STATE COLLEGE — 3 Dots Downtown’s monthly Awesome Grants have supported a myriad of arts and culture experiences in Centre County since 2018, to date giving $65,000 in direct community impact.

3 Dots is a local nonprofit art gallery and community event center in downtown State College. The organization also constitutes our local chapter of the Awesome Foundation, an international network of autonomous chapters of philanthropists that provide small grants for projects to “people devoted to forwarding the interest of awesomeness in the universe.” Every month, 3 Dots’ low-barrier grant application is open through the Awesome Foundation website.

“This program is a fun way to support creative and community building endeavors,” says 3 Dots Trustee Zoe Boniface. “The best job I ever could think of is giving money away.”

Last quarter, the grants funded a new piece of public art and two festivals in Centre County, showcasing our region’s cultural and artistic diversity. July’s grant recipient was Joe Beddall, who is creating an outdoor sculpture for the Bellefonte Art Museum’s fountain area. The piece references the museum’s place in history as a stop on The Underground Railroad, with “conductors” communicating with their travelers through a secret code by hanging quilts at strategic locations to direct them to safe houses and supplies. The North Star pattern is taken up in the sculpture, which culminates in a mesmerizing, illusory suspension of three painted fiberglass screens in a stainless-steel structure.

In August, Happy Valley Latin Fest, organized in part by the new local nonprofit Latin Vibe, received the microgrant, and held its third annual, one-day festival in MLK Plaza earlier this month. The family-friendly fest brought together Latin music, food and art & crafts vendors showcasing the vibrancy and diversity of the Latinx/Hispanic culture in Central Pennsylvania.

September’s Awesome Grant winner is Soul Space for “Tonight, We Dance!”, a concert and Black joy expo. The funk-inspired performance and pop-up expo was held on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 3 Dots. Soul Space hopes to affirm the fullness of Black people’s humanity, particularly how Black people experience joy and affirm themselves as a people, beyond the notion of perpetual struggle and beyond Black History Month and Civil Rights remembrances. During the concert, audience members reflected on experiences and places of Black joy in State College through an interactive artwork and short video interview series. These artifacts will kick off State College’s inaugural Black Joy Archive, and will be submitted to the Racial Equity Advisory Commission & Penn State’s Blockson Collection of African-Americana and the African Diaspora for the knowledge of future generations.

“I love being able to be a part of a group of people who get to help amplify ideas and make a difference,” says Madison Rusnak, who works in Retail Banking at Kish and is the Kish Bank Trustee Representative for the 3 Dots grant program. “The impact it has on grant winners, especially those who are younger, gives hope that there are hope, options and ideas out there to support them.”

To apply for a $1,000 Awesome Grant, head to 3dotsdowntown.com/grants to learn more and get inspired by past winners. The deadline is the last Tuesday of each month.