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Golden LEAF Foundation: Open Grants Program
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INFORMATION CONTACT:
Andrew Baucom, Agricultural Services, Director, 704-283-3738
ACTION REQUESTED:
Approve staff to apply for a Golden LEAF Foundation: Open Grants Program grant application for a BARN project infrastructure grant.
PRIOR BOARD ACTIONS:
None.
BACKGROUND:
Golden LEAF was created to receive 50 percent of the annual payments made by cigarette manufacturers to North Carolina under the historic 1999 Master Settlement Agreement that included 46 states. State leaders at the time recognized this rare opportunity to create an organization and build an endowment dedicated to meaningful economic transformation across our state, rather than simply spend the money every year in the state budget.
This program is for economic development projects aligned with the Golden LEAF priority areas. 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.
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.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
None at this time. We are only asking for permission to apply for the grant.