Cumberland Community Foundation awards between $7 million and $10 million in grants annually (depending on donor advised fund activity).
- About 70% to 80% of the distributions are made from donor-restricted funds to causes designated by the donors.
- Other grants are awarded from unrestricted and field-of-interest "Community Funds" through the competitive grant application program called "Community Grants."
- Charitable organizations based in Cumberland County, NC should attend a Grantseeker Information meeting to learn more about CCF's Community Grants Program. (Click on Calendar/Events at the top menu and register online. You will need your nonprofit's tax identification number.)
Example Community Grants Awarded
Recent Awards:
- Seventy-nine local nonprofits shared $560,000 in matching funds for their GivingTuesday 2023 campaign gifts. (Total distributed from the campaign was $2.5 million.)
- Airborne and Special Operations Museum was awarded $100,000 from the Dr. Lucile Hutaff Community Advancement Fund and Community Grants fund for the Honoring America's Heroes Campaign to upgrade the exhibits.
- Armed Services YMCA of Fort Bragg was awarded $7,760 from the Community Grants fund for Operation Hero, a program that supports military school children.
- Cape Fear Regional Theatre at Fayetteville, Inc. was awarded a $500,000 leadership gift to help CFRT qualify for $5 million from the State of NC. The Phase II campaign will add height to the building, create dedicated classroom space, and improve operations.
- CCS Ferguson-Easley Elementary School received $8,240 for The Greater Purpose Project to support education goals and mental health services.
- CityView News Fund received a $150,000 grant over three years to ensure news coverage of local government, paid by the Dr. Lucile Hutaff Community Advancement Fund (established for innovative programs).
- Employment Source, Service Source affiliate received $10,000 for Enriching the Lives of People with Disabilities.
- Fayetteville/Cumberland Parks and Recreation was awarded $65,000 for Phase I and $8,330 for Phase II for Cross Creek Cemetery #1 for restoration of the historic section and to establish an educational pathway.
- Fayetteville State University received $580,060 for CCF-FSU Cumberland First Scholars Initiative.
- Fayetteville Area Operation Inasmuch received a $50,000 Lilly Endowment Challenge Matching Grant, a $1 for $1 match to help a Cumberland County nonprofit grow its endowment fund.
- Fayetteville Technical Community College was awarded $250,000 over five years for increasing education attainment by 2030 in coordination with MyFutureNC goals.
- Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library received $12,250 for the 2024 Summer Reading Program: “Adventure Begins at Your Library.”
- Methodist University received $1,500 for scholarships to the General Shelton Challenge Leadership Camp.
- Myrover-Reese Fellowship Home, Inc. was awarded $10,000 for the greenhouse project on campus that provides support to clients recovering from substance abuse and a place to grow mums as a source of revenue for support programs.
- Partnership for Children of Cumberland County was awarded $250,000 over five years for Family Connects, a community-wide in-home nurse visiting program available to families with newborns.
Past Awards:
CCF's goal is to make grants that maximize impact. Grants from CCF's unrestricted endowments support the greatest needs and best opportunities in the community.
- CCF awards grants to strengthen community infrastructure and build community-wide resources, such as start up funding for Cape Fear Botanical Garden (three years of funding starting in 1980), Fayetteville Symphony Youth Orchestra (two years of funding in 2017), The CARE Clinic (1990), and Cumberland County Medication Assistance Program "CCMAP" (2001), Greater Fayetteville United, Institute of Community Leadership, and many others.
- CCF provided early support to help build community amenities, such as the $250,000 grant to purchase the site for the headquarters library in downtown Fayetteville (1984), the $250,000 grant to Cape Fear Botanical Garden to develop the Children's Garden (2016), the $150,000 grant to Cape Fear Botanical Garden's Campaign for Natural Growth (2006), and the $500,000 grant to the NC History Center.
