Route 66 Extraordinary Women Micro-Grants Awarded to Support Projects Across the Mother Road
The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership announced ten grant awards from its Extraordinary Women Micro-Grants Program earlier this month. Although no Oklahoma grants were awarded this round, it does include one of our Business Members in Missouri. The other funded projects provide details that could serve as inspiration for future grant rounds.
The 2024 round of the Micro-Grant program was completed in September, with $2,000 awards made to the following businesses:
Andrea Parson-Briley, Carterville, MO for Trolly Renovations and Route 66 Mural at Supertam on 66. The project seeks to provide extra seating for a small Route 66 Ice Cream Parlor and Superman Museum and add an outdoor mural to enhance the shop's exterior.
Tansu Philip, San Bernardino, CA for Viva La Boba – The Extra Ordinary Women Micro-Grant award will help Viva La Boba enhance the community's access to high quality coffee by purchasing a new espresso machine and address the challenge of high heat by installing outdoor misting equipment.
Carol Singer, Marshfield, MO for the Singer Auto Parts Employee Safety project. Grant award funds are earmarked to purchase rubber pads to cushion the concrete floor, decreasing employee fatigue and lowering chances of injury.
Shawna Gentry, Victorville, CA for Emma Jean's Holland Burger Project. Her grant award will help repair the exterior façade, as well as restore and enhance the planters that frame the building’s entrance.
Karla Claus, Newberry Springs, CA for her Enjoy Route 66 Tours enhancement project. Claus plans to increase the profile of this tour business through new signage and providing folding chairs and a pop-up tent for customers.
Rotchana & Tami Sussman, Arcadia, CA for the White Springs Cafe Website redesign. Mother and daughter will update the online presence of their small Route 66 family restaurant.
Angela Kirkman, Santa Fe, NM for the 1st Sunday Market at Tumbleroot Brewing LLC. – This Grant award project works to support and expand this outdoor market on Route 66 by investing in marketing and promotion materials and adding music and entertainment to the market.
Nayomie Mendoza, Los Angeles, CA for a renovation project at Cuernavaca's Grill. This Route 66 Extra Ordinary Women Grant will assist in the purchase of new exterior signage and a new grill for the kitchen of this second-generation restaurant.
Meghan Matinez, Albuquerque, NM for Manuel's Food Market. Matinez plans to reconstruct the façade of this historic Route 66 store and upgrade its signage.
Lucy Haro, Los Angeles, CA for the Qusqo Bakery Community Visibility & Accessibility Project. Outdoor signage will be enhanced by improved lighting and increased ADA accessibility at this neighborhood bakery.
The Route 66 Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant Program is funded in part by a grant from the Preserve Route 66 Grant Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In addition to direct fundraising efforts undertaken by the Road Ahead, the public may make direct donations to the Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant Program online at https://100extraordinarywomen.com/route-66- extraordinary-women-initiative/.
The Route 66 Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant Program provides critical and flexible funding to businesses and attractions located along Route 66 that are majority women-owned or operated. The Grant Program is one in a series of “birthday gifts” to be given to Route 66 in the years leading up to the historic road’s one-hundredth birthday in 2026.
Established in 2016, with the support of the National Park Service and the World Monuments' Fund, The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership’s mission is to revitalize and sustain Route 66 as a national and international icon through partnerships focused on promotion, preservation, research and education, and economic development.
