County makes cut in Duke grant bid

Alleghany County is in the running for a Duke Endowment grant which could help replace some lost jobs here as well as in Ashe and Wilkes.

The Alleghany Action Agenda team, composed of 27 leaders from government, business, educational, church and civic organizations, applied for a three-year, $475,000 economic development grant in January. New River Community Partners (NRCP) helped prepare the application.

Three NRCP staff members, Executive Director Patrick Woodie — who is also an Alleghany County commissioner — Project Coordinator Melanie Young and Director of Administration Sue Fender are also AAA team members. There were 93 grant applicants for option one funding. Five were from the Alleghany-Ashe-Wilkes area. "We had the highest number of applicants of any region in the two states (North and South Carolina)," said Woodie. "That shocked me. I never would have thought that."

Woodie said the team met about four times to develop the application. Last month they learned they had made the first cut; AAA was one of 12 applicants selected for site visits. Six of the 12 will be selected for option one funding.

According to a release from Duke Endowment, DE's program for the rural Carolinas is a five-year program to provide assistance to rural communities in the two states that are facing flat or declining population growth, job losses or high rates of poverty. Option one is described as community change, whereby six grants of $475,000 each over three years will be awarded. Option two, community development, will provide 20 one-time grants of $175,000 each.

Woodie said option two is more focused. He said AAA has asked to be considered for option two if it is not selected for option one. "This is a whole new venture for Duke Endowment," said Woodie. "Traditionally they have funded rural hospitals and churches. This takes them in a whole new direction.... Duke is a big funder historically of the United Methodist Church."

The DE release said efforts will be built around the leadership of institutions eligible for traditional Duke Grants — non-profit hospitals and children's homes, and rural United Methodist Churches — in building partnerships. Therefore one of the leaders in the application was the Rev. Phillip W. Park, pastor of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Piney Creek. In narrowing down the finalists, DE asked AAA to work in partnership with another applicant, the United Methodist Church's North Wilkesboro district, to make the project more regional. That church district is led by District Superintendent Alan Rice. The district set up the Northwest Alliance Community Development Corporation last year.

Park said, "As Methodists we believe the Bible has called, and the Lord has called us to bear one another's burdens."

Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back