By Dixon Bledsoe
The $50,000 Pepsi Refresh grant sought after by the Silverton Community SkatePark project committee will make another run for the funds in January.
Pepsi, which created the grants in lieu of Super Bowl advertising in order to help worthwhile community projects worldwide, receives thousands of grant applications each month, with deadline for submission being the last day of each month.
The voting for the 1,000 applications accepted for consideration each month occurs in the ensuing month. For example, if a project is accepted in January, people can vote for it in February.
Judy Schmidt of the SkatePark project committee said, “We didn’t submit the November application too late for consideration, but 1,000 grants got there before ours did. We will just keep trying to get the great Scott Klum video submitted, hopefully in January.”
Johnk, who wrote the first grant, stressed the competitive nature of the Pepsi Refresh grant and the need for community support.
“We are going after a lot of different grants and funding sources such as the Meyer Trust and Spirit Mountain Community Fund, and it is crucial to be able to show how much the community is behind this project. The city of Silverton is also exploring some state park-related grants,” Johnk said.
She added the application is submitted on Jan. 1, for example, it may be selected by the end of January and voting could start Feb. 1 – Feb. 15. If the project goes online, voters will be able to vote for the grant at www.refresheverything.com.
