NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The Endowment has announced the recipients of its 2026 Spring Community Grants, inclusive of 41 grants totaling $500,000 to nonprofit and community-serving organizations across New Hanover County.
These grants support efforts to expand opportunities, strengthen services, and improve residents’ well-being, including 13 awards in social & health equity, nine in education, nine in community safety, and 10 in community development, with many initiatives spanning multiple pillars reflecting the interconnected nature of our community’s needs.
“Community Grants support local leaders and organizations that make a direct difference in people’s lives,” Sophie Dagenais, president and CEO of The Endowment, said in a press release. “Just as importantly, we learn from our applicants and grantees. This program gives us a real-time view of what’s happening in our community and helps strengthen our understanding of the community we serve.”
The Endowment received 134 applications requesting $1.78 million in total, including 51 from organizations that had not previously received funding from The Endowment.
Applicants were limited to one submission per organization per cycle, and all proposals were independently reviewed and scored by pillar-based subcommittees made up of The Endowment staff and Community Advisory Council members representing each of the four pillars.
Grant funds must be used by Dec. 29, 2026, with final impact reports due by Jan. 29, 2027. The Fall Cycle of the 2026 Community Grants Program will open in July.
The full list of grantees are as follows:
100 Black Men of Coastal NC: $15,000 to expand the number of African American middle and high school youth that participate in evidence-based success academics and engage in high-impact workshops and competitions at the local Youth Summit and 100 Black Men of America’s Annual Conference to expose them to pathways to success via economic opportunities
2SHARE, Inc: $15,000 to purchase approximately 75 good quality mattresses, platforms, and sheets at no additional cost for low-income NHC households in need.
3Wheel Therapy: $5,000 to support 3Wheel Therapy’s insurance, fuel, maintenance costs, and safe transport of adaptive tricycles to partner agencies and local parks/trails to provide an accessible and therapeutic riding experience for anyone unable to ride a traditional bicycle.
4th Trimester Mission: $12,500 to sustain postpartum doula home visits and new mother meetups, providing essential emotional and physical support and resource connections for families in Greater Wilmington.
Alliance for Cape Fear Trees: $15,000 to plant 130 native or regionally-adapted trees in Wilmington’s Southside and Bottom neighborhoods — historically underserved areas and areas of low tree canopy.
Assistance League of Greater Wilmington: $15,000 to support the Operation School Bell Care Closet Program in three Title I high schools in providing essential resources like clothing, hygiene supplies, and school supplies which are critical necessities to learning.
Autism Society of North Carolina, Inc.: $5,000 to purchase music, art, and sensory supplies for the Autism Society’s Wilmington Social Recreation after school and summer camp programs for children with autism to develop precursor skills necessary for academic success.
Better Is Possible: $15,000 to support the Teen Summit, a free, full-day experience for youth in NHC to address a critical need in NHC for safe, affirming, youth-led spaces for teens to openly address the social, emotional, and economic challenges shaping their lives.
Cameron Art Museum: $15,000 to address the achievement gap in NHC by offering two evidence based arts integration professional development sessions for teachers to evolve Cameron Art Museum’s Closing the Gap (CTG) workshops for NHC schools
Camp Schreiber Foundation: $12,000 to purchase fractional accounting services to reduce their administrative duties to allow for full time staff to expand direct programming to remove financial, social, and practical barriers standing between young men and college graduation.
Cape Fear Area Doulas: $15,000 to expand scholarships for birth and postpartum doula care for families with financial barriers in NHC and support advanced training to strengthen quality, equitable maternal care.
Cape Fear Veteran Resilience Project: $15,000 to strengthen suicide prevention efforts and expand coordination access to critical mental health, employment, financial literacy, and training services and support for veterans and their families in the Cape Fear region.
Carolina Small Business Development Fund: $11,000 to support the Cash Flow Confidence Program, a two-part workshop that will serve 30+ business owners and teach an understanding of cash flow fundamentals and business operations.
Child Development Center: $15,000 to support delivery of a seven-week summer program during the school closure period to provide consistency, structure, and developmentally appropriate support for students with special needs.
Coastal Bringing Up Down Syndrome: $12,000 to support “Down to Stay Healthy”, offering fitness and nutrition programs for individuals with Down syndrome and other disabilities in the Cape Fear area to lower chronic disease risk.
Community Enrichment Initiatives Inc: $14,500 to support greenhouse repairs, refrigerated storage, and operation support for Willowdale Farms to address food insecurity in NHC through growing food, feeding food insecure residents, and teaching regenerative gardening classes.
El Cuerpo: $10,000 to fund essential medical costs, including lab work, supplies, and volunteer and staff training to support El Cuerpo’s free medical clinic addressing barriers to health access for the Latino community in NHC.
Family Promise of Lower Cape Fear: $10,000 to support a strategic marketing initiative that strengthens brand visibility and messaging to better reach families experiencing housing instability, domestic violence survivors, and other vulnerable populations, while increasing community awareness and support.
Feast Down East, Inc: $10,000 to support Farmers Fighting Hunger by covering a portion of food costs for partner agencies, providing fresh, local food to an estimated 7,000 individuals in NHC.
First Fruit Ministries: $15,000 to fund a new oven and maintenance to ensure safe, uninterrupted meal preparation and increase kitchen efficiency, allowing meals to be prepared more quickly and consistently for individuals experiencing homelessness in NHC.
Freedom Sailing: $14,600 to secure the operational stability needed to keep these therapeutic sails free of charge and funding an accessible slip and safety equipment to eliminate time-consuming logistics to directly increase capacity to serve more veterans and first responders.
Genesis Block Foundation: $7,500 to support the Resident Cohort Meetup initiative that addresses the need for continued connection, support, and resource access for small business owners after completing formal entrepreneurship programming through the Block Academy Program.
Making Waves Foundation: $15,000 to provide fare subsidies to human service nonprofit agencies who provide assistance to members of the community in need and individuals who otherwise would not have access to transportation
paws4people foundation: $15,000 to allow paws4people to support acquisition of puppies and adolescent dogs to more comprehensively address it’s waiting list for highly trained Assistance Dogs, Facility Dogs, and K9-assisted intervention service dogs in NHC.
Pine Valley Elementary PTA: $15,000 to fund outdoor play space improvements at Pine Valley Elementary by providing access to hydration, safe outdoor play spaces, and quality recreational equipment to support physical health and well-being for students.
Purpose International: $10,000 to support the Purpose Youth and Teen Camp to reduce summer learning loss, strengthen emotional resilience, and increase clarity around future pathways by integrating academic enrichment with trauma-informed supports and applied learning
Rescue Mission of Cape Fear: $10,000 to provide funding for basic necessities, stabilization support, and recovery-focused services for NHC men in Rescue Mission of Cape Fear’s residential recovery program experiencing homelessness or housing instability challenges.
Restored Souls Foundation: $10,000 to support Restored Styles Mobile Salon, a trauma-informed, accessible program serving children in foster care and individuals with disabilities in NHC to reduce barriers to accessing personal care services due to mobility limitations, sensory sensitivities, trauma histories, or lack of accessible facilities
The Children’s Museum of Wilmington: $15,000 to support Building Bright Beginnings to address gaps in kindergarten readiness and access to high-quality early learning opportunities for young children in NHC through educator-led, play-based programming and hands-on STEM and literacy experiences.
The Coastal Therapeutic Riding Program: $10,000 to support approximately 130 therapeutic riding lessons for low-income NHC residents, expanding access to adaptive equestrian therapy for individuals with disabilities.
The LGBTQ Center of the Cape Fear Coast: $5,000 to enhance the LGBTQ Center’s capacity to assess community needs and provide accessible resources through program evaluations and a new website for LGBTQ+ residents in NHC
The Wilmington Farmers Market: $13,000 to support the Wilmington Farmers Market’s SNAP Double Bucks program, increasing access to fresh, locally grown food for low-income families in NHC
Theatre for All, Inc: $8,000 to support the Public School Outreach Program in providing instruction to students with intellectual and developmental disability in “Specially Designed Academics” classrooms to enhance skill-building and employability through performing arts education
United Way of Cape Fear: $12,900 to provide two new books across genres and languages to students in grades K-5 at six NHC schools, impacting approximately 1,922 students in advancing early childhood literacy.
University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s Watson College of Education: $15,000 to further develop and expand the Teaching with Joy Network, with a focus on educator well-being, student belonging, and joyful teaching practices, across NHC schools to increase retention and recruitment of educators.
Williston Middle School PTA: $12,000 to fund filtered water bottle filling stations for 668 middle school students to provide access to safe drinking water and improve health and education outcomes for Title I students in an economically disadvantaged school
Wilmington CareNet Counseling Center: $15,000 to cover mental health counseling fees for clients unable to afford care, including children, teens, adults, couples, and families in NHC, and support key operational costs, including administrative pay, office rent, and supplies
Wilmington Minority Chamber of Commerce: $10,000 to provide operations funding for the Wilmington Minority Chamber of Commerce to create a brand presence and hire core staff for overall support for minority-owned businesses in NHC
Working Films: $15,000 to present the Story Leads half-day conference in Wilmington in early Fall 2026, bringing together current and emerging nonprofit, public service, media professionals, and college/university students pursuing careers to support organizations using film and storytelling to communicate impact
Wrightsboro UMC: $5,000 to support the Backpacks of Dignity Project in partnership with local public schools to ensure students from under-resources families begin the school year with the essential school supplies and hygiene items they need to succeed.
Young Mogul Development Group: $15,000 to provide young students of color with in-depth career development activities, and training with the aim of early exposure to employable skills such as verbal communication, CPR/First Aid certifications, and developing STEM, digital, and market-relevant skills
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