This edition of the Opportunities Newsletter that focuses on North Carolina state grants and the Philanthropic sector. Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments is dedicated to providing technical assistance to the member governments we serve. Please check out the upcoming CBGI - North Central Prosperity Zone from the Golden Leaf Foundation, due in November 2025! If you have questions about a particular funding opportunity, please reach out for a conversation. I look forward to working with you.

Thank you,

Desiree Brooks

Rural Engagement & Investment (RE&I) offers grant resources and technical assistance to local governments that help communities acquire critical resources, advance project implementation, and build local capacity. Grants to local governments support community and economic development projects that include building renovations, public infrastructure, demolition and remediation, as well as downtown revitalization projects.

Rural Engagement and Investment (RE&I) a section within the Rural Economic Development Division has several state-funded grant programs:

Rural Reuse & Development Programs (RDP) offer building reuse, infrastructure, and demolition grants in support of economic development projects that lead to job creation.

Rural Building Reuse | Rural Infrastructure | Rural Demolition

Legislatively Directed Grants

The NC General Assembly passes legislation that authorizes the Department of Commerce to oversee directed grants to identified local governments. The RE&I Program administers these state appropriated grant funds in support of Rural Housing Infrastructure, Broadband, Disaster Recovery, or other appropriated projects as specified by legislation.

The Utility Account helps local governments build the public infrastructure that can attract businesses, specifically industrial-grade utility services. To apply, counties must be ranked as one of the 80 most distressed under G.S. 143B-437.08

Funding priorities are for construction or improvements to water, sewer, gas, transportation infrastructure, or electrical utility lines. To be eligible for funding, the infrastructure is required to be on the building site or if not located on the site, directly related to the operation of the specific industrial activity. The site must also be publicly owned and there must be a reasonable expectation that jobs will be created as a result of the project being funded. Funds may be used for construction or improvements to water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, transportation infrastructure or electrical utility lines. To be eligible for funding, the infrastructure is required to be on the building site or if not located on the site, directly related to the operation of the specific industrial activity.

Match: Tier 2 & 3 (Franklin, Granville, & Person) 25%; Tier 1 (Vance & Warren) 0%

The Open Grants Program allows applicants to apply for Golden LEAF funding throughout the year. Eligible applicants are governmental entities and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Awards in the Open Grants Program are $500,000 or less.

The Golden LEAF Foundation is committed to using the funds entrusted to it for projects that show the most potential for strengthening North Carolina’s economy, especially in tobacco-dependent, economically distressed, and/or rural communities. This program is for economic development projects aligned with the Golden LEAF priority areas. More details regarding Golden LEAF’s priority areas and priority outcomes:

• Job Creation and Economic Investment
• Workforce Preparedness
• Agriculture
• Community Competitiveness and Capacity

Competitive applications for projects include requests for funds to:

• Develop and implement a new workforce training program to meet demand from local employers
• Implement a career pathway at a high school for a high demand field
• Extend water, sewer, or road infrastructure to a site to enable industrial development that will create full-time jobs
• Support the development of new crops, expand markets for agriculture products, or provide training for farmers.

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund aims to stimulate the growth of new connections between thinkers working in largely disconnected fields who might together change the course of climate change’s impact on human health. In the three years between Fall 2023 and Summer 2026, we will dedicate $1M to supporting small, early stage grants of $2,500–$50,000 toward achieving this goal. NOFO

We are mainly but not exclusively interested in activities that build connections between basic/early biomedical scientific approaches and ecological, environmental, geological, geographic, and planetary-scale thinking, as well as with population-focused fields, including epidemiology and public health, demography, economics, and urban planning. Also of interest is work piloting new approaches or interactions toward reducing the impact of health-centered activities, such as developing more sustainable systems for health care, care delivery, and biomedical research systems.

Another area of interest is preparation for the impacts of extreme weather and other crises that can drive large-scale disruptions that will immediately impact human health and the delivery of health care. Public outreach, climate communication, and education efforts focused on the intersection of climate and health are also appropriate for this call. This program supports work conceived through many kinds of creative thinking. Successful applicants include academic scientists, physicians, and public health experts, community organizations, science outreach centers, non-biomedical academic departments, and more.

Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis through July 2026. A review will be conducted quarterly.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund has historically been a primary funding source of the U.S. Department of the Interior for outdoor recreation development and land acquisition by local governments and state agencies. In 2019, Congress permanently reauthorized the fund and then permanently funded the program the following year with the passage of the Great Outdoors Act.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) provides up to dollar-for-dollar matching grants to local governments for the acquisition, development, or a combination of both. Local governments may also apply for funding to renovate existing LWCF parks. A local government can request a maximum of $500,000 with each application. LWCF grants can be used for acquisition, development, renovation, and combination projects for outdoor public recreation. A project must be located on a single site. Property acquired or developed with LWCF assistance must be used for public outdoor recreation use in perpetuity. Applicants must submit their completed applications through their assigned SharePoint portal by 5 p.m. Late or incomplete submissions may be delayed until a subsequent funding round. Complete the application early — 4 weeks before the application deadline — and give it to your regional consultant for a preliminary technical review.

Match: An applicant must match the grant with a minimum of 50 percent. Due to a federal share cap of $500,000, a greater match is required for projects that exceed total costs of $1 million. Projects should not include local government overmatch.

Donation Mini-Grants provide a maximum of $50,000 for transaction, property management, and stewardship costs associated with the donation of property in fee simple or a permanent conservation agreement. All project acres must be restricted with a permanent conservation agreement to protect natural or cultural resources.

The donation must be for at least one of the following purposes:

• Land that is within the first 300 feet from the top of the stream bank, or the width of the 100-year floodplain, whichever is greater for the purpose of protecting surface water quality or developing a riparian greenway.
• Land containing natural areas, element occurrences, or species of concern as defined by NC Natural Heritage Program or adjacent buffer land that is critical to protecting the viability of those areas for the purpose of protecting ecological diversity.
• Land buffering military installations for the purpose of minimizing incompatible land use for installations and training.
• Properties on which historic or cultural events can be interpreted and that help develop a balanced state program of historic properties.

Match: The value of the donation and at least 50% of any stewardship endowment request are required as matching funds. 

The Warren County Community Foundation will accept grant applications from July 18, 2025, to NOON eastern time on Aug. 19, 2025. Applications received after this deadline will not be accepted, including late submissions due to technology issues. Funds are available for qualified charitable organizations serving the local community with special preference for proposals focusing on education or food insecurity.

Grants typically range from $500 to $1,500. In 2024, WCCF awarded $14,691 in grants through this competitive process. Learn more about past grant recipients.

Grants will be awarded from the community grantmaking fund.

Rural Engagement & Investment (RE&I) offers grant resources and technical assistance to local governments that help communities acquire critical resources, advance project implementation, and build local capacity. Grants to local governments support community and economic development projects as well as downtown revitalization projects.

The Rural Downtown Economic Development Grant Program (RDEDG) is managed by the NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center. This program administers grants in support of downtown revitalization and economic development initiatives that are intended to help local governments grow and leverage downtown districts as assets for economic growth, development, and prosperity by providing public improvements to help retain businesses and leverage Main Street assets for community-wide use. 

• Rural Downtown Economic Development

Legislatively Directed Grants

The NC General Assembly passes legislation that authorizes the Department of Commerce to oversee directed grants to identified local governments. The RE&I Program administers these state appropriated grant funds in support of Rural Housing Infrastructure, Broadband, Disaster Recovery, or other appropriated projects as specified by legislation.

The endowment was established in memory of Frances Abbot Burton Powers, a native of Henderson, to make grant funds available for government entities and nonprofit organizations that benefit the Town of Henderson in Vance County, North Carolina.

Applications for grants from the Frances Abbot Burton Powers Endowment are available beginning Aug. 15, 2025. The deadline to apply is Sept. 16, 2025. Grants typically range from $5,000 to $15,000.

Government entities and nonprofit organizations that benefit the city of Henderson and have a physical location in Henderson, NC, are eligible to apply.

Counties from the North Central Prosperity Zone are invited to participate in our Community-Based Grants Initiative (CBGI). The counties in the North Central Prosperity Zone are Chatham, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Nash, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake, Warren, and Wilson.

The process is competitive, but organizations from all counties within the North Central Prosperity Zone will have an opportunity to participate.

The CBGI is designed to identify projects with the potential to have a significant impact. It is a focused process with grants targeted toward investments in the building blocks of economic growth. Funds are limited to projects that address Golden LEAF priorities of job creation and economic investment, agriculture, and workforce preparedness.

Process

County managers serve a key role in the process. Each county manager will submit projects to Golden LEAF for feedback and later endorse a slate of up to four projects for consideration. Each county will determine how to identify which projects will be endorsed for this initiative. Only projects that have been endorsed and regional projects will be eligible to submit an application for consideration by the Golden LEAF Board of Directors.

Upcoming Events - Register Here

Golden LEAF will hold online workshops for interested applicants on the following dates:

• Tuesday, April 1, 11am
• Friday, April 4, 3pm
• Monday, April 7, 11am
• Wednesday, April 9, 8am

Each workshop will include consistent information so there is no need to attend more than one. Each session is expected to last no more than 45 minutes.

Local Community grants range from a minimum of $250 to a maximum of $5,000. Eligible nonprofit organizations must operate on the local level (or be an affiliate/chapter of a larger organization that operates locally) and directly benefit the service area of the facility from which they are requesting funding.

There are eight (8) areas of funding for which an organization can apply. Please review the areas listed below to ensure your organization’s goals fall within one of these areas.

• Community and Economic Development: Improving local communities for the benefit of low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering the building of relationships and understanding among diverse groups in the local service area
• Education: Providing after-school enrichment, tutoring or vocational training for low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Environmental Sustainability: Preventing waste, increasing recycling, or supporting other programs that work to improve the environment in the local service area
• Health and Human Service: Providing medical screening, treatment, social services, or shelters for low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Hunger Relief and Healthy Eating: Providing Federal or charitable meals/snacks for low-income individuals and families in the local service area
• Public Safety: Supporting public safety programs through training programs or equipment in the local service area
• Quality of Life: Improving access to recreation, arts or cultural experiences for low-income individuals and families in the local service area

SECU Foundation Grant Program supports nonprofits and governmental organizations focused on local and community development in North Carolina. Grants are provided for high-impact projects in housing, education, healthcare, and human services. The

Foundation funds capital projects, programmatic expansions, and mission development for capacity building. Preference is given to projects with statewide or regional impact, that improve the social and economic conditions of public employees, and those not primarily funded by government agencies.

SECU Grant Programs

• Capital – Funds projects that are tangible, permanent, and visible; Typically supporting construction or major renovation of a building or a facility.
• Programmatic – Funds pilot programs or large-scale program expansions that provide regional or statewide services.
• Mission Development Grants – supporting smaller nonprofits with capacity building through organizational assessments, goal setting, and creating pathways for expansion.

Project Selection Considerations

• Preference given to a combination of projects that have a statewide impact, or major regional impact, and may serve as a model for replication in other North Carolina communities.
• Seek projects that are tangible (permanent, visible, capital versus operational). Do not support operational budgets, nor budget shortfalls.
• Seek to fund projects through partnerships with foundations and nonprofit organizations (do not fund for-profit organizations).
• Seek projects that improve the social and economic condition of public employees in North Carolina.
• Seek projects that are not principally nor typically funded by a governmental agency.
• In cases where projects have existing appropriations only consider funding where funding would augment or enhance projects which have existing appropriations.
• Generally seek to fund projects that strengthen the partnership with North Carolina State employees.
• Seek to identify programmatic projects to solve problems and to develop partnerships with other non-profits and foundations.

Golden LEAF will consider applications to assist eligible state, regional and local economic development entities with grants to support permissible activities in projects in which a company will commit to create a specific number of full time jobs in a tobacco-dependent or economically distressed area. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Golden LEAF staff to discuss the potential projects and conditions that may be applicable prior to submitting an application. Applications in this program must be for projects that will lead to job creation by a company that will commit to create the jobs if Golden LEAF provides a grant for the project. An application for funding must be submitted before the project announces its decision to locate and create jobs in North Carolina.

Details

Competitive applications will include information showing that the expected job creation is AT RISK without Golden LEAF support. An applicant can demonstrate that a project is AT RISK by identifying a funding gap that exists that would significantly impair the applicant’s ability to attract the anticipated jobs if Golden LEAF does not make a grant for the project.

Examples of other factors that may be considered to determine whether a project is AT RISK without Golden LEAF support include:

• Evidence of urgency for financial assistance necessary to facilitate job creation;
• Whether local governments have provided support for the project at levels that are appropriate in light of available resources. (Golden LEAF funds will not be available to satisfy shortfalls resulting from local policies limiting local support for a project.); and
• Whether the applicant has secured or attempted to secure funding for the project from other sources such as the State of North Carolina, the North Carolina Department of Commerce, EDA, ARC, and others.

Proposals for Economic Catalyst grants should be coordinated with the other economic development entities, including:

• North Carolina Department of Commerce
• The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
• Local and regional economic development organizations

Grants are available only for projects that include a specific company’s commitment to create full-time jobs in NC. Full-time jobs are defined as jobs that provide 1,600 hours or more per year of work. Companies must provide at least 50% of the cost of employee-only health insurance for full-time employees.

The Golden LEAF Foundation will consider at least the following factors when determining whether to fund a project and at what level:

• The economic distress of the community in which the jobs would be created
• The number of jobs to be created
• The quality of jobs to be created, measured by factors including wages paid and skill levels involved

The EPA has selected Research Triangle Institute to serve as a pass-through entity for the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program (EJ TCGM) to address environmental justice and public health issues in underserved communities. They will provide subgrants to community-based nonprofits and other eligible subrecipients for assessment, planning, and project development activities. They will alleviate much of the burden that the federal grants process places on small, resource-constrained community-based organizations supporting underserved communities and marginalized populations.

Frequently Asked Questions: FAQ

Dates to Submit for Funding:

• April 30, 2025
• July 31, 2025
• October 31, 2025 (Last date for 2-year projects)
• January 31, 2026
• April 30, 2026
• July 31, 2026
• October 31, 2026 (Last date for 1-year projects)
• January 31, 2027
• April 30, 2027 (Last date for 6-month projects)

Match: No

Program Fact Sheet: One-pager

**Staff recommends beginning the inquiry process at least 90 days before an application deadline** Read "How to Apply"

Areas of Focus:

• Human Services
• Higher Education
• Healthcare
• Community

Step 1: For new and returning organizations, please login to your account. You will first be prompted to update or add organization background. Next, you will then complete a brief Inquiry Form.

Step 2: Once the completed Inquiry Form is submitted, you will receive another email within 30 days to let you know the inquiry is being reviewed. Once the review is complete, your Program Officer will reach out to schedule a call to discuss the project. During the call, staff will discuss the project need, timeline, other identified funding sources and expected outcomes.

Step 3: If eligible, the application link will become available once you have spoken to a program officer.

Step 4: Submit application and all required documents. Application deadlines occur in March, June, September and December.

**Notification of grant decisions will be sent to the applicant and Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director or President within 6 months from application submission.