Three organizations in Marengo County received four grants totaling $8,550 from the Black Belt Community Foundation Saturday.

The BBCF distributed $200,000, divided evenly between 47 community and 45 arts grants, to groups in the 12-county area it serves in ceremonies held at Wallace Community College in Selma.

Jefferson Community School Center received two grants. The first, for $2,550, will support a beautification project of its building, and the second, for $2,000, will help pay for the charter of a bus and tickets for children to visit historic sites.

The Demopolis Music Study Club will use the $2,000 it received to help sponsor its 100th anniversary gala Oct. 2 at Demopolis High School.

The event, which will be open to the public, will feature a spectrum of music from the early decades of the 20th century.

With the $2,000 it received, the Friends of Gaineswood will host an educational program for students in grades 4-6 studying Alabama history. Multiple activity stations will demonstrate traditional arts and crafts.

The BBCF received 216 applications for grants in this, its 10th motto “Taking what we have to make what we need,” the Foundation strives to provide a stream of giving to benefit the people of the Black Belt.