Best Asheville Grants for Nonprofits in North Carolina

N.C. Forest Service - Timber Loss Relief Program

Program Overview

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was awarded a U.S. Department of Agriculture block grant to support Hurricane Helene recovery. Part of these disaster recovery funds will be administered by the N.C. Forest Service through a new Timber Loss Relief Program (TLRP). TLRP funds will be used to partially compensate eligible woodland owners for the value of timber loss as a result of Hurricane Helene. 

Asheville Merchants Fund

The Asheville Merchants Fund (AMF) seeks to improve the quality of life in Buncombe County by supporting innovative projects that strengthen the community through economic efforts in one or more of its Funding Priorities.

The Fund provides grants of up to $50,000 over two years. Approximately five to eight grants are awarded during each two-year funding cycle. Grants are paid in two installments, with the second year of funding contingent upon reasonable progress toward expected results.  

Projects must target economic benefit for Buncombe County residents. Priority will be given to projects comprehensively addressing one or more of the following Funding Priorities: 

Innovative Economic Approaches 

• Community asset development: investing in emerging local economies, especially those related to home-grown businesses 
• Entrepreneurship: resources for entrepreneurs, including access to training, service providers and capital to accelerate business success 

Quality Jobs & Workforce

• Living wage work: recruitment, retention and expansion of businesses providing high-quality, well-paying jobs 
• Appropriate skills: training for jobs that are in demand and critical to community viability 
• Non-traditional training and employment services: flexible schedules, short-term certificate programs and community-based (versus academic institutional) settings 

Social Infrastructure 

• Programs contributing to family economic success, including financial education and asset development
• Affordable housing: developing effective strategies and supporting implementation
• Services that increase employees’ ability to participate fully in the workforce, including health and wellness or dependent care 

Youth Success in School 

• Middle and high school students: targeted academic (particularly in math, science and technology) and non-academic activities related to job skill development 
• Family support: improving the home environment for learning

AMF supports organizations that have the capacity and vision to develop multi-faceted programs to help Buncombe County and its citizens thrive in the emerging economic environment. Factors considered in evaluating applications include: 

• Focus on a critical need
• Defined, measurable results that can be achieved within the grant period and make a long-term difference in the beneficiaries' lives
• Skilled leadership with the potential to carry out innovative, integrated efforts effectively in one or more of the focus areas

The Laura Jane Musser Fund was established by the estate of Laura Jane Musser of Little Falls, Minnesota to continue the personal philanthropy, which she practiced in her lifetime.

Environmental Initiative Program

The Laura Jane Musser Fund assists public or not-for-profit entities to initiate or implement projects that enhance the ecological integrity of publicly owned open spaces, while encouraging compatible human activities. The Fund’s goal is to promote public use of open space that improves a community’s quality of life and public health, while also ensuring the protection of healthy, viable and sustainable ecosystems by protecting or restoring habitat for a diversity of plant and animal species.

Projects must..

• Focus on protecting/restoring a sustainable ecosystem that is a defined, public open space.
• Promote public access to and use of the defined open space.
• Involve active participation of local community members, with a particular appreciation for volunteer and youth engagement and stakeholder contributions.
• Contain measurable outcomes within the first 12-18 months.
• Include a plan for the long term financial and environmental sustainability of the proposed program.

Projects during any one grant period will be eligible for either:

• implementation grants or 
• planning grants

Environmental Initiative - Implementation Grant Program

Implementation grant applications must demonstrate clear evidence of local community active participation and support.

Projects will be eligible for either planning or implementation funds during any one grant period.

Purpose

The purpose of the Early Childhood Education and Development Fund is to ensure that every child in Buncombe County has an equal opportunity to thrive during their first 2,000 days, including access to quality early childhood education. The Fund was established in response to a well-documented local shortage of quality early childhood education programs, barriers that families face in accessing existing programs, including affordability, and a well-documented shortage of qualified teachers and staff in classrooms and centers.

Funding

Grants may be awarded up to the total amount of $4,054,185, the anticipated budget for the Early Childhood Education and Development Fund for FY2027 (subject to budget adoption). On October 30, 2018, the Board of Commissioners for Buncombe County voted to create the Early Childhood Education and Development fund for the purpose of annually investing $3.6 million beginning in the FY2020 budget with an annual increase of 2% in future years. 

Funding is earmarked to support early care and education for children birth through kindergarten. This includes the following categories:

• infants/toddlers – ages six (6) weeks to three (3) years old
• preschoolers – ages three (3) to five (5) years old
• pre-kindergarteners (pre-k) – 4 year old rising kindergarteners (4 years old by August 31st)