This award supports the efforts of the University of NC at Chapel Hill, through the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, to expand its initiative to increase procurement spending by anchor institutions at businesses in North Carolina’s economically distressed, rural communities. UNC-CH will begin to work with Elizabeth City State University and to build on prior work at UNC-Pembroke to assist them in finding opportunities to redirect procurement spending to rural North Carolina vendors, resulting in creation of 15 new, full-time jobs with an average annual wage of $45,000, and $60,000 in private investment in rural North Carolina during the two-year project term. Within three years of project completion, the project is expected to generate an increase of at least $1.5 million of annual procurement budgets spent North Carolina’s rural communities. Golden LEAF dollars will be used for personnel, meeting, travel, and consultant costs.
