Disaster Recovery Grant Program

The Disaster Recovery Grant Program is no longer accepting grant applications. 

Program Overview

The State of North Carolina provided funds to the Golden LEAF Foundation to make grants to governmental entities and 501(c)(3) nonprofits to repair or replace infrastructure and equipment damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Matthew, Florence, Michael, and Dorian. Infrastructure includes nonresidential buildings that serve the public, water, sewer, stormwater, and other publicly owned assets.

This program is intended to address unmet needs following insurance and available federal assistance including FEMA Public Assistance and/or an SBA loan. For more detail regarding eligible projects, see this link to frequently asked questions.

Hazard Mitigation

Grants may be awarded to construct new infrastructure for hazard mitigation. Purchase of new equipment, including water rescue equipment or portable generators is not an eligible use of funds in this program.

Characteristics of competitive proposals include: 

• Projects to improve damaged or destroyed critical public infrastructure to make it more resilient in future storms. For example, replacing a damaged shingle roof with a metal roof.
• Projects that will mitigate against hazards with a frequency beyond a hurricane or other named storm in order to maintain access or use of critical public infrastructure for the benefit of residents, businesses and other institutions within a community. For example, installation of a backup generator at a sewer pump station.

Places of Worship

Grants may also be awarded to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and established religious organizations to repair or replace places of worship damaged or destroyed by the recent named storms. 

Grant Application Review and Notification

Applicants will be notified when their proposal is scheduled for consideration at a meeting of the Golden LEAF Board of Directors. This notification typically occurs no less than ten days prior to a regularly scheduled meeting. Applications will not necessarily be taken up at the next meeting of the Board or in the order they are received.

The Golden LEAF Board of Directors will decide whether or not to fund the proposal, request more information, or take some other action. Communications regarding the application and the Board’s action will be sent to the Project Director on the application form.

Priorities

The Golden LEAF Foundation is committed to using the funds entrusted to it for projects that show the most potential for providing relief or recovery from Hurricanes Matthew, Florence, Michael and Dorian.

It is the intent of Golden LEAF to avoid duplication of federal assistance or other private insurance benefits; therefore, grant funds may not be awarded for costs that have been approved to receive federal funds through FEMA Public Assistance, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, or Community Development Block Grants Disaster Recovery Program. Grant funds may not be used to displace an SBA loan. Grants may be used to address unmet needs remaining following allocations from other sources.

Golden LEAF expects that grant applications will exceed funds available for this program and the Golden LEAF Board of Directors will have to prioritize projects for awards.

If you have questions about how your proposed project would be prioritized, please contact Kasey Ginsberg [email protected] or by calling at 888-684-8404.