Big boost to grantmaking from Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation
The Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation, an affiliate of the North Carolina Community Foundation, has said it will make roughly $500,000 available in grants this year — a dramatic rise from the small total awarded last year. The foundation opens its application window on 24 July, with a deadline of noon on 25 August.
The windfall follows new funding from the Wayland L. Jenkins Jr. Endowment. The foundation says this infusion has multiplied its grant capacity and will allow it to consider requests at a variety of levels, from grassroots projects to larger, cross-sector efforts.
- Application portal opens: 24 July
- Deadline for submissions: noon, 25 August
- Anticipated total available: ~$500,000
- Grant range expected: $5,000 to $50,000 (and larger for multi-organisation work)
“We encourage organisations to apply and share how their work is making a positive impact in our community,”
The quoted remark came from Laura Beasley, who chairs the Bertie-Hertford advisory board. She described the trustees as being “proud stewards of Wayland Jenkins’ legacy,” and said the endowment will expand the foundation’s reach this year and into the future.
Who can apply and what priorities will be considered
Eligible applicants include charitable organisations and partnerships that support Bertie and Hertford counties. The foundation will consider proposals that address a set of community needs identified through listening sessions and focus groups in 2025. Those priority areas are:
- Education and youth development
- Physical and mental health and well-being
- Employment and workforce development
- Housing
The foundation expects to offer grants at three broad levels, designed to suit different types and scales of work.
| Grant type | Typical amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Community Action Grants | $5,000–$15,000 | Support for grassroots, pilot or short-term, community-led projects |
| Community Impact Grants | $15,000–$50,000 | For programmes with demonstrated or promising impact or county-wide projects |
| Community Change Grants | $50,000+ | Designed for multi-organisation partnerships and systems-level initiatives |
Last year, the foundation awarded about $6,000 in total. The scale of the current awards therefore represents an almost hundredfold increase in available funds, reflecting the new endowment's effect on local philanthropy.
Applications will be processed through the North Carolina Community Foundation's online grants portal. Interested groups are directed to the NCCF website for full details and submission instructions.
For readers in Hertford who track community philanthropy and the ways funds bearing the town's name are used abroad, the development is a reminder of how named endowments can rapidly change a foundation's capacity to support local needs — in this case those of two counties in North Carolina.
