Business Beautification Micro-Grants Available

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s committee for Beautification and Community Greening is pleased to announce the availability of the second annual Business Beautification Micro-Grants in celebration of National Planting Day 2023.  Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Business Beautification Micro-Grant is an effort to help local businesses create inviting and beautiful spaces that are owned by the business and visible to the public. These grants are available for up to $500 each and can be used for exterior beautification improvements and all local organizations are encouraged to apply including non-profits and schools.

Last year this grant was used to create a beautiful mural at City Park Elementary School led by principal Kim Rhyne.

Interested organizations may use the grant to purchase exterior painting or murals, signage, awnings, planting, and more. Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful hopes this micro-grant can help local businesses improve their exterior and the overall beauty of our community.

Submissions must be submitted by September 1, 2023. The Keep Dalton-Whitfield Business Beautification Grant Program application will be scored using the Program Matrix and then determined and approved by the KDWB Beautification Committee. Businesses will receive an email and call on September 8, 2023 with information on the status of their application.

To apply for the grant the business or organization must be locally owned and located in Whitfield County or the city of Dalton. The form requires that each applicant describe the concept of the proposed improvement, a picture of the existing project area, and an itemized project estimate cost.

­Projects should take place in fall and winter and be completed no later than Saturday, December 2, 2023.   At the end, grantees will submit a short project summary that will include volunteer hours, actual costs, list of other organizations involved, evaluation of project meeting the goal/purpose intended, and before and after photos. 10% of the grant will be held by Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful until the report is submitted.

Applications can be submitted by completing the form at https://www.dwswa.org/dalton-whitfield-business-beautification and emailing to ahartline@dwswa.org or mailing the downloaded form to Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful P.O. Box 3392 Dalton, Ga 30722-3392. For questions regarding the form or any aspects of your proposed project call executive director Amy Hartline at 706-278-5001.  

Local Business Beautification Projects Completed

You may have noticed a few improvements around some local organizations recently. In 2021, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful awarded beautification grants to local organizations and businesses for the first year. The nonprofit’s beautification grants are in honor of National Planting Day, but celebrate all manner of beautification efforts.

The Boys and Girls Club had volunteers, employees, and their youth all work together to reestablish the plant beds around their signs and planters near the front of their entrance.

Six businesses and organizations were selected for their beautification project including 108 North Pentz Building, the Artistic Civic Theatre, Raspberry Row, Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, Boys and Girls Club of Chatooga, Gordon, Murray, and Whitfield, and Looper Speech and Hearing Center. The grants given ranged from $350 to $500.  

Katie McCreery-Scarbor of Looper Speech and Hearing Center said about working on their project that focused on an outdoor seating area and entrance sign, "I'm not sure we've ever been more excited about dirt! We were lucky to discover that, when tilling the area around the sign, there was already top soil present rather than just red clay. That certainly made planting the azaleas easier--all we had to do was supplement with a little Miracle Grow."

Many of the projects included new landscaping and plantings while others required fresh paint and structures.

When walking downtown you may spot the improvement by Raspberry Row. Raspberry Row installed a new bench crafted by Machine Craft Inc. outside its storefront. Going a little farther, you’ll come across new plantings by the Boys and Girls Club on Underwood Road.

When writing about their goal of beautifying the entrance, Casey Crump said “Part of our mission is to enable young people, especially those who need us the most, to reach their full potential; this project helps create an opportunity to do just that. Taking care of the club from the inside out helps us teach our youth on the importance of self-care also.”

Many of us can learn the importance of both self-care and care for the planet through beautification projects such as these. Congratulations, once again, to all of the Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful 2021 Business Beautification Grant Recipients.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Announces Six Business Beautification Recipients

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is pleased to announce the recipients of their first Business Beautification Micro-Grants for 2021.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful established their beautification grants in honor of National Planting Day which is celebrated through the end of November. Businesses across Whitfield County and the City of Dalton were invited to apply for funding to implement a project related to beautifying the community. Each project aims to improve the visual aspects of the facility or adjoining streetscape. Beautification grants range from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $500.

Past beautification grants from Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful have been used to create native plant gardens and wildlife sanctuaries.

This year the following business and projects were awarded a grant from Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful.

1.      108 North Pentz Building - Their project to place four planters along the sidewalk of the building

2.      Artistic Civic Theatre - This project will be focused on paving the parking lot, replanting shrubs, and fixing awnings

3.      Raspberry Row - They will be replacing the bench in the front of the shop on the sidewalk with a new one made by a local craftsman

4.      Whitfield-Murray Historical Society - This organization (pictured) will be focusing on painting the exterior doors and windows.

5.      Boys and Girls Club of Chattooga, Gordon, Murray, and Whitfield Counties - Club Refresh will focus on beautifying the front entrance of the club from the drive to the front doors.

6.      Looper Speech and Hearing Center - This group will be beautifying their outdoor seating area and sign with planters, and perennials.

Projects will be completed by March 1, 2022 and each recipient will submit a project summary by March 18, 2022 to showcase their work. Visit Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s website www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or follow them on Facebook to get updates on the progress of these projects.  

National Planting Day is celebrated annually by Keep America Beautiful in the fall as an opportunity to encourage volunteers to plant native species restoring ecological balance to the environment while creating greener, more beautiful communities. Learn more about this event at www.kab.org.Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is pleased to announce the recipients of their first Business Beautification Micro-Grants for 2021. Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful established their beautification grants in honor of National Planting Day which is celebrated through the end of November. Businesses across Whitfield County and the City of Dalton were invited to apply for funding to implement a project related to beautifying the community. Each project aims to improve the visual aspects of the facility or adjoining streetscape. Beautification grants range from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $500.

National Planting Day Grant Recipients

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is pleased to announce the winners of the sixth annual School Beautification Grants for 2020.

The committee for Beautification and Community Greening established the grant program in celebration of National Planting Day, which took place on September 11 and is celebrated through the end of November.

Public and private schools in Dalton, GA, and Whitfield County were invited to apply for funding to implement a project related to planting native plants and beautifying the community. Each project aims to improve the visual aspects of the facility or provide an educational opportunity related to plants. Beautification grants range from a minimum of $200 to a maximum of $400.

Last year, one of the projects was student-led and helped create a beautiful new garden at Southeast High School

This year the following two schools were awarded a grant for their National Planting Day project:

1.  City Park Elementary - Outdoor Learning Center 

2.  Valley Point Elementary - Kindness Rock Garden

Projects will be completed by January 12, 2021 and each recipient will submit a project summary by January 26 to showcase their work. Visit Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s website www.KeepDaltonWhtifieldBeautiful.org or follow them on Facebook to get updates on the progress of these projects.  

National Planting Day is celebrated annually by Keep America Beautiful in the fall as an opportunity to encourage volunteers to plant native species restoring ecological balance to the environment while creating greener, more beautiful communities. Learn more about this event at www.kab.org.

2018 School Beautification Grant Winners

(Dalton, GA, September 21, 2018) – Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is pleased to announce the winners of the third annual School Beautification Grants for 2018. The committee for Beautification and Community Greening established the grant program in celebration of National Planting Day, which took place September 8 and is celebrated through the end of October.

Public and private schools in the Dalton, GA and Whitfield County were invited to apply for funding to implement a project related to planting native plants and beautifying the community. Each project aims to improve the visual aspects of the facility or provide an educational opportunity related to plants. The grants range from $250 to $500 which encompassed $83 to each team of one grade.

This year the following five schools were awarded a grant for their National Planting Day project:

1.    Coahulla Creek High School: Creating the Captivating Courtyard of Coahulla Creek

2.    New Hope Middle School: Georgia Native Plants Beautification Project

3.    Park Creek Elementary School: Berry Beautiful

4.    Morris Innovative High School: MIHS Pep Club Garden and Picnic Area

5.    Dalton Middle School: Team Trees

Projects will be completed by December 3 and each recipient will submit a project summary by December 21 to showcase their work. Visit Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s website www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or follow them on Facebook to get updates on the progress of these projects.  

National Planting Day is celebrated annually by Keep America Beautiful in the fall as an opportunity to encourage volunteers to plant native species restoring ecological balance to the environment while creating greener, more beautiful communities. Learn more about this event at www.kab.org.