Reach Out and Read Carolinas was awarded $19,500 to support a children's literacy program that works with local pediatrician offices and clinics across WNC to provide books to low-income families to promote reading and education. Photo courtesy of Reach Out and Read.
(November 2020) CFWNC recently approved grants totaling $1,487,503 to nonprofits across the region. The awards were made in CFWNC’s Early Childhood Development and People in Need focus areas.
Seventy-four grants totaling $1,337,503 were awarded to nonprofits serving economically-disadvantaged populations across the Foundation’s 18-county service area. CFWNC fundholders and donors contributed $721,441, or 54% of the total, to the People in Need grants and include: Dr. Ben Bailey Fund to Feed Hungry Children, Consuelo's Fund, Brown Family Fund, Travis and Jenny Boyer Fund, Connestee Falls Endowment Fund, Craig Family Foundation Fund, Delphinium Fund, Dogwood Charitable Endowment Fund, Rick and Bridget Eckerd Charitable Fund, Samuel and William Elmore Fund for Mental Wellness, Fidel Duke Fund, John and Janet Garrett Charitable Fund, Yeager-Cole Fund, Charles F. Hamrick and Marguerite D. Hamrick Charitable Fund, Henri Landwirth Family Endowed Fund, Matthew Terrence Lee One Love Fund, Carol Waggle Oliver Fund, Peterson Endowment Fund, Walnut Fund, Reichman Family Charitable Fund, Dr. Robert J. and Kimberly S. Reynolds Fund, Wasson - Stowe Charitable Fund, and seven anonymous funds.
Over time, several private foundations have chosen to partner with CFWNC to support projects in Western North Carolina. The Glass Foundation, Klunk Family Foundation, Lipscomb Family Foundation, Sutherland Foundation and The Leon Levine Foundation provided generous support to these grants.
“It is difficult to overstate what this level of co-investment and support from other funders means to CFWNC,” said President Elizabeth Brazas. “In this year, especially, needs are immense and the requests to help with the People in Need cycle came on the heels of these fundholders and friends supporting our pandemic response efforts. Nonprofits need our support more than ever as they continue their essential work. We are very pleased to acknowledge a $100,000 grant from The Leon Levine Foundation that significantly extends what we can do with our discretionary dollars. We are grateful to our partners for their trust and investment in this work.”
An Early Childhood Development grant of $150,000 was awarded to the Southwestern Child Development Commission Nurse Family Partnership to support the program over three years. Southwestern Nurse Family Partnership has a graduation rate of 82% compared to 57% for North Carolina and 53% for the nation. It serves low-income first time mothers in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and currently has 90 participants enrolled. Clients enter the program before 28 weeks of pregnancy and are visited until their toddler is 2 years of age. The Partnership provides intense support to clients at all stages of the program and including ongoing education about nutrition, health care and the need to avoid practices such as smoking, illicit drug use and alcohol use during and after pregnancy. Clients are encouraged to finish school, if applicable, and to seek employment in order to become self-sufficient. The Charles F. Hamrick and Marguerite D. Hamrick Charitable Fund, Dogwood Charitable Endowment Fund, Dr. Robert J. and Kimberly S. Reynolds Fund and two anonymous funds co-invested to support this grant.