Community Foundation of Western North Carolina

Opportunity Grants

Spring 2008 Opportunity Grants

ADVANCING THE ARTS

  • The Bascom-Louise Gallery - $7,000 to equip a new ceramic studio that will serve students and adults in the Highlands community.
  • Black Mountain Swannanoa Arts Center - $3,000 to purchase equipment for new dance and music programs.
  • North Carolina Stage Company - $4,367 for marketing and other efforts to increase the visibility of the organization’s physical location in Asheville and upgrade the facility’s lobby.
  • Penland School of Crafts - $12,500 toward providing Mitchell County students with art instruction.
  • Toe River Arts Council - $12,500 to increase and expand art education programs in Mitchell and Yancey Counties.
  • Yancey County Cultural Resources Commission - $3,500 to purchase professional video recording equipment to capture and preserve examples of mountain and cultural heritage.

ASSISTING PEOPLE IN NEED

  • Baptist Children’s Home - $4,800 to teach independent-living skills to older youth who are preparing to leave the Haywood County facility.

  • H.A.V.E.N. Children’s Advocacy Center - $7,000 to purchase equipment and child-friendly furniture for a new Cherokee County facility that serves victims of child abuse.

  • Judicial District 29A Drug Treatment Court - $6,720 for educational materials and equipment to support a drug treatment program in Rutherford County.

  • Magical Moments Therapeutic Riding Center - $4,000 to purchase equipment and provide therapeutic riding lessons to individuals with mild to moderate disabilities.

  • Task Force on Family Violence/REACH - $3,500 to purchase new furniture for a domestic violence shelter in Cherokee County.

  • Thermal Belt Outreach Ministry - $7,000 to help provide nutritious food on the weekends to low-income children attending Polk County Schools.

  • W.A.M.Y Community Action - $7,000 to recruit minority youth to participate in the Avery Youth Opportunities after-school program.


BUILDING COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC VITALITY

  • Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project - $7,000 to boost marketing efforts for 10 farmers markets in Buncombe and surrounding counties.

  • Avery-Mitchell-Yancey Regional Library - $3,500 to provide nonprofit organizations and individuals with services and grant resource information.

  • Center for Dialogue - $7,000 to increase awareness and local support for mediation services in Transylvania County.

  • Center for Participatory Change - $7,000 for a grassroots program that encourages people in low-wealth areas to support each other as they collectively move themselves, their families and their communities out of poverty.

  • Haywood Community College Foundation - $7,000 to provide resources for small business entrepreneurs.

  • Mountain Housing Opportunities - $7,000 toward purchase of an agency truck for emergency home repairs in Asheville and Buncombe County.

  • Mountain Mediation Services - $7,000 to expand mediation and conflict-resolution services to Latino populations in Macon and Jackson counties.

  • Pigeon Community Development Center - $7,000 to involve Haywood County’s Latino community in multi-cultural after-school and summer programming.

  • Service Center for Latinos - $7,000 to expand a program of learning, service and support for Spanish-speaking people in Mitchell County.



IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

  • Asheville City Schools Foundation - $7,000 to explore how schools, nonprofits and others can best serve middle-school youth and their families.

  • The Literacy Council of Highlands - $7,000 to expand the computer lab and help children and adults learn basic skills.

  • Summit Charter School - $7,000 for library and classroom equipment at a new campus and instruments for a music program in Cashiers.


PROMOTING QUALITY HEALTH

  • The McDowell Hospital - $3,400 to purchase two new microscopes.

  • Sisters of Mercy Urgent Care/ARP Phoenix - $7,000 to provide transportation for people staying at the Mary Benson House, a residential treatment center for mothers with substance abuse or mental health disorders and their children.

  • Transylvania County Volunteers in Medicine - $5,700 to support patient education and counseling for medically indigent patients with diabetes.

  • WNC AIDS Project - $7,000 to expand and enhance the organization’s website and print materials that will improve communication with constituents.



ENHANCING THE ENVIRONMENT

  • The Clean Air Community Trust - $6,920 to launch a service-oriented training program designed to inspire youth to pursue “green collar” jobs.
  • Environmental and Conservation Organization of Henderson County - $7,000 toward a program designed to draw attention to water quality issues in six watersheds.
  • Highlands Biological Foundation - $4,425 to underwrite speaker costs and to market the Zahner Conservation Lecture Series, an annual public forum for regional environmental organizations and residents.
  • Little Tennessee Watershed Association - $7,000 to expand and improve a citizen-based, bio-monitoring water quality program in Macon, Swain and Jackson counties.