Foundation gives $52,780 in grants to help nonprofits

The grants given out Tuesday by the Craven County Community Foundation will go to a range of causes, from helping to equip a local school with band equipment to keeping nonprofit organizations up and running.

The foundation awarded $52,780 to 18 nonprofits, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeastern North Carolina and The Radio Reading Service of Eastern North Carolina, in a ceremony at the New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce.

“I think the foundation is a viable part of Craven County’s future giving and endowments, and I think the end goal is really to enhance the quality of life in Craven County,” said Dan Pritchett, president of the foundation’s Board of Directors.

The grant total was down 7 percent from last year due to market fluctuations, Pritchett said, as the grants are funded using the earnings made from the endowment’s investment.

However, Tyler Harris, allocations committee chair for the board, said last year’s amount showed an increase of almost 10 times from the previous year.

The foundation had received a gift from The Richard Chapman Cleve Fund, which funded a large portion of the grants, Pritchett said, in addition to the foundation’s community fund.

“I think the foundation in the last few years has gotten more exposure and more awareness that we are out there in this community, and people are wanting to use our vehicle to make charitable contributions,” Pritchett said.

But the grants given out Tuesday were just part of one piece of what the foundation will give out this year, said Beth Boney-Jenkins, vice president of affiliate services for the N.C. Community Foundation. That foundation partners with 59 affiliate foundations like Craven’s to provide resources in 65 counties in the state.

 “In addition to the two funds we’re awarding, there are 24 other separate endowments that people in Craven County have established to further their own charitable purposes,” Boney-Jenkins said.

As for some of the causes the grants will help, Johneiquel Smith-Griffin, president and chief executive officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters, said the nonprofit was awarded $2,250 that will help fund its one-to-one mentoring program.

Big Brothers Big Sisters recently saw a decline in all of its revenue sources and faced closure, but Smith-Griffin said the organization’s financial situation has taken a positive turn.

 “It’s a nice step toward our goals,” she said of the grant. “Things are looking a little bit better.”

The Radio Reading Service of Eastern North Carolina received $1,000 that will help provide specialized radios for a program that broadcasts volunteers reading local news on the radio for people who are blind or have other disabilities.

“As we expand our listening audience, we need radios to provide to those people,” said Barbara Hansen, president of the organization’s Board of Directors.

Barb Krcmar, administrative director with the Craven-Cherry Point Child Development Center, said the grant the organization received will help it continue to provide services for children with disabilities and their families at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point and in the community.

“Nonprofits are really having a hard time because of the economy,” she said. “This grant helps us stay open, literally.”

Laura Oleniacz can be reached at (252) 635-5675 or at loleniacz@freedomenc.com.