REPORT 2 0 2 3
MOVING FORWARD
Hope. If you look up the definition, it’s an optimistic state of mind that is based on the expectation of a positive outcome. It’s also a word that has been part of our mission since we were formed. Hope is key to our lives — hope for our future, for our children and for our families. In a county with a robust history and incredible possibilities, we want everyone in Alamance County to have hope in their future and the future of our community. For the past year, we’ve been listening to our neighbors and learning how to work together differently to start progressing towards that goal. Choosing Hope is something we will have to do together.
Working together with our community and partners is how we work. In 2023, Impact Alamance invested more than $2 million in facilities, programs, leadership development and capacity building. This report shows some of the immediate impacts of those efforts, but the real return will come years down the road in the form of a healthier, smarter and stronger community.
For example, new walking and bike trails in Mebane and Eli Whitney give residents more opportunities to be active. The true payoff will come in the future, however, as expanding access to places for physical activity means more people in our community will enjoy better health.
We’re also investing to build a smarter community. For instance, the Kids in Transition to School (KITS) Program supports families of children entering pre-K or kindergarten
without any early formal childhood education. It promotes academic readiness, which leads to stronger academic performance. But a larger ROI will come 15-20 years from now as more Alamance County children are prepared for better careers.
Programs like For Alamance and the ACRE Co-lab are yielding some immediate results — bringing people together, bridging divides and building trust. But the real wins will come in the years to come, as more people collaborate to strengthen our community.
These are investments — a commitment to expand our grid of resources and create long-term returns that benefit everyone. They are also collaborations. Nothing Impact Alamance facilitates and funds would happen without people across the community.
Making an impact isn’t something we do to the community; it’s something we enable and facilitate. Ultimately, impacts — the long-term returns on those investments in health, education and civic capacity — come from you.
You do it when you take your kids or grandkids, and their friends, to the playground. You do it when you support our educators. And you do it when you gather with other volunteers to solve problems and move our community ahead. Thank you for making hope possible for so many in Alamance County.
F.D. Hornaday, Board Chair
Tracey Grayzer, President
Members of Empodera-Te Latina (see page 7)
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
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12 Healthier Smarter Stronger Programs Board & Staff Members Our Impact
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HEALTHIER C O N N E C T I V I T Y
Creating Community Connections Through Increased Walkability
In 2023, we invested $220,000 in greenways, paths and sidewalks to help energize local connections and enhance our community. Walkable, connected communities promote physical activity and health. They also strengthen local economies and increase accessibility, social interaction and safety.
In Mebane, the Lake Michael Connector Project will connect several neighborhoods to Lake Michael Park with safe sidewalks and pathways, benefiting more than 1,000 residents. The project will provide access to the park and the greenway, which will eventually connect to Downtown Mebane and other area parks. The City of Mebane expects phase 1 of the project to be completed in the spring of 2024.
In southern Alamance County, our investment expanded the Eli Whitney Community Center walking track , adding nearly half of a mile of surfaced trail through the property. In addition to lengthening the path, the extension also improves accessibility for families and seniors. The park already enjoys more than 50,000 visitors annually, and the extension is expected to increase visitation by as much as 30%.
Encouraging Movement for All with Inclusive Playgrounds
With a $105,000 investment in 2023, we provided new equipment for playgrounds to create more opportunities for differently abled children to participate in physical activities. The additions added play and learning environments for all children, fostering a more inclusive community.
For the LIFESPAN Early Learning Centers in Alamance County, funding provided new playground equipment that is accessible to children with disabilities. The equipment includes ride-on toys, climbing walls, infant play mats and accessible swings. By July, both LIFESPAN locations were updated with the new play equipment, allowing all children to fully engage in outdoor play.
In Graham, funding helped the city add new pieces to the all-inclusive and natural playground at Graham Regional Park. The new equipment includes musical play pieces that help develop cognitive abilities in children. The pieces enhance the natural playground at the park, which was created in 2017 with a $250,000 investment from Impact Alamance.
Powering Social Networks to Improve Wellbeing
Nearly 80 local government, nonprofit, healthcare and community leaders attended the Alamance Wellness Collaborative 2023 Wellness Summit to discuss ways to improve social connectedness in Alamance County and promote public health. The summit featured keynote speaker Risa Wilkerson, executive director of Healthy Places by Design, a nonprofit consulting group serving community-based organizations across the US.
Social isolation is a growing concern with health impacts similar to smoking or chronic alcohol consumption. Promoting social connectedness as a norm and creating opportunities for community members to connect through public spaces, transportation systems and housing environments combats this problem and brings communities together.
In workshops, community leaders identified populations most at risk for social isolation and factors that perpetuate isolation as well as areas of opportunity in Alamance County to increase social connectedness. Attendees left with a heightened awareness of the importance of social connections to individual and community health and how they could make impacts in this area.
“It was enlightening to learn concrete data and to hear case studies about the impact of social connection,” says Bobbi Ruffin-Alston, Recreation Superintendent, City of Burlington Recreation and Parks. “It reignited our passion for the work that we get to do each day in Recreation and Parks as we strive to provide opportunities and safe spaces for people to connect, promote wellness and improve the overall quality of life.”
The Wellness Collaborative will continue working in the years ahead to create more opportunities for people to connect, such as parks, greenways and other public and open spaces for people to socialize and build community bonds.
“Socially connected communities are healthy, resilient and co-created with purpose. Investing in social connectedness is an investment in community health and well-being, and ultimately, more and better opportunities for all.”
Risa Wilkerson Executive Director of Healthy Places by Design
RECOMMENDATIONS for Improving Connectedness
Make social connectedness a community norm 1 2 3 4 5
Design, maintain and activate inclusive public spaces
Prioritize connection in transportation systems
I N C L U S I V I T Y 5
Construct housing environments that build community
Invest in inclusive practices and community-led solutions
Unlocking Potential with School Readiness
Just like a building requires a strong foundation, a child's brain also needs a solid base for future learning. Healthy childhood development lays the groundwork for cognitive, social and emotional growth–essential for success in school and beyond.
Many children entering pre-K or kindergarten, however, haven't had access to formal early childhood education, leaving gaps in their foundational skills. To help bridge these gaps, Alamance Achieves kicked off its Kids in Transition to School (KITS) Program in 2023 with support from the Alamance-Burlington School System and Impact Alamance.
KITS is a five-week, evidence-based school readiness program that acts as scaffolding for these young minds, while supporting parents with ways to encourage learning. By building academic, self-regulation and social skills, KITS helps children arrive at school ready for further learning and growth.
SMARTER
“KITS is one of the many examples of why community investment in education is so important,” says DeAnna Foust-Platt, KITS Parent Engagement Specialist. “By making a shared investment in the children and families of Alamance County, we have the means to pave the way for better educational outcomes, stronger communities and a brighter future where we all thrive.”
Supporting Latinx Leaders to Build Student Success
We’ve directed $50,000 to launch the LatinxEd Alamance Fellowship program, part of our efforts to foster an inclusive and equitable community and construct more effective learning environments. This unique six-month fellowship is part of a statewide network that strengthens high-quality public education by investing in Latinx leaders in education — teachers, administrators and others.
The program goes beyond traditional professional development initiatives by providing workshops and mentorship programs, as well as connecting local leaders in a statewide collaborative network. The fellowship aims to help Latinx educators succeed in educational leadership roles where they are underrepresented.
The LatinxEd Fellowship is a strategic opportunity to support our marginalized communities and foster student success through representation and mentorship. Research has shown that students exposed to mentors and role models who reflect their own cultural and ethnic background have higher academic achievement. Supporting a diverse community of educators increases academic success for all students.
S U P P O R T
STRONGER
Empowering Organizations With Essential Equipment
As part of efforts to bolster community partnerships and build a robust network of organizations that support Alamance County, our Progress and Enhancement grants assist nonprofits with equipment needs to strengthen and enhance their services.
A $30,000 grant to Habitat for Humanity of Alamance County helped the organization purchase a skid loader to use on construction sites. The loader will save Habitat more than $40,000 per year in equipment rental fees, allowing the organization to invest those funds in other construction expenses and build more houses each year.
For Southern Alamance Family Empowerment (S.A.F.E.), $15,000 of funding is helping the organization upfit its two food pantries with grocery store fixtures, refrigeration, carts and signage. The project will increase access to healthy, fresh food for the food insecure in our community and expands choices for grocery items. Last year, S.A.F.E. distributed more than 120,000 pounds of food to 7,762 county residents.
C O M M U N I T Y
Kickstarting Sustainable Community Development
Our community is like an electrical grid with resources that people can tap into to learn and grow. Impact Alamance Community Forward Grants invest in innovative programs to ensure all community members can connect to the resources they need to thrive. Here’s a look at a few of the projects we supported in 2023.
Creating More Equitable Opportunity
Intersecting social issues of gender, race and immigrant status often create barriers that prevent community members from fully plugging into local resources. The Empodera-Te Latina networking and support group for Latina/Hispanic women is building a network of individuals who empower one another to pursue opportunities in the community.
Diverse Conversations to Strengthen the Community
Discussing issues across diverse backgrounds fosters better connections throughout our grid of resources. With our support, the Alamance-Elon Community Book Club hosted a dialogue with Mónica Guzmán, author of I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. More than 90 community members gathered to learn strategies to engage across social divides.
Charting Better Paths for the Future
Career and college preparation for students from low-income families can propel them toward a better future, but services that focus on those needs are limited in the county and can be costly. To increase access, Cummings High School teacher Lavida Reaves developed the Path of Knowledge career readiness and college preparation program, where participants learn academic and job readiness skills to pursue better opportunities after high school.
STRONGER
Building Bridges and Civic Strength Across the Community
Impact Alamance and the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation continued building on work to help people across Alamance County strengthen civic culture. This key initiative aims to bridge communication divides between demographic sectors, identify common challenges and build trust so that citizens can take action together to create a healthier, smarter and stronger community.
The program directly supports our mission to partner and invest to achieve health, hope and prosperity for everyone in Alamance County. By fostering collaboration across the community, residents with diverse perspectives can work together to create solutions for health challenges, expand access to educational resources and strengthen community networks.
In 2022, we worked with a diverse group of citizens across the county to understand how people experience life in Alamance. We saw divided viewpoints but also a shared desire to move forward in several common areas, working together to strengthen Alamance’s grid of resources.
Expanding on that groundwork, the Harwood Institute hosted Public Innovators Labs for 50 local leaders and community residents in 2023. The labs formed action teams around the community’s aspirations and helped participants take intentional steps to catalyze positive actions throughout the community.
As part of the three-year initiative, the action teams will continue to participate in workshops, webinars and training sessions, as well as receive coaching facilitated by the Harwood Institute to expand effective, sustainable, community-led action to address the concerns that matter most to Alamance County.
“The labs proved to be a non-partisan approach around civic faith,” said participant and local business leader Ryan Spadaccini. “Definitely one of the best feel-good moments of my personal and professional life – I’m excited to continue on this 3-year and beyond journey of training and improvement.”
Strengthening Local Nonprofit Leadership
Roots & Wings, a child and family advocacy program for youth at risk for being placed in foster care, institutions or specialized schools, strengthened its leadership through an Impact Alamance program in 2023 — generating new ideas and plans to boost community impact.
An effective board of directors is key to a nonprofit’s success. As part of our Board Development program, we fund training programs for local nonprofit leaders. The goal is to strengthen organizations that in turn strengthen our community’s grid of resources. Working with a consultant, board members and executive directors learn to better identify growth opportunities and develop action plans.
For Roots & Wings, the board development process provided an immediate energy lift and a roadmap for success, says Executive Director Ronnie Dunevant. The organization’s board discussed ways to strengthen its strategy, improve resource management and deliver more impactful programs.
“Our board has always been passionate about our mission and work,” Dunevant says. “Now we have more tools to make a greater difference and be more effective.”
Equal Access to Our Grid of Resources
With an investment of $50,000, we partnered with NCCJ (North Carolina for Community and Justice) to offer the ACRE Co-lab (Alamance County Racial Equity Collaborative) for the third year. Like other communities with similar demographics, research shows significant disparities across racial lines when it comes to resources and opportunities in healthcare, education, housing and other areas.
To address this inequity and power our community’s future, the ACRE Colab brings community leaders of all backgrounds together in conversations to better understand how race affects disparity in Alamance County, share perspectives and set goals for improvement. All residents should be able to plug into our grid of community resources to create better lives.
The 7-month program served a cohort of about 20 nonprofit and municipal government leaders from September 2023 to March 2024.
“Many people haven’t had a space like this with other community members to talk about their experiences, ideas and learn from one another,” says Michael Robinson, Program Director at NCCJ and ACRE facilitator. “This has created relationships across organizations that may not have otherwise formed.”
Leading the Way to Better Serving Our Community
Now in its seventh year, the Leadership Institute, sponsored by Impact Alamance, provides local nonprofit and government leaders with skills to advance the missions of their organizations. This year, 21 individuals from 20 organizations participated in the 2022-2023 cohort, with 10 months of workshops, training and coaching.
Since its inception, the program has benefited 107 participants representing 54 organizations. Time and time again, participants have expressed how the program has helped build their leadership skills and make their organizations more impactful.
“The Leadership Institute completely transformed how I view myself as a leader. It made me more confident in my leadership style, helped me build new relationships and expanded my toolkit for navigating different situations.”
Sally Gordon Director of Community Change
United Way of Alamance County
“The ACRE Co-lab was an invaluable experience not only for my own growth, but for growing my personal and professional networks. Our group was challenged to share vulnerably, listen with intention and critically examine our own experiences and beliefs. I left ACRE with a new appreciation for my community and the power of human connection.”
Sara Beth Hardy
Assistant Director for Community Partnerships
Kernodle Center for Civic Life, Elon University by Design
“The Leadership Institute has helped me on a daily basis in understanding and keeping different perspectives in mind. It’s made a huge difference in having better conversations with the community and my co-workers.”
Nolan Carter
Trails & Open Space
Alamance Parks
Coordinator
P R O G R A M S
Championing Parent and Caregiver Voices in Local Education
Relaunched in 2022, the Parents for Public Schools Parent Engagement Program (PEP) trains parents and caregivers in Alamance County to become more effective advocates for youth and public education. Led by Alamance Achieves, an Impact Alamance initiative, the 2023-2024 program cohort met monthly for six months to cover topics such as school curriculums, testing, how to understand education data, and how the school system operates.
Research shows that both students and schools benefit when parents are involved, and this collaborative effort ensures parents can help support better outcomes for all students in Alamance County. Parental engagement also builds a broad base of local leaders invested in our schools. In addition to training, each PEP participant works on an individual leadership project to positively impact schools in the district.
In 2023, Impact Alamance provided funding for costs such as facilitators, materials and supplies — covering expenses until 2026.
Elon University Year Of Service Fellows
Year of Service Fellows are Elon University alumni who spend 12 months following graduation working as a staff member in an Alamance County community organization.
“ I was drawn to the fellowship to gain valuable work experience while applying what I learned at Elon to support and improve the health of Alamance County. What I will take away the most are leadership examples of who I hope to be in the healthcare industry – leading with a heart of compassion and integrity, while keeping community at the center of what I do.
My favorite project has been our new Employee Assistance Program through Employee Services Incorporated. We’ve been able to provide an array of benefits including counseling services, childcare and eldercare, and opportunities for professional development to Alamance County nonprofit employees and their families at no cost to them.”
Shauna Galvin, Impact Alamance
“ I pursued a fellowship with Impact Alamance as the Harwood Initiative Fellow because the approach deeply resonated with me, and I knew I wanted to be a part of the change. I’ve loved the opportunity to get to work with incredible community members who are working to build a better Alamance County.
Professionally, I feel like I’ve grown immensely through this experience, improving my facilitation skills and learning different ways to engage and bridge division in the community. Impact Alamance and the Harwood Initiative have pushed me to continually place community at the forefront of my work, and I hope to carry this same approach into the future.”
Madi Gilgo, For Alamance
“ I applied for this fellowship because I wanted to get more connected to Alamance County. I knew I wanted to have more experience and opportunities to really interact with the community. I’ve worked on grantmaking and providing STEAM grants to Alamance Burlington School System (ABSS) teachers. I’m also co-leading our Parent Engagement Program and working with the teacher-led advocacy group AmplifiED Alamance.
These programs have allowed me to interact with members of the community and help implement change with community input – while also providing community members with the resources to advocate for change themselves.”
Moriah Griffin, Alamance Achieves
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
F.D. Hornaday, Chair
Griffin McClure, Vice-Chair
Ted Chandler, Treasurer
Nicole Alston, Secretary
Vernetta Bridges, Equity Committee Chair
Dr. Yun Boylston
Dr. Ashley Brandon
Mandy Eaton
Mark Gordon
Albion Ida
Martha Krall
Leo Lambert
Nikki Ratliff
Pete Stearns
Edward Woodall
STAFF
Tracey Grayzer, President
Marcy Green, Vice-President of Programs
Tyronna Hooker, Vice-President of Education Programs
Laura Fehlhafer, Director of Communications and Advocacy
Matt Mullen, Office Administrator
Anne Baker, Finance and Grants Manager
Jewel Tillman, Community Engagement Manager
Betty Kluttz, Conference Center Coordinator
Elon University Year of Service Fellows
2023
Shauna Galvin, Impact Alamance
Madi Gilgo, For Alamance
Moriah Griffin, Alamance Achieves
2024
Nicole McGinty, Impact Alamance
Mollie Lund, For Alamance
Nyjah Rollins, Alamance Achieves
C U R R E N T B O A R D & S T A F F
Total Investments
Number of Grantees
$504,354 Healthier Investments
$569,997 Smarter Investments
$921,297 Stronger Investments
$1,995,648 TOTAL INVESTMENT