Throughout this year’s New Hanover County budget cycle, conservative commissioners repeatedly suggested that The Endowment could pick up the county’s annual funding for nonprofits.
In interviews with WHQR, Republicans Dane Scalise and LeAnn Pierce both suggested The Endowment was better positioned to fund nonprofits, noting that that was the intended purpose of taking $1.3 billion from the sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center and creating a private foundation.
So, it was not a surprise to county staff — or The Endowment — that cutting this year’s nonprofit funding, or ending the non-county agency funding policy entirely, was on the table. A week before the party-line vote on the budget, the county sent The Endowment a $1.6 million grant application. That’s the amount of funding that has been approved by the Non-County Agency Funding Committee, which reviewed over $3 million in requests. The request was intended to essentially serve as a stop-gap, giving organizations a year to adapt to applying to The Endowment for funding instead of the county.
Amber Rogerson, The Endowment’s communication director, said they were prepared for the request and were able to turn it around quickly.
“The County’s formal application followed several months of public discussion by County leadership, so the application was anticipated. Once submitted, the timing aligned with fiscal year deadlines, and we moved quickly to prevent any disruption in funding for nonprofit organizations that provide vital community services,” Rogerson told WHQR.
But $396,907 in nonprofit funding was disrupted.
That’s because while the county requested Endowment funding to support those non-profit requests green-lit by the Non-County Agency Funding Committee, it didn’t include what’s known as “vendor status” funding.
These are organizations that were funded for at least three consecutive years through the non-county agency process; at that point, they were brought into a more direct funding agreement.
After those three years, “our Non-County Agency policy states we ask departments that are aligned with the organization's mission if they would like to fund the request through their department to ensure the service continues. If a department says yes, the organization is given a contract directly from that department (usually this is an annual agreement). If a department says no, the organization can continue to apply for Non-County Agency funding,” according to a county spokesperson.
While the funding is appropriated on an annual basis, and nonprofits still have to file reports, vendor status means the non-profits don’t have to go through the process of filing an annual grant application to the non-county agency committee and can apparently, in some cases, invoice the county throughout the year.
Several of the vendor-status nonprofits told WHQR this was essentially a “reward” for being a consistent partner across several years.
According to the county, the following vendor status contracts were cut as part of the upcoming fiscal year:
- Carousel Center - $50,000
- Coastal Horizons - $50,000
- Domestic Violence Shelter - $100,000
- Family Promise of the LCF - $50,000
- Good Shepherd Emergency Food Service - $33,600
- Good Shepherd Ministries - $33,600
- YWCA of the LCF, Inc. - $32,707
- Kids Making It - $47,000
The vendor contracts supported a range of services.
Good Shepherd executive director Katrina Knight said the funding supported a soup kitchen and shelter.
Elizabeth S. Redenabugh, VP for development and external affairs at Coastal Horizons, said the vendor contract provided funding for crisis intervention services, with $40,000 going to the Open House Youth Shelter and $10,000 going to the Rape Crisis Center.
“These funds help ensure 24/7 support for youth experiencing homelessness and survivors of sexual assault in our community,” Redenbaugh told WHQR.
Lauren Daley Bryant, executive director of the Domestic Violence Shelter and Services, Inc., said that the vendor contract had funded a victim advocate position, as well as $10,000 in transportation assistance for victims, and $40,000 that helped support three full-time positions and part-time shelter staff.
“Unfortunately, we are in trying times when we see critical need for support services for victims with less resources to assist,” Bryant told WHQR.
Most of the vendor-status organizations also received grant funding approved by the non-agency committee and supported by The Endowment, although all received less than they requested.
It’s not clear why the county didn’t include a request for the additional $400,000 in nonprofit support it provided through vendor contracts.
“Those eight items were not considered for sending to The Endowment as they were not part of Non-County Agency Funding,” a county spokesperson told WHQR in response to questions about vendor status funding.
These vendor contracts were part of departmental budgets — which faced 5% across-the-board cuts as part of this year’s budget. The majority of that came from payroll, but around a quarter came from other costs, including vendors.
