ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., (October 3, 2024) – Today, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded a total of $18.6 million in funding to support workforce preparedness, job creation and economic investment, agriculture, scholarships, and food distribution assistance. The Board awarded $13,000,000 to support a project through the Economic Catalyst Program, $2,267,634 to support six projects through the Open Grants Program, and $297,154 in increased funding for the Food Distribution Assistance Program. The Golden LEAF Board also approved $3,116,173 in funding for the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority to administer the Golden LEAF Colleges and Universities Scholarship.
Golden LEAF Board member Johnathan Rhyne of Blowing Rock announced his intention not to seek another term on the Golden LEAF Board after his term expires in November. Mr. Rhyne was appointed to the Golden LEAF Board of Directors in 2012.
“We would like to thank Johnathan Rhyne for his 12 years of service on the Golden LEAF Board of Directors,” said Ralph Strayhorn, Golden LEAF Board Chair. “Johnathan has served as our Board Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and Assistant Secretary and has been an invaluable member of the Board. His commitment to the mission and expertise will be missed.”
Golden LEAF’s 15-member Board of Directors is appointed by the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House.
The Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded $13 million to Wilson Community College for training equipment that will be used to support the location of a major biomedical manufacturing company, Johnson & Johnson, in Wilson County. The State has appropriated $30 million for the training center. Johnson & Johnson will create 420 quality jobs, paying an average annual wage of over $108,000 and make a capital investment of over $1 billion.
“The Golden LEAF Board was proud to provide funding for the training center operated by Wilson Community College,” said Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer Scott T. Hamilton. “The center will provide the knowledge and skills needed to work for Johnson & Johnson and other employers in the region. This announcement is a major win for eastern North Carolina.”
Additionally, the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority was awarded $3,116,173 by the Golden LEAF Board to administer the Golden LEAF Colleges and Universities Scholarship. This award will support 215 new scholarships and 600 renewal scholarships. Golden LEAF scholarship recipients are eligible for up to $3,500 per year.
The Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded six projects totaling $2,267,634 in Open Grants Program funding. These projects will support workforce preparedness projects in Brunswick, Clay, Cherokee, Edgecombe, Graham, Greene, Hyde, Nash, Jackson, Tyrrell, and Washington counties, and an agriculture project in Pitt and surrounding counties.
- $175,000 to Christian Recovery Centers in Brunswick County for property upfit, to purchase utility and transport vehicles and supplies, and for advertising that will support the establishment of a property maintenance and remodeling social enterprise in response to the surging residential development in Brunswick and surrounding counties.
- $500,000 to the Eastern North Carolina Food Commercialization Center in Pitt County to support the acquisition of processing equipment for its value-added food production center in Ayden.
- $499,708 to Greene County Schools for construction of a horticultural building and for equipment to expand the animal sciences, agriculture sciences, and auto mechanics Career and Technical Education programs at Greene Central High School.
- $115,000 to the Health Education Foundation of Eastern North Carolina in Nash County for staffing, mentors, and outreach/marketing to support the expansion of the Young Civic Leaders initiative which is managed by the Rural Opportunities Institute.
- $477,926 to HIGHTS in Jackson County for personnel, travel, paid work-based learning experiences, and other participant support services for a new workforce project, Career Connect, for vulnerable youth in Clay, Cherokee, and Graham counties and the Qualla Boundary.
- $500,000 to Washington County Schools for equipment, supplies, student transportation, instructional resources, professional development, and renovations to establish the Hyde, Tyrrell, Washington Career Tech Innovation Center at the Washington County Early College High School in Creswell.
The State of North Carolina previously appropriated $10 million to Golden LEAF for the Food Distribution Assistance Program. This program is funded by federal State Fiscal Recovery Funds through the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Funds may be used for grants to nonprofit organizations to assist organizations in becoming eligible to be partner agencies of a North Carolina food bank or enhancing or expanding the capacity of current partner agencies of North Carolina food banks. Funds may also be used for grants to nonprofit organizations to assist organizations in establishing a school-based weekend food assistance program or enhancing or expanding the capacity of current school-based weekend food assistance programs.
The Golden LEAF Board approved $297,154 in additional Food Distribution Assistance Program funding to support 11 existing projects in Greene, Buncombe, Chatham, Catawba, Harnett, Macon, Durham, Cabarrus, Vance, Wake, and Wilson counties. Click here for information on the organizations that received increased Food Distribution Assistance Program funding.
Since 1999, Golden LEAF has funded 2,300 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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