ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., (October 1, 2026) – Today, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded a total of $9 million in funding to support long-term economic advancement. The Golden LEAF Board awarded $860,000 to support two projects through the Open Grants Program and $2 million to support a project through the Economic Catalyst program. The Golden LEAF Board awarded an additional $2.95 million to East Carolina University to support its Center of Medical Education and $319,000 to the Town of Spring Lake for a Flood Mitigation project. The Board also approved $2.9 million in funding for the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority to administer the Golden LEAF Colleges and Universities Scholarship.
Golden LEAF held its Board meeting at the Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine in Fayetteville. The Golden LEAF Board of Directors previously awarded $8 million to support instructional equipment and other costs of the new building. Golden LEAF Board members were welcomed by Dean Hershey Bell, received updates about the progress of the medical school, and toured the building.
At the meeting, the Board received a report on the activities of Golden LEAF over the past fiscal year.
“The Board was pleased that the report shows the job creation and economic investment awards made last year are expected to create at least 1,881 jobs and a capital investment of more than $2.1 billion over the next several years,” said Golden LEAF Board Chair Brian Raynor. “These projections are the result of decades of economic development planning and substantial investments in both infrastructure and workforce preparedness. North Carolina is reaping the outcomes of this strategic and collaborative long-term approach.”
In the Economic Catalyst Program, the Golden LEAF Board awarded $2 million to the City of Sanford in Lee County to construct water infrastructure that will increase the capacity of the city’s water system and serve Caterpillar, which has announced its plans to expand its manufacturing facility near the Raleigh Executive Jetport in Sanford. The company will retain 1,950 jobs paying an average annual wage of $65,000 and make a capital investment of $1 billion.
Through the Open Grants Program, the Golden LEAF Board awarded two projects totaling $860,000. These projects will support workforce preparedness and job creation and economic investment projects in Mitchell and Graham counties.
- $360,000 to Mitchell County to renovate a vacant school into a multipurpose agricultural center to help local farmers and agribusinesses expand their operations with demonstration spaces, a barn, a greenhouse, and equipment.
- $500,000 to the Town of Robbinsville in Graham County to reactivate and upgrade the Tallulah Creek Water Treatment Plant to support a new manufacturing facility that will create 300 jobs.
Additionally, the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority was awarded $2,888,773 by the Golden LEAF Board to administer the Golden LEAF Colleges and University Scholarship. This award will support 215 new scholarships, 540 renewal scholarships, and 20 half-year renewal scholarships for scholars from rural, economically distressed, and tobacco dependent North Carolina communities. Golden LEAF scholarship recipients are eligible to receive up to $3,500 per year.
“The Golden LEAF Scholarship improves access to education and workforce training to support the long-term economic advancement of our state,” said Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer Scott T. Hamilton. “These scholarships provide opportunities for students from rural North Carolina to attend our state’s four-year colleges and universities to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to return to a rural community to support its growth and prosperity.”
In October 2025, the Golden LEAF Board awarded $1 million in funding to East Carolina University in Pitt County to support construction of a new Center for Medical Education. ECU has received $265 million from the State of North Carolina for the project. At this meeting, the Golden LEAF Board approved an additional $2,947,346 to East Carolina University for the project bringing the total Golden LEAF funding to $3,947,346. Golden LEAF funds will be used to support equipment, supplies, and other resources needed for the Brody School of Medicine and related programs at ECU to expand medical education and healthcare workforce training, for technology needed for training rooms, for simulation equipment, and for equipment for clinical and laboratory skills instruction. The new center will allow the school of medicine to increase its medical school class cohorts from 100 to 120 students, its PA program from 36 to 48 students, and the number of residents and fellows that train at ECU by 89. New clinical laboratories will also allow increase of ECU’s Clinical Laboratory Sciences graduates from 16 to 24 annually. Golden LEAF funds will help ECU with costs that are not covered by the State funding.
The State of North Carolina appropriated the Golden LEAF Foundation $25 million for a Flood Mitigation Program. The Golden LEAF Board approved an additional $319,000 to the Town of Spring Lake Stormwater Administration in Cumberland County for the Spring Lake Flash Flood Mitigation project due to increased construction costs, bringing the total Golden LEAF funding to $1,069,000.
The Golden LEAF Board also welcomed Joe Sam Queen of Waynesville as the newest member of the Board at the October meeting. Mr. Queen was appointed by Governor Stein by virtue of his role as the Chair of the Rural Infrastructure Authority. 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.
Since 1999, Golden LEAF has funded 2,412 projects totaling $1.5 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. 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.
For more than 25 years, the Foundation has provided lasting impact to tobacco-dependent, economically distressed, and rural areas of the state. In fiscal year 2025, Golden LEAF helped create 1,300 jobs, more than $54 million in new payrolls, and more than 1,900 workers trained or retrained for higher wages.
For more information about Golden LEAF and our programs, please visit our website at GoldenLEAF.org.