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Chair/President's Message

excerpted from the 2008 Annual Report

To the people of North Carolina —

There is no doubt that these are very tough economic times. It will take hard work, determination, and creativity on the part of all of us to build the North Carolina we want to have.

Recently, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors took bold action to address our challenges. Rather than shrink our grantsmaking efforts, the Board authorized new initiatives, new funding strategies and new ways of doing business.

While other foundations have been forced to reduce their grantsmaking, Golden LEAF will maintain its giving. For the coming year, the Board:

• Strengthened its commitment to Tier One counties across North Carolina with up to $35 million for its Community Assistance Initiative;
• Provided $10 million in economic assistance for projects across North Carolina that create or add substantial jobs and investment;
• Provided $10 million for the development of two new initiatives: (a) to grow North Carolina agriculture jobs, markets and farm income through special focus and (b) to ensure that the growing aerospace industry has the highly-qualified workers it needs to hire now;
• Created a new $3.5 million initiative to provide the necessary training to get North Carolinians to available good-paying jobs as quickly as possible;
• Earmarked over $3 million for scholarships for children from rural counties, especially farm families, to attend college;
• Replaced the annual grants cycle with an Open Grants Program. The Open Grants Program will allow for acceptance of year-round proposals, ensure faster decisions from the from Golden LEAF Board, and reduce administrative burden for our grantees;
• Almost doubled direct Foundation investment in Tiers 1 and 2 counties through Access Capital, an investor in community-development projects in rural areas;
• Provided $5 million to support the creation of a new loan-guarantee program to leverage over $25 million in new loans for qualified businesses needing access to capital in these tough times;
• Committed to seek ways to complement the federal stimulus package, in order to make sure North Carolina gets the full benefit; and
• Cut the Foundation’s administrative budget substantially to allow more resources for grants.

At the Golden LEAF Foundation, we are unwavering in our determination to provide support for projects that will help to grow jobs, strengthen communities, and build the knowledge, talent, and skill of North Carolinians. The Foundation is a great reason to be hopeful about the future of economically distressed, tobacco-dependent, and rural counties.

We look forward to new and continued partnerships for the betterment of North Carolina.

Sincerely,

Jessie Thomas Bunn Board Chairman

Dan Gerlach President