ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., (April 3, 2025) – Today, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded a total of $4.5 million in funding to support job creation and economic investment projects, workforce preparedness projects, and scholarships. The Golden LEAF Board awarded $1.5 million to support three projects through the Open Grants Program and $113,250 to support one SITE Program project. The Golden LEAF Board also approved $3,000,000 in funding to the North Carolina Community College System for the Golden LEAF Community Colleges Scholarship.
Golden LEAF held its April Board meeting at East Carolina University’s (ECU) campus in Greenville. The Golden LEAF Board heard an update from ECU Chancellor Philip Rogers on current initiatives. The university also held its 10th annual Golden LEAF Scholars Reception, honoring Golden LEAF Scholars at ECU.
“The Board extends its sincere thanks to Chancellor Rogers and the staff at East Carolina University for their hospitality,” said Ralph Strayhorn, Golden LEAF Board Chair. “We were excited to hear from Golden LEAF Scholars about their future plans and from Golden LEAF Scholar Alumni on their successes in the rural workforce.”
The North Carolina Community College System was awarded $3 million by the Golden LEAF Board to support scholarships for students from rural and suburban counties to attend participating North Carolina community colleges. Curriculum students can receive up to $2,250 per year, and continuing education students can receive up to $1,850 per year. The Golden LEAF Foundation has awarded funds for scholarships to students attending North Carolina community colleges since 2000.
“The Golden LEAF Scholarship Program is a strategy to help strengthen the workforce in North Carolina,” said Scott T. Hamilton, Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer. “The scholarship equips students with the necessary talent, knowledge, and skill to meet the demands of local employers. This initiative not only supports individual scholars but ultimately contributes to the broader economic growth of communities across the state.”
In February, the Golden LEAF Board approved guidelines to support applications from local governmental and 501(c)(3) nonprofits through the Open Grants Program for funding for infrastructure necessary to support projects with workforce housing outcomes. The Golden LEAF Board recognized the need to increase the availability of workforce housing in rural areas. This outcome is part of the Foundation’s job creation and economic investment priority.
Today, the Golden LEAF Board awarded $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Goldsboro-Wayne, Inc. for infrastructure for Phase I of the McNair Heights Neighborhood that will include 31 new homes for approximately 122 residents. Funds will be used for infrastructure.
The Golden LEAF Board also awarded two workforce preparedness projects totaling $1,000,000.
- $500,000 to the College of the Albemarle in Pasquotank County for technology and equipment to support the expansion of multiple health sciences programs and the establishment of a new dental hygiene program.
- $500,000 to the Johnston Community College Foundation, Inc. for equipment to support the expansion of applied engineering, computer-integrated machining, and welding programs at Johnston Community College, which are relocating to the new Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Four Oaks.
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.
In the SITE Program – Due Diligence phase, the Golden LEAF Board awarded $113,250 to Greene County to support due diligence analyses on approximately 630 acres of farmland, which may include environmental assessments, a buildable area map, utilities mapping, and a title opinion.
Since 1999, Golden LEAF has funded 2,333 projects totaling $1.3 billion supporting the mission of advancing economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities.
About Golden LEAF
The Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to receive a portion of North Carolina’s funding from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers. For 25 years, Golden LEAF has worked to increase economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural and tobacco-dependent communities through leadership in grantmaking, collaboration, innovation, and stewardship as an independent and perpetual foundation.
The Foundation has provided lasting impact to tobacco-dependent, economically distressed, and rural areas of the state by helping create 68,000 jobs, more than $780 million in new payrolls, and more than 98,000 workers trained or retrained for higher wages.
For more information about Golden LEAF and our programs, please visit our website at GoldenLEAF.org.
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