UR earns $12k grant for GRTC project

The University of Richmond recently earned a $12,000 grant from Virginia Humanities to help fund a multi-faceted project documenting the history of the Greater Richmond Transit Company.

The grant was one of six totaling $52,000 awarded for projects that highlight local stories from communities throughout Virginia.

“The stories of Virginia’s local communities, their histories, and their people are the heart of what makes our state a commonwealth,” said Virginia Humanities Executive Director Matthew Gibson. “These projects help put those stories into a statewide and national context. We’re honored to be able to support them.”

UR’s project documents GRTC through the lives and careers of its pioneering African American bus drivers, mechanics, and their families. The project includes oral history interviews, photo documentation, organization and digitization of GRTC’s archives and creation of three “site-specific” works of art based on the interviews and research.

Virginia Humanities has been working to revamp its flagship grants program that has served museums, historical societies, and other humanities nonprofits throughout Virginia since 1974. The regular January grant deadline was suspended while the rolling grants program continued to make smaller awards, including the six recently announced.

In May, Virginia Humanities will unveil changes to the grants program to streamline the application and reporting process, making it more accessible. To learn more about the program, visit VirginiaHumanities.org/grants.