Melvin R. Lane Grants

2006-2009 Melvin R. Lane Fund Grants

Six local nonprofit organizations will receive $859,496 over three years to improve internal operations and secure their future in order to better serve Western North Carolina's most disadvantaged citizens.

The grant recipients are:

• Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County - $150,000 to expand programs for disadvantaged youth by recruiting more volunteers and increasing contributions from individuals to the organization and its endowment.

• Community Empowerment Project CDC - $149,760 to hire the organization’s first paid executive director and strengthen internal operations to better provide social and economic development programs for low-income people in Rutherford County.

• Henderson County Council on Aging - $130,000 to expand a partnership with the Department of Social Services and serve more at-risk seniors, enabling clients to live independently in their own homes.

• Latino Advocacy Coalition - $134,636 to strengthen marketing and fundraising as well as complete a strategic plan for programs and services that assist the growing Latino population in Henderson County

• The Outreach Center - $150,000 to increase staff capacity, raise resources, and build a sustainable funding base that will enhance crisis-assistance programs for disadvantaged citizens of Burke and surrounding counties.

• Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity - $145,100 to strengthen the organizational and financial sustainability of Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity and the Rutherford Housing Partnership, and encourage access to safe and affordable housing for people in need.