Good Works PEOPLE
PL ACE
PROSPERIT Y
SPRING 2013
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
In January, CFWNC moved into offices in the historic Biltmore School, the Foundation’s fifth location. Many generous donors helped with the purchase and renovation. Our new offices are conveniently located, have ample parking and include room for growth. We were pleased to commit to this restoration project early and to play a role in bringing this landmark building back into public use. You’ll find images and information about our new space and the generous donors who made it possible on pages 4-5. With our four focus areas – People in Need, Food and Farming, Early Childhood Development and Preserving Natural and Cultural Resources – guiding our discretionary grantmaking, we are building connections and supporting effective coalitions and partnerships.
As an organization, we continue to refine strategies for each focus area while learning from the process. A year ago in March, we made our first Food and Farming Focus Area grant to TRACTOR, an alliance supporting farmers in Mitchell and Yancey counties. Our $25,000 investment in rental equipment for farmers was part of a bigger framework that is helping to build a food hub, create jobs and support local economies in two of our rural counties. There is an important role for CFWNC to play in terms of funding, bringing partners to the table and helping to strengthen momentum. As we further flesh out opportunities in other focus areas, we know that we have to be realistic about our limitations, and we acknowledge that our grants cannot fill holes left by government budget cuts. We can and have expanded our approaches to address pressing issues. Advocacy is one critical tool we can employ. Philip Belcher, our Vice President of Programs, leads the Early Childhood Development Focus Area and his article below explores how we can best help more children enter school prepared for success.
Photo by Michael Oppenheim.
CFWNC celebrates 35 years of service to Western North Carolina this year. As we mark this milestone, our organization is strong and streamlined. We’ve invested time and effort to ensure that CFWNC remains sustainable, responsive and vibrant. As part of that process, we have changed the way we operate, focused our discretionary grantmaking and transitioned to owning our office space.
Elizabeth Brazas, President
With a grant to HandMade in America, the Preserving Natural and Cultural Resources Focus Area is targeting rural communities and working to leverage other sources of funds. CFWNC support for the WNC Nature Center honors a donor’s wishes and is helping to enhance exhibits and educational programming. We continue to define our strategy for this broad focus area that represents much of what is distinctive in our region. Just two years after the Janirve Foundation entrusted $10 million to CFWNC, the People In Need grant program is deploying significant resources to nonprofits supporting our region’s most vulnerable populations. With CFWNC Continued on page 2
E arly C h ild h ood D e v elopment F oc u s A rea
Photo by Michael Oppenheim.
In 2011, Early Childhood Development (ECD) was selected as one of CFWNC’s funding priorities. Since then, the ECD Task Force, the Distribution Committee and the Foundation’s Board have been grappling with how best to achieve regional impact and work toward the focus area’s vision of supporting every child in realizing her or his full potential. Our goal is to improve educational and developmental outcomes for children in Western North Carolina, particularly at-risk children who are not in formal early childhood programs. We have been making grants and, at the same time, exploring how to move forward given the modest financial investment we can make and our desire to have donors and other funders co-invest with us in this essential work. I have long believed that one of philanthropy’s most important tasks— and its most difficult—is influencing public understanding. In addition to making a concrete difference in the lives of individuals and communities, enhancing public understanding of issues and models for making permanent progress is equally necessary. Problems in our communities exist because of insufficient resources, but also because we do not agree on what the issues are or how best to address them. In North Carolina, as elsewhere, if some collective understanding of the issues and solutions does not become part of the intellectual and moral currency of our state, gains under one administration may simply be reversed by the succeeding one. One North Carolina legislator, was quoted recently opining that early childhood development was no more than glorified babysitting. As ill-informed as I believe that opinion to be, that an elected representative harbors that suspicion suggests much work needs to be done to make progress in improving the lives of our youngest residents.
Philip Belcher, Vice President of Programs
No single approach will suffice. Simultaneous investments are necessary to change public perceptions, affect public policy and eventually make high-quality early child care and education a cultural norm. One of those investments must be in programs that are effective in improving early childhood outcomes. Our grant in May 2012 to Reach Out and Read (www.reachoutandreadsc.org) is a good example. An investment of $25,000, made in partnership with two fundholders, is expected to expand this program to an additional 3,500 children and their families. This type of programmatic investment, although essential, is not sufficient. Combining all of the philanthropic dollars in North Carolina would comprise only a fraction of the investment that must be made in our children if we are to improve their quality of life. Public investment is an economic, social and moral imperative. Continued on page 7