Three county area approved for Duke Endowment grant funds

A partnership among Alleghany, Ashe and Wilkes counties will receive almost half a million dollars to help the area's economy, thanks to a grant award from The Duke Endowment (DE).

DE announced the awards in a news release last week. The three-county district was one of 23 successful grant applicants in North and South Carolina for DE's $10 million "Program for the Rural Carolinas." Alleghany, Ashe and Wilkes were one of only seven recipients of the larger, option one grants of $475,000 each.

Details on how the money is to be used are yet to be determined, as $25,000 of the total is to be used for planning, with the planning phase set for the remainder of this year. Melanie Young, project coordinator for New River Community Partners (NRCP), said the remaining $450,000 is to be awarded in increments over a three-year period.

NRCP helped prepare the grant application, with participation from Alleghany Action Agenda, a team of 27 government, business, educational, church and civic leaders.

"We are really happy," said Young. "It seems like the county has had some bad news lately, and this has perked us all up. We (AAA) were really excited."

Patrick Woodie, Alleghany county commissioner and director of NRCP, said, "We're very excited to participate in this new program sponsored by Duke Endowment. It's one of the pieces that will help rebuild our economy."

Economic Strengthening

The 23 grant recipients were selected from 93 applicants. In the release, Russell M. Robinson II, chairman of DE, said, "Even in our most economically disadvantaged rural communities, dedicated people with creative ideas are working to improve their local economies. Our goal in the rural program is to help these people join forces and increase their ability to develop collaborative efforts that will strengthen their communities."

The North Wilkesboro District of the United Methodist Church (which includes Alleghany, Ashe and Wilkes) is the actual fiscal agent of the grant application, Young said. The DE release said each of the collaborative projects is led by an organization eligible to receive grants from DE (traditionally non-profit hospitals and children's homes, and rural United Methodist Churches), and that organization will receive the grants on behalf of its community partnership.

Other Recipients

Under the program, seven communities are to receive option one grants of $475,000 each for large-scale efforts to energize community development and strengthen economic vitality. The other 16 communities were awarded option two grants of $175,000 each for smaller-scale economic projects.

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