The SunTrust Foundation announced the winners of the 2019 Lighting the Way Awards, giving a total of $2.7 million in grants to 36 nonprofit organizations across the South and Midwest. The awards support the work of the organizations to build self-sufficient families and more financially confident communities through financial education, financial counseling, career readiness/workforce development and small business/entrepreneurship. Each nonprofit was awarded a $75,000 grant.

“Every one of these nonprofits has created impactful programs to support specific needs of their communities, and it is a privilege to recognize their efforts,” said Stan Little, president of the SunTrust Foundation. “The Lighting the Way Awards illustrate our commitment to Lighting the Way to Financial Well-Being in partnership with organizations that make a difference in the lives of those who need help the most.”

The SunTrust Foundation also is committed to helping nonprofits improve their organization’s financial well-being by providing workshops, case studies and training on organizational economic sustainability. Following the Lighting the Way Awards event, winners participated in collaborative sessions about using the power of storytelling to engage their stakeholders better and demonstrate their impact in the community. Speakers included Kate Atwood, founder and CEO, B.Essential, and founder, Kate’s Club; David Eidson, president and CEO of Coxe Curry & Associates; Lucy Hall, founder and CEO of Mary Hall Freedom House and Grant Millsaps, lead consultant, The Frontier Project.

This year’s Lighting the Way Awards recipients include:

Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, Inc. (Lake Worth, FL)

Arc Broward (Fort Lauderdale, FL)  

Brevard Rescue Mission, Inc. (Rockledge, FL)

Centro Hispano de East Tennessee (Knoxville, TN)

Cincinnati Works (Cincinnati, OH)

Communities In Schools of Georgia (Atlanta, GA)

CSRA Economic Opportunity Authority, Inc. (Augusta, GA)

Durham County Library Foundation (Durham, NC)

Family & Children’s Service (Nashville, TN)

Florida State College of Jacksonville Foundation (Jacksonville, FL)

GO Northwest Housing Resource Center (Baltimore, MD)

Goodwill Southeast Georgia (Savannah, GA)

Hampton Roads Community Action Program (HRCAP) (Newport News, VA)

Housing Opportunities Made Equal Of Virginia (Richmond, VA)

HumanKind (Lynchburg, VA)

Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship (Tallahassee, FL)

Metanoia Community Development Corporation (North Charleston, SC)

Metropolitan Ministries (Tampa, FL)

NeighborWorks Columbus (Columbus, GA)

NewTown Macon, Inc. (Macon, GA)

North Fulton Community Charities (Roswell, GA)

OAR Fairfax County (Fairfax, VA)

Osceola Council on Aging (Kissimmee, FL)

Reach Out First, Inc. dba StepUp Greensboro (Greensboro, NC)

RedZone Memphis, Inc. (Memphis, TN)

Soteria Community Development Corporation (Greenville, SC)

Start:ME Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)

Synapse (Tampa, FL)

Tidewater Community College Educational Foundation (Norfolk, VA)

The DEC Network (Dallas, TX)

The Entrepreneurial Development & Assistance Center at Morgan State University (Baltimore, MD)

The MetroHealth Foundation (Cleveland, OH)

The Women’s Business Center of Charlotte (Durham, NC)

The Women’s Resource (Houston, TX)

Trinity Community Ministries (Atlanta, GA)

Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Washington, DC)