College Hill gets $2.3 million grant to "JumpStart" jobs
The College Hill Alliance announced Friday that they received that grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to focus on creating jobs.
This is the second grant they received from the Miami-based organization.
In 2009, they received $2 million grant to bring new life to College Hill, the neighborhood between Mercer University and Macon's downtown.
The College Hill Alliance will work with JumpStart America, a nonprofit based in Ohio.
The goal is to create what they call an "innovation corridor" to attract talent and keep Macon's college graduates in town.
Mercer University President William Underwood said, "This grant's focus is on promoting economic prosperity in the College Hill Corridor, so we're very excited about it. Altogether, the Knight Foundation has put more than $12 million in the last two or three years so it's an exciting day for us."
The alliance says JumpStart will do research on knowledge-based industries that might come to Macon.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.