The Golden LEAF Board of Directors announced a total of $17,376,679 in funding to support job creation and economic investment, workforce preparedness and agriculture projects. The Board awarded $9.9 million to support 11 projects through the Community-Based Grants Initiative in the North Central Prosperity Zone, $1.2 million to support three projects through the Open Grants Program and $1.3 million to support a SITE Program – Development project. The Board also recently approved an award of $4.8 million to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
“Today, the Golden LEAF Board awarded funding to projects that represent all three of the foundation’s funding priorities: job creation and economic investment, workforce preparedness, and agriculture,” said Golden LEAF Board Chair Brian Raynor in a press release. “Together, these investments share the ultimate goal of moving the economic needle in communities and will support the long-term economic advancement of rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed areas. We look forward to the lasting impact they will have for years to come.”
At a special Board meeting in January, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded $4,864,368 to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in Robeson County for clinical and training lab equipment to support the development of the State’s first public College of Optometric Medicine. The College will be housed in the university’s new $91 million, 74,000-square-foot Clinical Sciences Building with construction scheduled to begin in 2026 and completion anticipated in 2028. The program will use a hybrid learning model combining live patient care, simulation-based training, and clinical experiences in rural and underserved communities. The College will enroll 32 students annually…