(December 2025) – The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC) recently awarded 63 grants totaling $126,566 to regional schools from the Learning Links grant program. The grants provide local public school teachers with funding to provide experiential or "hands-on" creative learning projects designed to make required coursework engaging and relevant for their students. This year’s grant cycle saw an increase in applicants and funds requested, and many applications referenced the impacts of Hurricane Helene on students and the teachers’ desire to create memorable experiences for them.
“In reflecting on the past ten years that I’ve spent teaching five different grade levels in elementary and middle school in Madison County, I’ve recognized the impact Learning Links grants have had on me as a teacher and on so many of my students,” said Joy Allen, 6th Grade Science Teacher at Madison Middle School. “The resources you helped provide have reached far beyond a single classroom or school year, they have helped students build confidence, curiosity, and a love of learning. Your support has made my job more enjoyable and more impactful.”
Learning Links offers mini grants up to $1,000 per teacher for public schools in Avery, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford and Swain counties. The goal is to increase students' enthusiasm for learning and school. The grants are funded through the Ben W. and Dixie Glenn Farthing Charitable Endowment, Cherokee County Schools Foundation Endowment Fund, Clyde and Mildred Wright Endowment Fund, Fund for Education, and Leon C. and Grace E. Luther Charitable Fund. The Dr. Robert J. and Kimberly S. Reynolds Fund and one anonymous fund also provided co-investment for the cycle.