(May 2018) – Fifteen grants totaling $90,905 were recently awarded to nonprofits by the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Valley Endowment Fund, the Buckner Family Endowment Fund and the Forbes Fund for Black Mountain-Swannanoa Valley. With these grants, the Fund has made 110 grants totaling $930,440 since 1999.
Recent grants include:
Black Mountain Center for the Arts - $3,000 for facility exterior lighting to improve building visibility and security.
Bounty & Soul - $10,000 to provide health and wellness education and resources to youth in Black Mountain/Swannanoa Valley.
Christmount Christian Assembly/Camp Lakey Gap - $7,000 to purchase sensory play equipment for a renovated playground used by children of all abilities.
Friends of Buncombe Libraries/Friends of Black Mountain Library - $3,000 to install ceiling-mounted projector and sound system.
Meals on Wheels of Asheville and Buncombe County - $10,000 to purchase wholesale food for 35 homebound seniors.
Mountain Area Health Education Center, Inc. - $2,100 to purchase a pulmonary function test machine for the Swannanoa health center.
NC MedAssist - $5,000 to purchase lifesaving prescription medications for the uninsured in Black Mountain and Swannanoa Valley.
North Carolina Outward Bound School - $5,000 to support a comprehensive experiential education program at Charles D. Owen High School.
Serpent Child Productions - $4,000 to help fund a documentary film, Blanket Town: The Rise and Fall of An American Mill Town, about the Beacon Blanket Mill and its employees.
Special Olympics North Carolina - $2,500 to develop and grow its local program.
Swannanoa Community Council - $5,000 to support the construction of a permanent covered performance pavilion in Grovemont Park.
Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry - $10,000 to help low-income people perform necessary home maintenance.
Swannanoa Valley Museum - $6,805 to purchase museum quality, locking exhibit cases.
United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County - $10,000 to support its Middle School Success initiative at Charles D. Owen Middle School.
Western North Carolina Lions/Marjorie McCune Memorial Center - $7,500 to provide medical care for veterans and blind, elderly and disabled people in the Black Mountain/Swannanoa Valley community.
"The Black Mountain-Swannanoa Valley Endowment Fund is pleased to award these grants to a diverse group of nonprofits addressing the needs of Swannanoa Valley residents," said Advisory Board Chair Chip Craig. "We are very grateful to our friends and neighbors who have helped support the Fund so that local dollars can support local needs."
With goals to inspire philanthropy and to strengthen charitable organizations in the Swannanoa Valley, the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Valley Endowment Fund was established in 1999 by a group of local residents. The Fund grows through tax-deductible contributions. To make a gift, donate online or by mail to the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Valley Endowment Fund, c/o CFWNC, 4 Vanderbilt Park Drive, Suite 300, Asheville, NC 28803. Checks should be made out to CFWNC, noting Black Mountain-Swannanoa Valley Endowment Fund in the memo line. Contributions of any size are welcome and will enable the Fund to support more programs with local dollars.
The local, volunteer Advisory Board works to raise awareness of the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Valley Endowment Fund and to build assets for the future. Advisory Board members are: Kannah Begley, John Buckner, John Corkran, Chip Craig, Barbara Griffin, Carol Groben, Roger Hibbard, Margaret Hurt, Bill McGee, Scott Roy, Mark Siler, Joseph Standaert, Lori Turley and Betsy Warren.
The Black Mountain-Swannanoa Valley Endowment Fund offers grants of $2,500 to $10,000 for innovative projects and programs in the Swannanoa Valley, including programmatic needs, equipment and technology and capital needs.