Buncombe County to work on budget, hear nonprofit funding presentations

Nonprofit agencies will make their case for funding from Buncombe County's upcoming budget for Fiscal Year 2018. A total of 46 nonprofits are asking for an aggregate of almost $11 million.

It’s that time of year again: budget season.

One of the biggest decisions the Buncombe County Commissioners face this time of year is how to distribute funding to area nonprofits through the community development grant program.

This year, 48 nonprofits will request nearly $7.2 million in funding from Buncombe County — up from the $4.2 million requested from 43 entities last year. Only two nonprofits asked for more than $1 million. The largest, the Asheville Art Museum, requested for $2.2 million in county grants. Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministries asked for the second largest amount, $1.2 million, to fund four separate projects, leaving $3.8 million in requests from the 46 other organizations.

Of the $4.2 million requested in the last fiscal year’s budget, the county only approved $2.6 million in grants, or 62 percent of the requested amount — and less than one percent of the county’s $388 million budget as a whole. The year before that, $6.6 million was requested and $2.6 million, nearly 40 percent, was received.

Other than the Asheville Art Museum, which needs funding to preserve, renovate and expand its operations, and ABCCM, which has plans to construct a Veteran Village and a Transformation Village for homeless women and their children, the organizations asking for the largest grant amounts are Homeward Bound of Western North Carolina, Pack Square Cultural Partnership and Pisgah Legal Services.

Each nonprofit will present its mission and request before the Board, and county staff and Commissioners will evaluate and consider the organizations’ needs for the 2016/2017 fiscal year’s budget.

The budget workshop will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 4 p.m. on the third floor of the county building at 200 College St., downtown Asheville. Click here to read the full agenda, with details on each nonprofit.

Read below for Xpress‘ full list of funding requests (organized from highest to lowest amounts):

Organization Organization Description Where will funding go? $ Requested 2016
Asheville Art Museum Collection of American art from 20th
& 21st centuries, providing cultural
& educational enrichment
Expansion & renovation
project
$2,175,000
Asheville-Buncombe
Community Christian Ministries
Provides spiritual,
social, physical,
economic &
emotional support
for Buncombe County
Transformation Village $550,000
Veteran Village $350,000
Steadfast House $240,000
Community Navigators $75,000
Homeward Bound of Western North Carolina Moves people into housing
& provides the support
they need to stay there
End Chronic Homelessness $357,756
AHOPE Center $130,000
Project Rebound $50,000
Pack Square Cultural Partnership Houses the Asheville
Art Museum, Diana
Wortham Theatre
& YMI Cultural Center
Maintenance & operations
support
$395,000
Pisgah Legal Services Pursues justice by providing
legal assistance to
low-income people in WNC
Child and Family Protection
& Self-Sufficiency project
$300,000
All Souls Counseling Center Provides counseling to individuals,
couples & families regardless
of their ability to pay
Accessible mental
health care
$145,000
Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity Builds houses & helps preserve
existing homes, giving families
an opportunity or stability,
security & advancement
Home Services $75,000
Home Repair $60,000
Asheville Museum of Science Provides educational STEM
programming & exhibits to area
students & visitors
Relocation
& expansion
$125,000
YWCA of Asheville & WNC Dedicated to eliminating
racism & empowering women
Drop-In Child Care $50,000
Community Service
Navigators
$25,000
Motherlove $25,000
School Age $15,000
Getting Ahead $10,000
Mountain Housing Opportunities Builds & improves homes,
neighborhoods & communities
to build hope for individuals
Affordable housing
development & services
$117,500
The Support Center Provides business training
to reduce barriers for the
socially & economically
disadvantaged
Provide capital & training
to small businesses to
promote economic growth
$100,000
Children First/Children In
Schools of Buncombe
Advocates & empowers
children & families
living in poverty
Success coordinators $100,000
Our Voice Serves individuals affected by
sexual assault & abuse through
counseling, advocacy & education
Underserved populations
outreach & foster
care counseling
$98,082.07
Buncombe County Schools Oversees public schools
in Buncombe County
Career academy
at Erwin High
$94,000
Helpmate Served as Buncombe’s primary
provider of crisis services for
victims of domestic violence
Crisis support for
domestic violence victims
$82,000
Big Ivy Community Club Pursuing greater opportunities
& benefits for neighbors & friends
Community Center $55,000
Community Service
Navigator
$25,000
Asheville Buncombe Institute
of Parity Achievement
Promotes economic, social & health
parity achievement for people
of color in Buncombe
Community health
worker team
$80,000
Delta House Provides academics & enrichment
services to students in grades 3-12
LEEAP for Success $75,000
Eblen Charities Helps thousands of families
with medical & emergency assistance
Graduation initiative $75,000
Asheville Buncombe Regional
Sports Commission
Brings sporting events to the region Community wellness &
promotion through
sporting events
$75,000
MANNA FoodBank Educates & unites people in the
work of ending hunger in WNC
Food Stamp Outreach $20,000
Food Distribution $50,000
Asheville Greenworks Urban environmental conservation
organization working to enhance the
community through education
& volunteer-based programs
Buncombe County
Clean & Green
$70,000
Asheville Area Arts Council Gives artists a collective voice by
collaborating & fostering creativity
in the community
Regranting & Buncombe
Cultural Alliance
$70,000
One Youth at a Time Provides support & mentoring
to at-risk youth
Youth mentoring, tutoring
& outreach education
$67,000
Mount Zion Community Development Christian ministry aiming to
help educate & prevent teen
pregnancy/provide support
for young mothers
Project Empower $15,000
Project NAF $50,000
Friends of the Nature Center Provides education on natural
resources & regional wildlife
& works to preserve resources
through conservation programs
Admission offset &
operation support
$65,000
Veterans Treatment Court Specialized court system for
veterans to address mental health
issues & prevent future arrests
Operations $63,300
Project Lighten Up Summer & after-school education
& recreation camp for low-income
and minority youth
Operations $60,000
Green Opportunities Helps youth & adults living in poverty
get & keep jobs & improves
community & environmental health
Kitchen Ready $60,000
Council on Aging Provides care management
for at-risk elders
Operations $52,300
WNC Communities Works to improve the quality of life for
rural communities & enhance
the agriculture economy
Hemlock Preservation Project $25,000
Community Development
& Agriculture
$20,000
YMI Cultural Center Promotes interculturalism &
the preservation of cultural identity
Operations $40,000
Arc of Buncombe County Serves people with intellectual
& developmental disabilities
Operations $40,000
Hope Chest for Women Cancer patient advocacy,
support & community
education program
Operations $38,700
Sterling House Provides safe living
environment for
12 women receiving mental
health/substance abuse
rehabilitative services
Operations $30,000
Irene Wortham Center Developmental day program
that serves children
with/without disabilities
in an inclusive learning
environment
Early Learning Center $30,000
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Helps local farms thrive, links
farmers tosupporters & builds
healthy communities through
connections to local food
Sustaining
Buncombe County’s
Local Food Economy
$30,000
Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry Provide vital services for
neighbors in need, assist
those experiencing hardship
Community Service Navigator $25,000
Asheville Downtown Association Foundation Promotes & supports quality economic,
cultural & residential development
in downtown Asheville
Event support $25,000
The Mediation Center Helps families find workable solutions
& supports children so they can
maintain relationships with both parents
Family Visitation Program $24,000
Child Abuse Prevention Services Works to reduce & prevent child
abuse, strengthen families & through
prevention, education & counseling
Operations $20,000
Just Economics Advocate & organizer for
just, sustainable economy
Poverty remediation $15,000
Asheville Community Theatre Provides entertainment
through community theatre arts
Operations $15,000
Environmental Quality Institute Environmental research laboratory
analyzing chemical & biological
makeup of local streams for public use
Volunteer Water
Information Network
$9,600
Historic Resources Commission of
Asheville & Buncombe County
Preserves & protects cultural
& architectural resources of
Asheville and Buncombe County
Operations $5,000
Asheville Lyric Opera Stage original productions
of opera & lyric theatre
to enrich, engage & educate
Operations $5,000
Folk Heritage Committee Dedicated to preserving &
presenting the musical heritage of
the Southern Appalachians
Shindig on the Green $4,275
Senior Care Fellowship Day care facility for seniors
providing pick-up, drop-off,
activities & hot home-cooked meals
Operations $1,500
Total $7,175,013.07
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About Hayley Benton
Current freelance journalist and artist. Former culture/entertainment reporter at the Asheville Citizen-Times and former news reporter at Mountain Xpress. Also a coffee drinker, bad photographer, teller of stupid jokes and maker-upper of words. I can be reached at hayleyebenton [at] gmail.com. Follow me @HayleyTweeet

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