ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., (December 5, 2024) – Yesterday, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded a total of $2 million in funding to support workforce preparedness and job creation and economic investment projects. The Board awarded $378,200 to support three projects through the Open Grants Program and $1,549,400 to support two projects through the SITE Program.
Golden LEAF officially turned 25 on October 22nd. The Board celebrated Golden LEAF’s 25th Anniversary with highlights of the last 25 years of long-term economic development in conjunction with its annual meeting on December 4th.
“For 25 years, Golden LEAF has funded projects focused on some of the most critical issues facing our state’s rural communities including adapting and improving agricultural practices, boosting job creation opportunities in these regions, and preparing the local workforce for new industries and jobs,” said Ralph Strayhorn, Golden LEAF Board Chair. “We thank the leadership that had the forethought to create the Golden LEAF Foundation more than two decades ago to provide perpetual economic development support to our communities.”
Golden LEAF’s mission is to increase economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities. Since 1999, Golden LEAF has awarded projects totaling more than $1.3 billion, helping to create 68,000 jobs, $780 million in new payroll, and more than 98,000 workers trained or retrained to earn higher wages.
“While we reflected on the impacts the Foundation has had on communities across the state, the Golden LEAF Board continues to focus on the development of innovative programs and initiatives to enhance job creation and economic investment, workforce preparedness, and agriculture that will continue to provide economic opportunity for the people of North Carolina.” said Scott T. Hamilton, Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer. “I am proud the Golden LEAF Foundation will continue to partner with the many organizations dedicated to supporting the economic advancement of our state’s rural communities.”
The Golden LEAF Board also welcomed Jarette Sampson of Pembroke as the newest member of the Board at the December meeting. Mr. Sampson was appointed by the Speaker of the House. 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.
Through the Open Grants Program, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded three projects totaling $378,200. These projects will support workforce preparedness and job creation and economic investment projects in Ashe, Avery, Beaufort, Buncombe, and Watauga counties.
- $67,200 to Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care Inc. dba AMOREM for essential medical equipment necessary to establish a seven-bed patient care unit (PCU) aimed at serving the populations of Ashe, Avery, and Watauga counties. Establishing the PCU will not only expand hospice services for the High Country but will also generate 13.5 new healthcare positions for local individuals.
- $148,000 to the Center for Agricultural and Food Entrepreneurship Buncombe for on-site equipment for a manufacturing expansion at Blue Ridge Food Ventures, a shared-use facility located at the Enka Campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. It is expected that 25 new jobs will be created as a result of increases in manufacturing capacity and efficiency at the center.
- $163,000 to the Inner Banks STEM Center for HVAC and alarm systems, interior construction, furniture, and landscaping for a new, 13,000-square-foot Technology & Science Center at the Washington-Warren Airport Industrial Park.
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 rough grading of publicly owned sites. The three phases of the SITE Program are Identification, Due Diligence, and Development.
The Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors awarded more than $1.5 million in funding for two projects through the Golden LEAF SITE Program in Onslow and Robeson counties.
In the SITE Program – Due Diligence phase, the Golden LEAF Board awarded $49,400 to the Jacksonville-Onslow Economic Development Partnership in Onslow County to complete due diligence analyses of 46 acres at Corbett Ave and Belgrade-Swansboro Road in west Swansboro for a detailed wetland and stream delineation, boundary survey, geotechnical report, existing utilities capacity analysis statement, water system flow analysis, and existing utilities map.
For the SITE Program – Development, the Golden LEAF Board awarded $1,500,000 to Robeson County for clearing and grading, erosion control, adding backfill, and creating an access road for a site in the COMTech Business Park.
Since 1999 and including the awards announced today, Golden LEAF has funded 2,305 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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