NC Community Foundation announces statewide Women’s Fund grants

RALEIGH -- The North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF) is pleased to announce the 2011 grant recipients from the statewide Women’s Fund, according to Jennifer Tolle Whiteside, NCCF president and CEO. Receiving $9,000 in grants this fall were: Helping Hands Clinic, Caldwell County; Albemarle Hopeline, Elizabeth City; StepUp Ministry, Raleigh; YMCA of Catawba Valley; Down East Partnership for Children, Rocky Mount; and Chowan/Perquimans Smart Start Partnership.

NCCF’s statewide Women’s Fund focuses on programming that supports women and/or children, with particular emphasis on women’s health and leadership issues. Programs must serve areas within the NCCF’s 66-county service area. Tolle Whiteside said the selection committee, which is comprised of representatives of NCCF’s local women’s giving programs from across the state, was impressed with the caliber of programming and innovative approaches to funding.

Helping Hands Clinic will use its $2,000 grant for the Women’s Health Initiative for Uninsured Women in Caldwell County. The program will fund free cervical and breast cancer screenings.

Albemarle Hopeline in Elizabeth City received $2,000 for its Children’s Program, which provides services to child victims of domestic violence.

StepUp Ministry in Raleigh was awarded a $2,000 grant for its Self-Sufficiency Program, designed to prepare unemployed, homeless women (many with children) to enter the workforce.

A grant for $1,000 was presented to YMCA of Catawba Valley for its Girls on the Run Scholarship Fund, which will allow about 400 additional girls to participate in the program who would otherwise not be able to due to limited finances.

Down East Partnership for Children in Rocky Mount received a $1,000 contribution for its Flex Funds Program, which is designed to provide short-term financial support for families in crisis.

The Chowan/Perquimans Smart Start Partnership also received $1,000 to help fund its Reach Out and Read Program to promote early childhood literacy.

Each of the Foundation’s regional women’s giving groups supports the statewide Women’s Fund. Regionally based women’s giving programs include the Wake County Women’s Giving Network; the Bertie-Hertford Women’s Fund; the Women Givers of Northeast North Carolina, which serves Camden, Gates, Pasquotank and Perquimans counties; the Currituck-Dare Woman’s Fund; the Women Givers of Nash-Rocky Mount; and The Art of Giving, a collective of Triangle women sponsored in conjunction with the Triangle Community Foundation. Two new groups have just been established: the Women's Impact Network, which serves New Hanover County; and the Cary Women's Giving Network. Additional giving groups are in the planning stages.

About the North Carolina Community Foundation:

The NCCF is the single statewide community foundation serving North Carolina and has made nearly $63 million in grants since its inception in 1988. With more than $145 million in assets, the NCCF sustains over 1,000 endowments established to provide long-term support of a broad range of community needs, nonprofit organizations, institutions and scholarships. The NCCF partners with 60 affiliate foundations to provide local resource allocation and community assistance in 66 counties across the state. An important component of the NCCF’s mission is to ensure that rural philanthropy has a voice at local, regional and national levels. For more information, visit nccommunityfoundation.org or the North Carolina Community Foundation page on Facebook.

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Noel McLaughlin, APR, Director, Marketing and Communications

North Carolina Community Foundation

919.256.6901

nmclaughlin@nccommunityfoundation.org