By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
There are grants for nearly every project a person could imagine. Some grants are awarded by private foundations or charities, while others are awarded by state and federal governments. But each grant – and the entity awarding that grant – have certain criteria regulating who qualifies as well as how the awarded funds can be used. When these factors are combined with the fact that many individuals or entities may be applying for the same grant, securing a grant is much more complicated than simply requesting money. It pays – sometimes literally – to know the field and understand the game. Renee Parson of Business Cultivation Foundation has spent a lot of time understanding both.
Parsons began the work that would lead to her current role in 2015, when her husband became the Pastor at Central Baptist Church in Ashland.
“The church was trying to do all of the traditional church ministries,” Parsons said. “So, we decided to really get out there and see what the people there needed.”
A lot of the problems facing the area were drug related, Parsons said. But beneath it all there was the underlying problem of generational poverty. To remedy this, Parsons began programs working with potential employers as well as helping residents earn GED’s, learn to write resumes, and other skills needed to reenter the workforce.
Hope Central, Parsons’ group, partnered with other agencies with the ultimate goal of helping people help themselves. Many of their clients were referred to The Neighborhood, and in 2016 Parson’s held a seat on the board of The Neighborhood, and in 2018 the group adopted her program.
“So basically, we moved from being a program in our church, to being the employment initiative program at The Neighborhood,” Parsons said.
Following that move, Parsons resigned from her position on the board of The Neighborhood to run the program and fulfill other duties, and it was during this time that she set up a program where excess clothes were bailed, helping secure a grant for that program from Coal Field Development out of Huntington, West Virginia. The program was successful, and yielded some revenue, but then things were upended by the COVID pandemic in 2020, and her position was dissolved.
Though no longer working that program, Parsons said that her goal has never changed. Collaboration is always the key, she said. When people work together and share knowledge and resources, more can be accomplished. Since the beginning she has worked with numerous individuals and companies as a certified grant writer and helped them discover not only what they need to thrive, but where to get it. And above all, she works to show each client how to achieve the most important objective, sustainability.
Currently Parson’s nonprofit, Business Cultivation Foundation (BCF), is working with the Carter County Fiscal Court and is speaking with both the City of Grayson and The Carter County Ambulance Board to help them determine what grants they qualify for and how to submit those grants in the best way possible. They are collaborating with Grayson Tourism as well, both renting and sharing space at the log cabin near the Grayson city building. The business grand opening is set for October 31, and Parsons said she plans a ghost tour, with all proceeds going to tourism.
Parsons said that BCF isn’t just geared toward working with big companies or government entities. They are also available for individuals who might not have anything more than an idea of what they want to do – hence the ‘cultivation’ in the company name. Anyone should feel free to come in and talk about their idea or goal, Parsons said; because there is a good chance they can help you understand what it takes to realize both.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
