The Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded a total of $4.5 million in funding to support long-term economic advancement. The Golden LEAF Board awarded $3.1 million to support seven projects through the Open Grants Program, $1 million to support the first SPARC Initiative project, and $262,600 to support increases in two SITE Program projects. The Board also awarded an additional $150,000 for Hurricane Helene relief.
The August Golden LEAF Board meeting was held in Western North Carolina at Blue Ridge Community College. The Golden LEAF Board heard from a panel of economic development leaders from the region on post-Hurricane Helene recovery, strategies for economic diversification in Western North Carolina, and ways to help rural areas build a more resilient economy. The Board also toured Golden LEAF-funded projects at Blue Ridge Community College and Baptists on Mission.
Following the devastation of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina, the Golden LEAF Board established the Hurricane Helene Relief Initiative to make funds available for nonprofits working to support the needs of survivors.
The Board approved an additional $150,000 to the Western North Carolina Annual Conferences of The United Methodist to purchase tools, equipment, and supplies supporting disaster recovery and home repair for survivors in the region, bringing total Golden LEAF funding to that organization to $325,000. To date, the Board has awarded a total of $5.1 million through the Hurricane Helene Relief Initiative.
At the meeting, the Golden LEAF Board also awarded the first Strategic Projects Advancing Rural Communities (SPARC) Initiative project. SPARC funds support bold, collaborative projects that address critical needs and unlock transformative opportunities in rural North Carolina.
The Golden LEAF Board awarded $1 million in SPARC funding to the North Carolina Community College System to support instructional staff and equipment at five rural community colleges: Piedmont Community College, Sandhills Community College, Randolph Community College, Vance Granville Community College, and Central Carolina Community College. The funding advances standardized manufacturing training and micro-credentials through the AdvanceNC partnership, a regional coalition focused on meeting workforce needs in Central North Carolina’s booming manufacturing sector. In collaboration with Education Design Lab, AdvanceNC is developing 10 employer-informed micro-pathways. The first five pathways will launch in Fall 2025, with an expected 1,000 learners with at least 800 earning micro-credentials and third-party credentials.
In April, the Golden LEAF Board created a funding opportunity that would allow entities that are developing healthcare workforce training programs with a capital budget of at least $10 million to request up to $1 million in the Open Grants Program to cover the costs of training equipment and related capital expenses for those projects.
The Golden LEAF Board awarded $1,000,000 to Sampson Community College (SCC) in Sampson County for equipment to support a new Health Sciences Building, expanding healthcare workforce training in rural southeastern North Carolina. The new facility will expand the capacity of SCC to graduate healthcare professionals and address critical labor shortages through modern classrooms, simulation labs, and hands-on training spaces. Programs will include Nursing, Medical Assisting, Paramedic, and Nurse Aide. SCC expects to increase the number of annual graduates in these programs and increase the number of students earning at least one industry/third party certification, license, or other credential annually.
The Golden LEAF Board also awarded six Open Grants Program projects totaling $2,177,028 in Brunswick, Chowan, Guilford, McDowell and Pitt counties for workforce training and job creations and economic investment projects.
- $500,000 to Brunswick Community College for equipment for an Industrial Maintenance program to train students in technical skills and support local industry needs.
- $347,028 to East Carolina University in Pitt County for a graduate assistant, faculty stipends, student internships, travel, asset mapping/meetings, and outreach/marketing to expand RISE29, which will assist new counties with small business growth.
- $500,000 to the Town of Edenton in Chowan County for the construction and renovation of the former Edenton Furniture Company to attract Provalus, a business process and IT firm, which will create 61 full-time jobs by the end of three years and 155 jobs over five.
- $250,000 to Guilford County Schools for the renovation and upfit of a new Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Academy at Southeast High School, supporting student pathways and work-based learning for employment in these fast-growing fields.
- $80,000 to McDowell Technical Community College for upfit, equipment, personnel, and participant support services for the expansion of the nurse aide training lab at MTCC’s Old Fort Workforce Development Center.
- $500,000 to Pitt Community College to purchase welding equipment for a new state-of-the-art welding facility, expanding student capacity and certification opportunities.
With the successful statewide launch of the NC Ag Leads strategic plan, momentum continues as strategies identified during planning move into implementation and refinement. To support this work, the Golden LEAF Board approved an extension for the NC Chamber Foundation to continue the work of the initiative.
In the SITE Program, the Golden LEAF Board provided $262,000 in additional funding to previously awarded projects in Greene and Columbus counties as follows:
- $77,600 in increased funds for a previously awarded SITE Program – Due Diligence award to Greene County for the Burnette Road industrial site to complete an Archeological Reconnaissance Investigation (ARI) and any required related follow-up work, contingent on the findings of the ARI, for a total of $190,850 in funding for this site.
- $185,000 in increased funds for a previously awarded SITE Program – Development award to Columbus County for the Southeast Regional Park to construct a new lift station and related improvements, for a total of $775,000 in funding for this site.
Since 1999, Golden LEAF has funded 2,346 projects totaling $1.5 billion supporting the mission of advancing economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities.