Thirteen nonprofits and community organizations on St. Croix have been awarded a total of $534,000 through the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development’s 2025 Healing Humanities Cultural Place-Keeping Grant Program, the foundation announced in a press release.
The grants, made possible by funding from the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place program, will support projects that celebrate, preserve, and uplift St. Croix’s cultural and historical heritage through the arts, storytelling, and community engagement, according to the press release.
Grant awards ranged from $10,000 to $75,000. Of the total amount, $301,184 was awarded in unrestricted operating support to nonprofits whose core mission is cultural place-keeping. An additional $232,816 supported projects focused on cultural sustainability, including heritage preservation, oral history, artistic expression, and traditional knowledge rooted in St. Croix’s identity, the press release stated.
The thirteen grant recipients are:
Anatha, Through Their Eyes – Bridging Generations: An intergenerational oral history and storytelling initiative involving elders and youth, culminating in community art showcases and a digital archive.
Children’s Museum of St. Croix, Place-Keeping Project: A new interactive exhibit on the cultural history of Estate Carlton, engaging families in reflective learning.
CMCArts, Inc.: The Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts provides free cultural and educational programming, welcoming more than 25,000 visitors annually through multidisciplinary exhibitions and workshops.
Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism (CHANT): A nonprofit focused on preserving the island’s built and natural environment while promoting sustainable development through culture and traditional knowledge.
Guardians of Culture, Inc.: Dedicated to keeping the Moko Jumbie tradition alive, teaching youth the stilt-walking art form as a symbol of resilience rooted in African heritage.
Island Food Security, Cultivating Culture and Place-Keeping: A program integrating agroecology and indigenous practices to connect local food systems with culture and community.
Keeping Masquerading Traditions Alive: A cultural revitalization project focused on St. Croix’s traditional masquerade characters such as Pitchy Patchy, through storytelling and performance.
Music in Motion, HEAL4Dance: Combines heritage education with dance and cultural arts to foster artistic expression and historical understanding among youth.
Our Town Frederiksted, The Glory Days of Frederiksted Revival: A multimedia initiative combining oral history, arts residencies, and a commemorative book to celebrate the town’s history.
Quelbe Institute for the Preservation of Traditional Dance: Developing a rehearsal space, recording studio, discography, and oral history archive to support Quelbe music and musicians.
10 Sleepless Knights (TSK): Celebrating 55 years of preserving Quelbe and Quadrille, TSK continues to promote traditional music, dance, and Crucian folklore.
VI Breast Cancer Project, Art of Healing: A community quilting and cultural arts program for breast cancer survivors, hosted at historic sites across the island.
VI Literary Festival & Book Fair: An annual festival celebrating Crucian storytelling, literature, and creativity through workshops, author talks, and cultural engagement.
“These thirteen awardees represent a diverse range of humanities and social services organizations, and together, they are weaving a new system of coherent supports spanning food security, art therapy for cancer survivors, Crucian culture and art, and economic development — all grounded in our People and our Place,” said Deanna James, president and CEO of St. Croix Foundation.
“This grant opportunity provides an unprecedented and vital platform for a broad spectrum of nonprofits that often do not qualify for federal funding as grassroots organizations that are essential to the fabric of our community but traditionally lack access to these resources,” she added. “We are proud to support their efforts to advance cultural place-keeping and healing not just as a programmatic priority but as inclusive, innovative, and deeply rooted economic drivers.”
SCF received 27 proposals requesting a combined total of $1.87 million. Grant selections were made by a review committee composed of SCF board and staff members, along with community representatives from St. Croix. Applications were evaluated across two rounds, including a preliminary review to clarify required documents and a secondary review based on three core criteria:
Ability to promote and preserve arts, culture, and heritage rooted in St. Croix’s history
Strengthening and sustaining local cultural institutions and spaces
Elevating community narratives and demonstrating a commitment to cultural healing and resilience
The foundation thanked the Mellon Foundation for its investment and the volunteer review committee for dedicating more than 100 hours to the evaluation process.
SCF also extended appreciation to all applicants, stating: “Your tireless efforts to support place-keeping, the humanities, and healing for our People and our Place are inspiring and demonstrate a profound commitment to nurturing our shared cultural heritage and fostering resilience in our community.”
For more information, visit www.stxfoundation.org or contact 340-773-9898.
