"To help nudge new artist ideas and events forward, Charlotte Is Creative, publishers of The Biscuit, give local creatives $250 and $1,000 H.U.G. (Helpful Unfettered Gift) micro-grants. 

In addition to helping fund the grantees above, The Lending Tree Foundation provided the funds for a Bear H.U.G., a $1,000 grant given to a previous $250 H.U.G. recipient doing remarkable work in the Queen City creative community.

The February Bear H.U.G. recipient is Cassandra Richardson, founder of Lexicon Gallery, which opens in the next few weeks. Richardson will use her grant to purchase movable walls that double as storage and display space for her new gallery."