Late last year, The Endowment announced it was contracting with UNC-Chapel Hill for a ‘landscape analysis’ to evaluate opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship in New Hanover County. That project is now on hold, according to The Endowment.
Endowment spokesperson Amber Rogerson wrote in an email that, “Due to timing considerations, there is no agreement with UNC Chapel Hill or any other potential research partner for a comprehensive assessment of the entrepreneurship and innovation landscape in New Hanover County, currently,” adding, “While The Endowment initially intended to proceed immediately with an assessment by UNC-Chapel Hill, the number of assessments already underway requires us to prioritize resources accordingly. We look forward to revisiting the timing and scope of this work later this spring or summer.”
It appears the assessment would have been conducted by Innovate Carolina, an economic development initiative at UNC-Chapel Hill. Sheryl Waddell, director of innovation hubs and engagement for Innovate Carolina, sent a statement through a UNC-CH spokesperson, confirming the contract was on hold but left the door open to pursue it in the future.
“As we worked through contract negotiations with The Endowment in New Hanover County, we identified a misalignment in both timing and overall project readiness. Given the strong potential we see in the project and in New Hanover County, Innovate Carolina wanted to ensure it was set up for complete success. With that in mind, we decided it would be in everyone’s best interest not to move forward at this time, but we may revisit again in the future,” Waddell wrote.
A peek at the process
Because UNC Chapel Hill is a public entity, unlike other consulting and research firms The Endowment has worked with, the landscape analysis would have provided a rare glimpse into how the $1.7-billion foundation does business, including how much it pays for contractual services.
For example, in December of last year, The Endowment announced that NC Child, a nonprofit child advocacy group, would be completing an assessment of early childhood systems. WHQR asked how much they were paying for that analysis, but The Endowment declined to provide finanical details.
At the time, Rogerson wrote in an email, “As a practice, out of respect for our vendors and partners, and to protect The Endowment and the community we serve, we don’t share vendor payment details. Doing so could distort future pricing or prompt competitive adjustments from other vendors, which could impact our ability to secure fair and independent bids.”
The Endowment’s December announcement also included an agreement with UNC-Chapel Hill to “examine New Hanover County’s entrepreneurial system,” and the project would “map existing programs, support organizations, and networks, and would identify gaps, analyze workforce and business trends, and highlight regional strengths.”
Government entities are subject to public records laws and typically have to share with the community the contracts they enter into with vendors, creating transparency about how funds are spent. While The Endowment is funded by public money, it was deliberately structured to avoid the laws requiring transparency around public records, including contract payments.
However, the announced contract with UNC-Chapel Hill would have been public, at least from the university’s side. So, after The Endowment declined to provide details about the NC Child contract payment, WHQR requested the contract from UNC on December 10.
Despite The Endowment announcing the agreement, UNC did not have a record of it, but said they would keep the request open until they received it.
In January, WHQR also requested email communications between The Endowment staff and board leaders and UNC-Chapel Hill from May 2025 until January 2026; the university responded about a month later, saying there were no records available, so it appears the agreement was largely decided without a paper trail. Around this time, WHQR went back to The Endowment to ask when they expected the UNC contract to be finished.
Rogerson wrote at the end of February, “We anticipate being under contract this month. I’m happy to follow up once it is finalized.” WHQR followed up again in mid-March, and she responded, “This is still in process, but I’ll circle back as soon as I have an update.”
In early April, UNC-Chapel Hill closed public records requests for emails, writing, “The information that follows is being provided to you in accordance with the North Carolina Public Records Act. There is no agreement with The Endowment and no future engagement is planned. This request has been fully processed and is closed.”
Endowment analyses moving forward
Rogerson wrote in an email that while the entrepreneurial landscape analysis is not moving forward at this time, the Early Childhood Systems Landscape with NC Child is.
“Findings will be shared publicly, and a report will be published on The Endowment’s website once complete,” Rogerson added. They wrote that the analysis would take place from January through May.
Other assessments The Endowment is still pursuing are the Behavioral Health Landscape Analysis and the Comprehensive Assessment of Recreational Opportunities.
[Note: You can view The Endowment’s information on these landscape studies at the end of this report.]
The behavioral health study is being conducted by the Mosaic Group, and according to the Endowment’s website, it was completed in March; however, the findings have not yet been published. The parks and recreation study is slated to be completed by October by a private consulting firm, Weston & Sampson. Contractual details, including payments, will not be made public.
WHQR requested an interview with The Endowment to discuss specifics surrounding the pause for the UNC entrepreneurial study and the status of the other landscape analyses. The Endowment sent written statements instead.
