How 19 New Hanover Community Endowment grants totaling $53 million will be spent

Megan Pociask, Wilmington StarNews
Updated ·6 min read

The New Hanover Community Endowment has announced more than $53 million in grants to philanthropic efforts in New Hanover County.

Over the next three years, the $53 million will go toward 19 grants in New Hanover County focused on the healthcare workforce pipeline, early childhood education and health access. The endowment is also granting $1.4 million to 14 organizations with one-year, non-renewable grants that supports programs like elder care, literacy and youth violence prevention.

This cycle dispersed almost three times as much money as the 2022 inaugural Cape Fear Opportunities and Needs cycle and is the first time the endowment has entered multi-year grants.

The endowment was established by New Hanover County leaders following the sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center for $1 billion about three years ago.

The endowment received over 200 applications in 2023 requesting $336 million in support.

Here's a look at the grants:

Multi-year grants:

  • Cape Fear Community College, New Hanover County Schools, the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s College of Health and Human Services and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce are partnering to transform the health care talent landscape by prioritizing the recruitment, training, and retention of skilled professionals in New Hanover County. Here's a breakdown of the funding: University of North Carolina Wilmington - $10,253,500; Cape Fear Community College Foundation - $10,153,633; New Hanover County Schools - $1,680,000; Greater Wilmington Chamber Foundation - $250,000.

  • Communities in Schools of Cape Fear - $3,226,419. This grant supports CIS’ summer literacy programs, Freedom School, for the next three years and helps CIS expand into six additional school sites.

  • YWCA of the Lower Cape Fear - $2,804,811. This grant supports increased access to families by providing affordable childcare, delivering a wide range of services for children, serving the lives of parents and children through the Parents As Teachers model.

  • SmartStart of New Hanover County - $658,596.60. This grant supports two programs, Circle of Parents, a peer support group, and Kaleidoscope Play & Learn groups.

  • Spark Academy - $3,305,000. This grant supports compensation to retain skilled staff, office expenses, occupancy costs to maintain a safe and conducive learning environment, and expenses for building repair, equipment maintenance, and capital reserve.

  • Union Missionary Baptist Church - $450,000. This grant supports UMBC’s After-School Program that provides transportation from several area schools and is open until 10 p.m. Funds will go toward the purchase of additional vans to transport students, playground equipment, computer equipment, staff, and additional training and professional development for educators.

  • MedNorth Health Center - $2,000,000. This grant supports the expansion of MedNorth Health Center.

  • Cape Fear Clinic - $1,200,000. This grant supports Cape Fear Clinic providing healthcare services to clients, patients and members of The Healing Place, Good Shepherd Center, LINC and A Safe Place.

  • NourishNC - $450,000. This grant supports NourishNC’s free mobile grocery truck called the Mobile MoM that serves food insecure children in their neighborhoods, pediatric offices, schools, and at other nonprofits.

  • Cape Fear Community College Foundation - $5,500,000. This grant supports Cape Fear Community College Foundation’s aims to connect with individuals interested in advanced manufacturing and other industry sectors.

  • YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina - $4,000,000. This grant supports the expansion of Midtown YMCA into a full-service facility to serve more preschool and elementary-aged students.

  • Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern North Carolina - $1,653,200. This grant supports the Boys & Girls Club continued commitment to providing out-of-school programming in a safe, supportive environment.

  • DREAMS Center for Arts Education - $795,774. This grant supports DREAMS efforts to continue providing high-quality programming and outreach.

  • El Cuerpo/Christ Community Church - $200,000. The grant supports El Cuerpo’s approach to expand and replicate the current tutoring model to serve additional schools.

  • Community Justice Center -- The grant supports the creation of a Community Justice Center, which will be located at the Harrelson Center, with a goal to end generational violence through early intervention, education and prevention. Here's a breakdown of the funding: New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office - $3,439,066; Jo Ann Carter Harrelson Center Inc. $1,578,830.

One-year nonrenewable grants:

  • American Red Cross - $38,000. This grant funding will allow American Red Cross of the Cape Fear Area of North Carolina to purchase a new community emergency vehicle.

  • Blue Ribbon Commission Prevention of Youth Violence dba Voyage- $112,200. This grant funding will allow Voyage to continue and expand programming focused on improving behavioral and educational outcomes.

  • Cape Fear Literacy Council - $46,000. This grant funding will allow Cape Fear Literacy Council to hire a consultant to assist in organizational design and change management. It will also support the pilot of a professional development workshop series.

  • Elderhaus - $75,000. This grant funding will allow Elderhaus to continue operating as the only Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) in New Hanover County.

  • Lower Cape Fear Hospice, Inc. D/b/a Lower Cape Fear LifeCare- $50,000. This grant funding will allow Lower Cape Fear LifeCare to perform maintenance and improvement projects at their Wilmington Inpatient Care Center.

  • St Jude’s Metropolitan Community Church- $40,000. This grant will allow St. Jude’s to provide for those experiencing hunger, food insecurity and lack of permanent housing.

  • The University of North Carolina Wilmington- $87,000. This grant funding will allow UNCW’s MI CASA Mentoring Program to expand tour locations throughout the state to focus on HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions.

  • YWCA of the Lower Cape Fear Inc- $200,000. This grant funding will allow the YWCA to continue operating as one of three year-round aquatics centers available to the public in New Hanover County.

  • Northside Food Cooperative- $249,715. This grant funding will allow the Northside Food Cooperative to continue community engagement and will fund the expansion of Frankie’s Outdoor Market and Northside Community Dinners while also building staff capacity through wage support.

  • Kids Making It, Inc.- $103,420. This funding will allow Kids Making It to increase capacity and program reach.

  • Eden Village of Wilmington- $55,000. This grant funding will allow Eden Village to obtain a generator for residents with limited income to provide greater economic stability and greater food security for residents.

  • Child Development Center Inc- $65,500. This grant will allow the Child Development Center to support scholarships and tuition assistance for families for the summer program, providing a safe space for youth of different.

  • Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc.- $100,000. This grant funding will allow Legal Aid’s Wilmington office to fund Second Chance Wilmington, a criminal record expungement program.

  • Seeds of Healing Inc- $140,267. This grant funding will allow Seeds of Healing to expand the capacity of peer educators, expand program space for in-person services and enable data collection and analysis.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: New Hanover County Community Endowment has announced grant recipients