the umbrella of the Community Foundation of North Florida. It was created to help improve the quality of life in communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers.

“This first round of grants in the new priority area of fostering an informed, engaged community inspired five amazing projects,” Joy Watkins, president of CFNA, said in a written statement. “And this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the impact of the Knight fund over time.”

Here’s what each project received:

Our Region Tomorrow — $48,000 for the Regional Leadership Program.

Apalachicola Riverkeeper — $25,000 for the Oil Spill Recovery Video Monitoring Project.

Tallahassee Community College Foundation — $23,000 for Town and Gown Relations Project.

Council on Culture & Arts — $15,000 for the Arts & Culture Live Project.

The OASIS Center for Women and Girls — $9,083 for Women Can Run Project.

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