CHARLESTON, S.C. --- The commission working to protect the culture of slave descendants along the Southeast coast says it can raise $150,000 to match federal money and get the program started.

The Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor was created to protect sites linked to the culture known as Geechee in Florida and Georgia and Gullah in the Carolinas.

The program has struggled to get going because of funding problems, and the initial money was delayed by arguments last year over the federal budget.

Commissioner Eulis Willis, the mayor of Navassa, N.C., said he was confident the panel could raise the money. As the mayor of the small town near Wilmington, he knows the importance of matching grants.

"From where I sit, an effort such as this is worthwhile. If we need to get some folks to come help us out, I think we should be able to do that," he said.

The commission has three years to develop a management plan to be eligible for money from a pool of almost $16 million that will be divided among 37 heritage areas nationwide.

"Even a little money gives credence to the program; it puts it on the map," said commission member Antoinette Jackson. "We have a lot of work ahead."