The New Hanover Community Endowment is announcing over $53 million in grants, around $25 million for the upcoming year alone.
All told, the Endowment received 211 grant applications, totaling $336 million in requests. More than half — 136 requests — were for so-called “responsive” grants, one-year, project-based grants. The other 85 requests were for “strategic” grants — these are larger, multi-year grants that, as Endowment CEO William Buster has said, take “big swings” at systemic issues.
Note: The Endowment will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, December 19, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Harrelson Center to discuss this year's grant round.
As with last year’s grant cycle, the Endowment’s board was heavily involved in the process, according to Chairman Bill Cameron.
“This board has spent hundreds of hours collectively working on grant applications, in conjunction with our staff. It was a collaborative effort. You know, the board feels a sense of duty and responsibility. And this is the first time we've granted dollars of this significance. And so I think we're learning the playbook as we go. And I think that gave a sense of need on the board's part to be more active than maybe we will be in the future. But given the dollar amounts this year, members of the board – and some more than others – volunteered to review [grant applications]. I mean, they spent literally collectively hundreds of hours,” Cameron told WHQR.
Cameron said he and the board felt good about the end result, in particular the largest of this year’s grants: a three-year, $22 million grant to help recruit, train, and retain healthcare professionals in New Hanover County.
“Cape Fear Community College, New Hanover County Schools, the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s College of Health and Human Services and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce are partnering to revolutionize the health care talent landscape by prioritizing the recruitment, training, and retention of skilled professionals in New Hanover County,” according to the Endowment.
Roughly $10 million will go to UNCW and Cape Fear Community College, with $1.6 million going to New Hanover County Schools. According to officials, the grant will provide for facilities, equipment, hiring, and more.
The grant also provides $250,000 the the Great Wilmington Chamber Foundation. Asked about what the Chamber of Commerce’s involvement was, Cameron said their role was to help coordinate between the three major educational institutions.
The grant is the most significant dispersal the Endowment has given to date. WHQR asked Cameron why the Endowment picked this grant, and why it prioritized government agencies that already have significant, consistent funding — at least relatively speaking when compared to the region’s non-governmental nonprofits.
“I would say need and capacity both play a role in that there is such a large need, and it's a known need. And capacity is a big thing, because we feel these players have the ability — with our help — to really do something, and certainly go a long way to try to help remove the [healthcare worker] shortage that we have over time,” Cameron said.
The grant aims to help reduce the shortage of nurses, nurses’ assistants, and other critical healthcare workers — a nationwide issue. But the grant, like all of the Endowment’s work, is targeted specifically in New Hanover County — aiming not just to train but to keep healthcare workers in the county.
That will no doubt benefit Novant Health, whose New Hanover Regional Medical Center was nearly crippled by a nursing shortage last year.
Asked if Novant could or should have a seat at the table — and some “skin in the game” — for the healthcare worker pipeline, Cameron said he wasn’t personally aware of what, if any, involvement the non-profit healthcare company had it the project.
“You’re right. Novant will benefit from this, without a question. But that’s not the point. The point is that patients benefit. That is the point,” Cameron said.
Update: On Monday morning, Novant announced a $10 million investment in the pipeline project at a Wilmington Chamber of Commerce press conference. Novant NHRMC Chief Nursing Officer Amy Akers said $5 million would go to scholarships over the first five years; additional funding would also go to expanding training and mentoring capacity.
Housing: No grants this cycle, but hopefully soon
One of the top issues in New Hanover County is housing — as reflected in recent county and municipal elections, and the Endowment’s selection of housing as one of its key strategic grant opportunities for this grant cycle.
But the Endowment didn’t fund any major housing-related grants this year.
According to Cameron, numerous applicants in the ‘affordable housing space’ came to the Endowment. But they came “individually, not collectively or collaboratively,” which is something the Endowment has been emphasizing — and according to Cameron what made the healthcare pipeline grant so appealing to the board.
Cameron said the board had put housing-focused organizations in meetings “to put together a collaborative plan, a cooperative plan, and an overall strategic plan that we can then use Endowment resources to help support.” The first of these meetings had already taken place, with another scheduled for Monday, December 18.
Cameron said that the Endowment is working towards a more fluid grant distribution model, instead of waiting for annual dispersals at the end of the calendar year. That could include a housing grant, too.
“It is a big priority for us. And we would love to see something come together in early [20]24, if possible, that we could get a hold of and support,” he said.
For many experts, housing, broadly construed, also includes addressing homelessness. Cameron said he could only speak for himself on that point, but that he considered the issue of housing to include everything from overall housing stock, to workforce housing, to subsidized and permanent supportive housing for low-income and homeless residents. Kevin Maurer, the Endowment’s communications director, confirmed Monday’s meeting was designed to tackle homelessness as part of a broader approach to the complex issue of housing.
Capacity and need: Other major grants
The Endowment made several other multi-million-dollar grants, focusing largely on supporting education and childcare for the region’s children. Many of the organizations, Cameron said, were selected because the Endowment board could identify a need and find an organization that had the capacity to deliver.
For example, a $3.3 million grant to GLOW Academy and Spark Academy will support efforts to retain staff, provide financial aid for families in need, and for capital expenditures.
It’s worth noting that GLOW Academy, founded by Judy Girard, former head of The Food Network and HGTV, has significant fundraising ability. Several nationally renowned culinary figures — including Rachel Ray, Emerill Lagassé, and Giada De Laurentiis — have helped the school fundraise.
WHQR asked Cameron if that was a factor in deciding to deliver a significant grant.
“This is one where I better speak for myself and not for the board. I think anytime an organization has that capacity to raise — it comes into play. But I also think it shows that they do have capacity to do big things. And we can be a player and leverage what they can do elsewhere. And leverage is a wonderful thing. So when we can leverage our dollars, with other dollars that they can get outside of the marketplace, that's even better. And again, I think that goes to an organization that has shown capacity, shown success, shown they can take dollars and put them to really good use and come up with good results. And I think that's important,” Cameron said.
[Editor's note: On Tuesday afternoon, December 19, the Endowment issued a correction, noting that only Spark Academy, was receiving funds, not Spark and GLOW, as the Endowment initially announced. However, Beacon Education, the nonprofit foundation that supports both GLOW and Spark, benefits from the celebrity fundraising WHQR discussed with Cameron.]
The Endowment made several other larger, multi-year grants as well.
A $3.2 million grant to Communities In Schools will help continue the Freedom School summer literacy program for three years, help CIS expand in general, and support efforts to bring Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) to New Hanover County; the FSCS model combines education with a host of other wrap-around services, including workforce development, mental health and medical clinics, and other social programs.
A $2.8 million grant to YWCA of the Lower Cape Fear will help provide affordable childcare and expand the organization's programming. Another $4 million will go to the YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina to serve more preschool and elementary-aged children. $1.6 million will go to the Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern North Carolina to help provide mentorship to children, as well as to improve facilities.
The Endowment also granted $2 million to MedNorth Health Center and $1.2 to Cape Fear Clinic to help provide healthcare services.
Separate from the healthcare pipeline grant, the Cape Fear Community College Foundation received $5.5 million to “broaden its impact on high school students by discovering and connecting with individuals interested in advanced manufacturing and other industry sectors.”
Community Justice Center
The Endowment is funding one new organization — with a $5 million grant creating a Community Justice Center (CJC), housed at the Harrelson Center and overseen by the District Attorney’s office ($3.4 million will go to the DA’s office, $1.6 will go to the Harrelson center).
“The CJC’s multidisciplinary team of approximately two dozen professionals will include prosecutors, law enforcement, and direct service providers who will work to solve, prove, and prevent crime; support victims in achieving safety, stability, and self-sufficiency; provide mental health services and rehabilitation to reduce recidivism and improve community safety. The CJC will be open 24 hours a day,” according to the Endowment.
According to Cameron, District Attorney Ben David personally convinced the Endowment to support the project. And, while David has announced he will leave office next September, Cameron said David has committed to the center’s success. David confirmed to WHQR he would be focused on it.
Arts and culture grants
New Hanover County has many arts and cultural nonprofits. Many see themselves as being important drivers of the region’s economy — art galleries, theaters, film festivals — while others see themselves as providing cultural and artistic education, or addressing social issues in a variety of ways. Many of them made grant applications under the Endowment's four broad categories: education, social and health equity, community safety, and community development.
But, this year, the Endowment did not provide funding for this type of nonprofit. WHQR asked Cameron if there would be a space for them in future Endowment grant rounds.
“Speaking for the board, I can say the board worked very hard on our strategic plan. And we have pillars within that strategic plan. And we're gonna stick to working on that strategic plan. So that's speaking for the board. Now, I'll speak for me personally – do I think there are places for serving the arts and the cultural things that fit in under some of the pillars of our strategic plan? And I would say yes, personally,” Cameron said.
Responsive grants
Last year, the Endowment made over 100 responsive grants totaling roughly $9 million. This year, it made 14 responsive grants totaling $1.4 million.
“And so you get on those bold transformational projects, it limits what we can do, we didn't have $9 million just spread to the responsive grants this year,” Cameron said.
Asked if the Endowment had “gone as far as it could, financially” this year, Cameron acknowledged it was a balancing act based on what the board could do without dipping into Endowment’s principal (something the board authorized itself to do this year by changing its bylaws).
But the Endowment isn’t phasing out the smaller, project-based grants completely. Cameron said this year’s responsive grant giving was based on conversations with BlackRock — the Endowment’s financial advisor — board members and staff.
“I think it's a very responsible amount of money,” Cameron said, adding “And I would expect it to grow over time.”
Below: A complete list of the strategic and responsive grants as provided by the Endowment.
Full list of strategic grants:
Health Care Talent Collaboration
Cape Fear Community College, New Hanover County Schools, the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s College of Health and Human Services and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce are partnering to revolutionize the health care talent landscape by prioritizing the recruitment, training, and retention of skilled professionals in New Hanover County.
- University of North Carolina at Wilmington - $10,253,500.00
- Cape Fear Community College Foundation - $10,153,633.00
- New Hanover County Schools - $1,680,000.00
- Greater Wilmington Chamber Foundation - $250,000.00
Communities In Schools (CIS) of Cape Fear - $3,226,419.00
This grant supports CIS to continue Freedom School – a summer literacy program – the next three years, helps CIS expand into six additional school sites, and supports the effort to bring the Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) model to New Hanover County. The FSCS model will provide students and their families access to evidence-based health and social services, including afterschool and summer programs, workforce/job skill development, medical clinics, mental health professionals and more.
YWCA of the Lower Cape Fear - $2,804,811.00
This grant supports increased access to families by providing affordable childcare, delivering a wide range of wrap-around services for children, transforming the lives of parents and children through the innovative Parents As Teachers model, empowering women and mothers to make informed financial decisions, and ultimately, contribute to building a stronger community by laying a solid foundation for our children and families. The expansion of programming and operational improvements is a response to the increasing demand for high-quality early childhood education and support services in our community.
SmartStart of New Hanover County - $658,596.60
This grant supports two family strengthening programs, Circle of Parents, a peer support group, and Kaleidoscope Play & Learn groups. Both are designed to help parents and other child caregivers to become better equipped to support their children’s early learning and development.
Spark Academy - $3,305,000.00
This grant supports compensation to retain skilled staff, office expenses to manage administrative tasks, occupancy costs to maintain a safe and conducive learning environment, and capital expenditures for building repair, equipment maintenance, and capital reserve. Additionally, a significant portion of the budget is allocated to subsidize financial aid for families in need and to invest in professional development staff training to enhance the quality of education provided.
Editor's note: The Endowment initially announced that the grant would be shared by GLOW Academy and Spark Academy; both are supported by the same nonprofit foundation, Beacon Education.
Union Missionary Baptist Church (UMBC) - $450,000.00
This grant supports UMBC’s After-School Program which is a Monday through Friday program that provides transportation from several area schools and is open until 10 p.m. allowing working families to maintain employment schedules. Funds will go toward the purchase of additional vans to transport students, playground equipment, computer equipment, staff, and additional training and professional development for educators.
MedNorth Health Center - $2,000,000.00
This grant supports the expansion of MedNorth Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center providing primary care services since 1998, from 16,557 square feet to approximately 46,269 square feet without compromising operations. The expansion increases access to care by hiring more providers/staff and expanding services. Current services are pediatrics, family medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, family planning, integrated behavioral health, dentistry, podiatry, care management, outreach services and onsite pharmacy.
Cape Fear Clinic - $1,200,000.00
This grant supports Cape Fear Clinic (CFC) providing healthcare services to clients/patients/members of The Healing Place, Good Shepherd Center, LINC, and A Safe Place. Treatment will occur at the other agencies' locations as well as enroll all eligible individuals as medical home patients at CFC, enabling them to receive care at our campus and get all required medications through its full-service pharmacy.
NourishNC - $450,000.00
This grant supports NourishNC’s free mobile grocery truck called the Mobile MoM that serves food insecure children in their neighborhoods, pediatric offices, schools, and at other nonprofits. The Mobile MoM includes nonperishables, produce, dairy, eggs, bread, and frozen items. It will initially focus on feeding children in food deserts, high-need neighborhoods, Title 1 schools, CEP schools, and in hot spots identified by NourishNC’s partner network and data science. Later, NourishNC will anchor the Mobile MoM at a New Hanover County Pre-K school for at least one year to end food insecurity at the school, and as a proof of concept to replicate at other schools.
Cape Fear Community College Foundation - $5,500,000.00
This grant supports Cape Fear Community College Foundation’s (CFCC) aims to broaden its impact on high school students by discovering and connecting with individuals interested in advanced manufacturing and other industry sectors. The goal is to provide students with post-secondary education, career pathways, and apprenticeship opportunities. Participation in these programs can pave the way to secure local employment in high-demand fields with competitive wages.
YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina - $4,000,000.00
This grant supports the YMCA’s expansion of its Midtown YMCA into a full-service facility to serve more preschool and elementary-aged students through childcare, swimming, and sports, and to offer additional exercise opportunities for youth and adults.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern North Carolina - $1,653,200.00
This grant supports the unified Club’s continued growth with a commitment to providing quality out-of-school programming in a safe, supportive environment with positive adult mentors. A secondary focus is on Youth of the Year and workforce development programs aimed at developing college and workforce readiness skills. A portion of the budget will support acquisition of transportation equipment and other capital improvements to include safety, refurbishment of ballfields and playgrounds, and a computer lab.
DREAMS Center for Arts Education - $795,774.00
This grant supports DREAMS efforts to continue providing high-quality programming at our center and to expand our outreach, serving an even greater number of our community’s most high-needs youth. The grant will expand DREAMS visual arts apprenticeship program.
El Cuerpo/Christ Community Church - $200,000.00
The grant supports El Cuerpo’s comprehensive, long-term approach to expand and replicate the current tutoring model to serve additional schools. Over the next two years, the program will grow to include K-8th grade students, as well as continue to mentor future educators by providing guided teaching opportunities. Next year, El Cuerpo is preparing to replicate its existing model at an additional location.
Community Justice Center
The grant supports the creation of a Community Justice Center (CJC), which will be housed at the Harrelson Center, that will end the generational cycle of violence through early intervention, education, and prevention. The CJC’s multidisciplinary team of approximately two dozen professionals will include prosecutors, law enforcement, and direct service providers who will work to solve, prove, and prevent crime; support victims in achieving safety, stability, and self-sufficiency; provide mental health services and rehabilitation to reduce recidivism and improve community safety. The CJC will be open 24 hours a day.
- New Hanover County District Attorney's Office - $3,439,066.00
- Jo Ann Carter Harrelson Center Inc - $1,578,830.00
Full list of Responsive grants
American Red Cross - $38,000.00
This grant funding will allow American Red Cross of the Cape Fear Area of North Carolina to purchase a new community emergency vehicle to replace an older one in Wilmington. The new vehicle will be used to transport staff, volunteers, and equipment to and from mobile blood drives, bring collected blood to processing centers, test blood and deliver safe blood to patients in need.
Blue Ribbon Commission Prevention of Youth Violence dba Voyage - $112,200.00
This grant funding will allow Voyage to continue and expand programming focused on improving behavioral and educational outcomes, closing the achievement gap, providing wrap-around services, and implementing innovative techniques to support public K-8 education. This grant will provide support for Voyage’s existing after-school programming as well as allow for a pilot expansion of the program to one additional elementary school, Snipes Academy.
Cape Fear Literacy Council - $46,000
This grant funding will allow Cape Fear Literacy Council to hire a consultant to facilitate organizational design and change management. It will also support payroll expenses, the pilot of a professional development workshop series and some facility repairs.
Elderhaus - $75,000.00
This grant funding will allow Elderhaus to continue operating as the only Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) in New Hanover County. This program features a comprehensive service delivery system and integrated Medicare and Medicaid financing. Elderhaus will purchase equipment/a vehicle and provide professional development for their CNA staff and support additional overhead expenses.
Lower Cape Fear Hospice, Inc. D/b/a Lower Cape Fear LifeCare - $50,000.00
This grant funding will allow Lower Cape Fear LifeCare (LCFLC) to perform numerous maintenance and improvement projects at their Wilmington Inpatient Care Center to preserve and maintain LCFLC’s high standards of quality patient care, visitor safety, and comfort and solace for families.
St Jude’s Metropolitan Community Church - $40,000.00
This grant funding will allow St. Jude’s to provide for the needs of those experiencing hunger, food insecurity, and lack of permanent housing through the Community Food Pantry, Lunches for the Homeless, and Breakfast and Showers programs. Through collaboration with other public and private organizations, St. Jude’s will also provide more support to individuals in each of the programs to add services to help people move away from dependency on aid to self-sufficiency.
The University of North Carolina at Wilmington - $87,000.00
This grant funding will allow UNCW’s MI CASA Mentoring Program to expand the diversity of tour locations throughout the state to focus on HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions. It will also provide laptops to program mentees to close technology gaps, secure spots in the Young Writers Camp, and organize a Transition Orientation Day and provide guidance for the first 30 days of higher education for MI CASA graduates attending college/university in the Fall 2024.
YWCA of the Lower Cape Fear Inc - $200,000.00
This grant funding will allow the YWCA to continue operating as one of three year-round aquatics centers available to the public in New Hanover County. The grant will allow the YWCA to replace the equipment needed to convert their outdoor pool into an indoor facility, so they are able to continue operating for public use, teaching 2nd graders how to swim, and serving as the home for the New Hanover County School’s Swim Team. Point of Contact:
Northside Food Cooperative - $249,715.00
This grant funding will allow the Northside Food Cooperative to continue community engagement. The grant will fund the expansion of Frankie’s Outdoor Market and Northside Community Dinners while also building staff capacity through wage support.
Kids Making It, Inc. - $103,420.00
This grant funding will allow Kids Making It to increase capacity and program reach. The grant will fund a new 15-passenger van, additional programming staff, security cameras and software, carport for additional external programming space, privacy fence, and new mailbox.
Eden Village of Wilmington - $55,000.00
This grant funding will allow Eden Village to procure and operate a generator for residents with limited income to provide greater economic stability. The generator provides greater food security for the residents.
Child Development Center Inc - $65,500.00
This grant funding will allow the Child Development Center to support scholarships/tuition assistance for families for the summer program that runs 8 weeks and operates 5 days a week. This program provides a much-needed safe space for young learners of different abilities to continue their care in an inclusive setting designed to meet their needs.
Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc. - $100,000.00
This grant funding will allow Legal Aid’s Wilmington office to fund Second Chance Wilmington, a criminal record expungement program and to expand to into driver's license restoration and supporting services navigation.
Seeds of Healing Inc - $140,267.00
This grant funding will allow Seeds of Healing to expand the capacity of peer educators to engage clients with self-care, expanding program space for in-person services, and enabling proficient data collection, analysis, and dissemination of programmatic outcomes that measure impact and program milestones. This is an innovative and culturally sensitive program that meets individuals where they are to address HIV and they are the only program in New Hanover County doing this with a peer support network. The grant will support overhead costs to bring volunteers into staff roles and further leveraging peer support work.
[Disclosure notice: WHQR applied for a responsive grant but did not receive one. The Endowment's decision not influence editorial decisions by WHQR's newsroom.]
