St. Croix Foundation awards 13 organizations funding to support heritage preservation, oral history, cultural programming, artistic expression, and community storytelling.
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands – St. Croix Foundation for Community Development (SCF) is pleased to announce the recipients of $534,000 in grant funding through its 2025 Healing Humanities Cultural Place-Keeping Grant Program. Thirteen innovative nonprofits and community groups serving the island of St. Croix have been selected to receive grants supporting projects that celebrate, preserve, and elevate St. Croix’s rich cultural and historical heritage through arts, storytelling, and community engagement.
Made possible through a generous investment from the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place Program, aimed at strengthening local cultural landscapes, the following organizations will receive grant awards ranging from $10,000 to $75,000. Over $301,184 in unrestricted operating grants were awarded to organizations whose entire mission and programming explicitly centers cultural place-keeping, while $232,816 in programmatic funding was awarded to nonprofits implementing projects that preserve local traditions, and support cultural sustainability through initiatives that include heritage preservation, oral history, cultural programming, artistic expression, and community storytelling—all rooted in the unique history and identity of St. Croix.
- Anatha, Through Their Eyes – Bridging Generations – An intergenerational cultural preservation initiative led by Anatha, this project brings together elders and young adults to share oral histories, engage in storytelling workshops, and co-create art rooted in local traditions that will be showcased at community events and archived digitally for future generations.
- Children’s Museum of St. Croix, Place-Keeping Project – A project that will create an interactive, multi-generational exhibit highlighting the cultural history of Estate Carlton, where the Children’s Museum is located, engaging families in thoughtful and reflective conversations and experiences about history and their place in it.
- CMCArts, Inc. – The Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts (CMCArts) inspires and promotes the Caribbean’s rich cultural and artistic heritage through engaging the diverse communities of the Caribbean. At CMCArts, Caribbean identities are explored and shared through the arts through interpretive, multidisciplinary, and interdisciplinary exhibitions, workshops, classes, and educational programs for all ages. CMCArts engages over 25,000 visitors annually, offering free entry to ensure maximum inclusivity.
- Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism (CHANT) – CHANT’s mission is to promote, preserve, and conserve the built and natural environment of St. Croix and the Virgin Islands, and to serve as a catalyst for sustainable tourism development. Focusing on development from within, CHANT’s programs serve as an engine for sustainable economic development by incorporating historic preservation, traditional arts and crafts, creative placemaking, and workforce development to honor cultural memory while building a more sustainable future.
- Guardians of Culture, Inc. – The mission of Guardians of Culture Moko Jumbies is to honor and preserve the cultural heritage of the Virgin Islands by teaching the traditional art of Moko Jumbies, rooted in the history of enslaved Africans brought to St. Croix over 400 years ago. Guardians of Culture is dedicated to keeping this vibrant tradition alive as a symbol of resilience and guardianship, captivating audiences and inspiring pride in our community’s unique and enduring heritage.
- Island Food Security, Cultivating Culture and Place-Keeping – A project that will integrate agroecology and indigenous practices, support farmers, increase access to fresh, local food, and strengthen the connection between people, culture, land, and food.
- Keeping Masquerading Traditions Alive – A project that seeks to preserve and revitalize St. Croix’s dwindling masquerade traditions, particularly Pitchy Patchy, through public performances, community storytelling, and intergenerational workshops.
- Music in Motion School of Higher Dance Education, Heritage Education and Arts Legacy for Dance (HEAL4Dance) – A project that will offer dance education, art history, heritage exhibitions, and cultural workshops aimed at fostering cultural awareness, dance history, and artistic expression on St. Croix.
- Our Town Frederiksted, The Glory Days of Frederiksted Revival – A multi-generational cultural education initiative that integrates oral history, arts residencies, live performance, digital storytelling, and a limited-edition book to honor and reimagine the stories of Frederiksted, St. Croix.
- Quelbe Institute for the Preservation of Traditional Dance – The mission of The Quelbe Institute for the Preservation of Traditional Music and Dance, Inc. is to be an academic and cultural resource for all things associated with Quelbe Music. At this time, the Quelbe Institute is developing four ongoing Projects: (1) A Rehearsal Space dedicated to Quelbe Music, (2) A Recording Studio for creating new Quelbe Music, (3) A comprehensive Discography of Quelbe Music, and (4) An Oral History Project focused on Quelbe Musicians.
- Ten Sleepless Knights (TSK) – Ten Sleepless Knights (TSK) is celebrating 55 years of delivering its mission to promote the US Virgin Islands culture through Quelbe, our official music, and Quadrille, our official dance. In addition, TSK promotes our culture, history, folklore, and traditions.
- VI Breast Cancer Project, Art of Healing: Threads of Resilience – Healing Through Arts, Heritage, and Culture – An intergenerational arts program of the VI Breast Cancer Project, which uplifts breast cancer survivors, their families, and children through community quilt-making and other culturally-relevant art forms, using historical and ancestral sites across St. Croix as venues for art classes.
- VI Literary Festival & Book Fair – The Virgin Islands Literary Festival and Book Fair, Inc., is the founder and host of the annual VI Literary Festival & Book Fair, an event exhibiting the intellectual and spiritual dynamism of cultural life in St. Croix, the VI, and beyond. The Festival celebrates Crucian imagination and is a toast to compelling ideas, including writing workshops and author talks. The festival serves as a vibrant platform for readers, writers, bibliophiles, educators, and other creatives to explore their imagination, to preserve existing works, discover new voices, and celebrate storytelling in all its forms.
As shared by SCF’s President & CEO, Deanna James, “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. Their collective work exemplifies how storytelling, heritage preservation, and cultural expression can serve as vital tools for holistic social renewal and community resilience.” James continued, “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. 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.”
In total, the Foundation received 27 proposals totaling $1,877,080 in funding requests, far exceeding the $534,000 available for this grant cycle. SCF’s Grants Review Committee, composed of SCF Board, Staff, and St. Croix community members, carefully reviewed each application in two rounds, including a preliminary review that allowed organizations a window to clarify questions about required documents. In a secondary review, applicants were selected based on the proposed work’s ability to (1) promote and preserve arts, culture, and heritage rooted in St. Croix’s history; (2) strengthen and sustain local cultural institutions and spaces; elevate community narratives and artistic expression; and (3) embody a shared commitment to cultural healing and resilience.
St. Croix Foundation extends its heartfelt thanks to the Mellon Foundation for its support in making this program possible. We also sincerely thank the Foundation’s Grants Review Committee, which collectively dedicated over 100 hours to review each application and select the awardees.
St. Croix Foundation also extends its deepest appreciation to every single applicant, whose 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 about St. Croix Foundation’s Healing Humanities Cultural Place-Keeping Grant Program, please contact 340-773-9898 or visit the Foundation at www.stxfoundation.org.