The Golden LEAF Board of Directors has awarded a total of $10.5 million in funding to support job creation and economic investment, workforce preparedness, and agriculture projects. The Board awarded $8.76 million to support 14 projects through the Community-Based Grants Initiative in the Southwestern Prosperity Zone, $1.7 million to support five projects through the Open Grants Program, and two SITE Program – Identification projects.

“Today, the Golden LEAF Board awarded funding to projects that represent all three funding priorities of the foundation: job creation and economic investment, workforce preparedness, and agriculture,” said Golden LEAF Board Chair Ralph Strayhorn. “These projects will support the long-term economic advancement of rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities. We look forward to the impact these projects will make for years to come.”

The Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors awarded $8.76 million in funding for 14 projects through the Community-Based Grants Initiative in the Southwestern Prosperity Zone. These projects will support agriculture, job creation and economic investment, and workforce preparedness in Anson, Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Rowan, Stanly, and Union counties. 

“Through the Community-Based Grants Initiative, Golden LEAF works directly in one prosperity zone annually to identify projects with the greatest potential to have a significant impact,” said Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer Scott T. Hamilton. “This competitive process focuses on projects that invest in the building blocks of economic growth with the ultimate goal of moving the economic needle in a community.”

Through the Open Grants Program, the Golden LEAF Board awarded five projects totaling $1,718,860. These projects will support workforce preparedness, agriculture, and job creation and economic investment projects in Beaufort, Carteret, Columbus, Pasquotank, and Sampson counties.

• $297,860 to Carteret Community College – in partnership with Carteret County Public Schools, local businesses, MyFutureNC, and NCWorks – for staffing, travel, professional development, student stipends and transportation, educational expenses, supplies and consultation to create a pipeline from internship to apprenticeship.

• $166,000 to Elizabeth City Pasquotank Public Schools for technology, professional development, supplies and materials, and student credentialing to establish high school academies in which students will complete general high school requirements in a smaller learning community while participating in workforce preparedness in the areas of aviation, agriscience, and engineering.

• $350,000 to Harrells Christian Academy located in Sampson County – in partnership with the University of Mount Olive and Sampson Community College – to construct and equip an agricultural education facility that will provide hands-on training for students pursuing a career in animal science and agricultural mechanics to help fill high-demand local jobs.

• $405,000 to Beaufort County Community College for equipment, training, and instructional supplies and materials to expand its nursing programs to allow it to meets its capacity for its Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) and Practical Nursing (PN) programs to meet local industry demand and to address the shortage of qualified healthcare professionals.

• $500,000 to the City of Whiteville in Columbus County for building renovations for a publicly owned 17,000-square-foot facility to facilitate expansion of Provalus, a private company providing US-based outsourcing for companies seeking dependable, quality IT services.

The SITE Program offers resources to help communities identify potential sites for economic development, provides funding to complete due diligence on publicly controlled sites, and provides funding to extend public utilities to publicly controlled sites or to conduct clearing and grading of publicly owned sites. The three phases of the SITE Program are Identification, Due Diligence, and Development.

The SITE Program – Identification phase provides assistance to help a community identify potential industrial sites. The Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors awarded $30,000 in SITE Program – Identification phase funding to support projects in Lenoir and Vance counties.

Learn more at GoldenLEAF.org.

Source: Golden LEAF Foundation.