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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