2007 Grant Recipient Press Release
2006 Grant Recipients
2005 Grant Recipients
2004 Grant Recipients
2003 Grant Recipients
2002 Grant Recipients
2001 Grant Recipients
A Six-Year Retrospective
The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission is pleased to present this Six-Year Retrospective featuring 33 successful projects funded by the commission from 2001 to 2007.We believe this publication will help North Carolinians - including elected representatives, community leaders and the general public - more fully understand the role the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission is playing to secure a better future for those citizens adversely affected by the decline of tobacco-related income and employment.
Grants - 2003 Recipients
Project: Establishing a Life Sciences Revenue Bond Authority
Contact: Charles Hamner
NC Association for Biomedical Research
1304 Salem Lane
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
(919) 968-1270
Grant Amount: $169,452
Summary: Project will assist in establishing a revolving loan program to bring biotech companies into the state and create jobs for those no longer employed in tobacco manufacturing jobs. This project will create a minimum of 20 jobs over five years and generate $20 million in capital investment.
Area Served: Statewide
Project: Helping NC Farmers Improve Water Quality on their Farms
Contact: Cecil Settle
NC Foundation for Soil and Water Conservation Districts
2012 Lodestar Drive
Raleigh, NC 27615
(919) 873-2158
Grant Amount: $350,000
Summary: Project will provide cost-share assistance to farmers transitioning from tobacco production or diversifying to additional income-producing agricultural enterprises. Project will provide up to 75% of the farmers’ cost to implement water-quality best management practices that prevent pollutants from entering streams within the boundaries of their farms.
Area Served: 80 tobacco-producing counties statewide
Project: Tobacco Communities Reinvestment
Contact: Betty Bailey
Rural Advancement Foundation International–USA (RAFI)
PO Box 640
Pittsboro, NC 27312
(919) 542-1396
Grant Amount: $350,000
Summary: Project will provide up to 40 individual (up to $10,000) and community (up to $30,000) cost-share initiatives in 14 tobacco-producing counties in order to test farm-based initiatives to supplement lost tobacco income.
Area Served: Alleghany, Ashe, Bertie, Bladen, Columbus, Gate, Halifax, Hertford, Lee, Moore, Northampton, Robeson, Surry, Yadkin
Project: Further Development of Columbus County Community Farmers Market
Contact: Irvin and Shirley Brown
Columbus County Community Farmers Market
612 Arthur Collier Road
Bladenboro, NC 28320
(910) 648-4575
Grant Amount: $60,000
Summary: Project will assist with building a new farmer’s market, including parking, vendors spaces, electricity and restrooms, creating 12 to 24 jobs, generating $2500 to $3000 in additional vendor sales and providing a centralized location for farmers to bring their commodities to sale.
Area Served: Columbus, Bladen, Robeson, Brunswick
www.columbuscountyfarmersmarket.com
Project: Self-Help Screening of Tobacco-Curing Barns for Carbon Dioxide Leaks
Contact: Kenneth Bateman
Johnston County Center of the NC Cooperative Extension Service
806 North Street
Smithfield, NC 27577
(919) 989-5380
Grant Amount: $16,742
Summary: Project will educate farmers to use a carbon dioxide meter to screen 1000 barns for combustible gas leaks and check retrofitted barns for cracked heat exchangers, providing a cost savings of $25,000 to farmers.
Area Served: Johnston
Project: Growing the NC Medicinal Herb Industry
Contact: Jeanine Davis
NC State University
455 Research Drive
Fletcher, NC 28732
(828) 684-3562
Grant Amount: $145,512
Summary: Project will provide 10 to 20 tobacco farmers with incentives from $5,000 to $10,000 to grow medicinal herbs, generating gross sales equal to or higher than traditional tobacco revenues per acre.
Area Served: Statewide
www.ncspecialtycrops.org
www.ncherb.org
Project: Old North State Wine State Business Incubator Winery
Contact: Fred Jones
Old North State Winegrowers Cooperative Association
PO Box 344
Mount Airy, NC 27030
(336) 789-8200
Grant Amount: $166,000
Summary: Project will provide equipment and building renovation funds for the production of wine. Grapes will be purchased from 50 farmers, including tobacco farmers, with 200 jobs created in the vineyards.
Area Served: Surry, Stokes, Wilkes, Yadkin, Forsyth, Guilford, Davie, Rowan, Nash, Henderson, Alamance, Chatham, Orange
www.oldnorthstatewinegrowers.com
Project: Protecting Providers and the Public
Contact: Norman Harrell
NC Cooperative Extension
1806 South Goldsboro Street
Wilson, NC 27893
(252) 237-0111
Grant Amount: $196,114
Summary: Project will conduct training and provide resources to assist farmers and workers about agricultural machinery highway safety issues to help reduce the more than 300 per year farm-related accidents.
Area Served: Wilson, Edgecombe, Pitt, Greene, Wayne, Johnston, Nash
Project: Northeast Technology and Business Center Expansion Project
Contact: Stan L. Crowe
Martin County Economic Development Corporation
PO Box 310
Williamston, NC 27982
(252) 792-2044
Grant Amount: $200,000
Summary: Project will renovate and upfit 50,000 square feet of the Northeast Technology and Business Center to facilitate the growth and expansion of two companies currently operating in the NC TeleCenter. The project will help create 250 jobs and leverage $3 million in capital investment.
Area Served: Martin and 16 northeast counties
Project: Northeast Economic Development Diversification Initiatives
Contact: Rick Watson
NC’s Northeast Partnership
119 West Water Street
Edenton, NC 27932
1-888-872-8562
Grant Amount: $180,000
Summary: Project will establish the Existing Business and Industry Service Program (to develop relationships with employers), the NorthEast Region Buyer-Supplier Network (to facilitate the purchase of local goods and services), and the NorthEast Tourism Web Portal (to develop an online welcome and information center promoting the Northeast Region).
Area Served: 16 Northeast counties
Project: Nash Area Farmer’s Market-Permanent Structure
Contact: Wayne Moore
Nash County
120 West Washington Street, Suite 3072
Nashville, NC 27856
(252) 459-9804
Grant Amount: $215,000
Summary: Project will assist with the construction of a permanent building to increase vendor spaces to 22 for area farmers to successfully market produce and products.
Area Served: Nash, Edgecombe, Wilson, Halifax
Project: Tobacco Growers Communication Assistance
Contact: Graham Boyd
Tobacco Growers Association of NC
3700 National Drive, Suite 212
Raleigh, NC 27612
(919) 781-2307
Grant Amount: $187,500
Summary: Project will sustain the services of communication information via TGANC’s newsletter, website and resource guide, as well as, develop a study with NCSU on the impacts of the pending tobacco buyout and distribute the results.
Area Served: Statewide
Project: Tar River Tobacco Farmland Preservation
Contact: Jeffrey A. Fisher
Tar River Land Conservancy
211 North Main Street, Suite A
Louisburg, NC 27549
(919) 496-5902
Grant Amount: $350,000
Summary: Project will protect 4,000 acres of land valued at $12 million and 24 miles of streams by providing an alternative to tobacco farmers wanting to protect their farm from development by maintaining their land in an agricultural land base that purchases the development rights.
Area Served: Upper Tar River Basin, Granville, Franklin, Nash
Project: “New Generation” Cooperatives – A New Twist on an Old Model
Contact: Charles Hall
NC Rural Economic Development Center
4021 Carya Drive
Raleigh, NC 27610
(919) 250-4314
Grant Amount: $134,200
Summary: Project will fund improvements in the business environment for "new generation" Cooperatives which will lead to new opportunities for producer-owned, value-added businesses. "New generation" cooperatives provide farmers the opportunity to raise the capital to own and operate innovative, value-added businesses while allowing them to retain control of processing and marketing.
Area Served: Statewide
Project: New Start: Successful Transitions for Dislocated Workers through Community-based Solutions
Contact: Anne Scharff
NC Rural Economic Development Center
4021 Carya Drive
Raleigh, NC 27610
(919) 250-4314
Grant Amount: $350,000
Summary: Project will provide assistance in finding jobs for 440 displaced workers in Vance, Wilson and Transylvania counties and build momentum for action through a conference, with hopes to employ 75% of workers within six months.
Area Served: Vance, Wilson, Transylvania, Warren, Franklin, Granville, Buncombe, Henderson; Statewide
Project: NC Farm Transition Network
Contact: Stephen A. Woodson
NC Farm Bureau Legal Foundation
5301 Glenwood Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27612
(919) 782-1705
Grant Amount: $135,000
Summary: Project will connect retired farmers with new farmers by establishing a list serve and provide apprenticeship/mentoring programs for new farmers; as well as provide business and estate-planning services to retiring farmers and develop a list of professionals who can assist in farm transitions.
Area Served: Statewide
Project: Expanded Planning, Production and Marketing Assistance for Organic and Conventional Tobacco Growers
Contact: Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
PO Box 448
Pittsboro, NC 27312
(919) 542-2402
Grant Amount: $48,700
Summary: Project will expand the current program to help existing participants improve production and marketing of organic crops while recruiting 15 to 19 additional growers.
Area Served: Caswell, Person, Granville, Vance, Alamance, Orange, Durham, Columbus, Moore; Statewide
Project: Water Supply Preservation and Development
Contact: Wayne D. Malone
Neuse Regional Water and Sewer Authority
1609-A West Vernon Avenue
Kinston, NC 28503
(252) 527-4800
Grant Amount: $200,000
Summary: Project will design a surface water treatment plant and distribution system to preserve capacity of ground water sources in Lenoir, Greene and Pitt counties. Project will protect and create jobs in water-dependent enterprises and help maintain and improve sales in the agricultural sector.
Area Served: Lenoir, Greene, Pitt
Project: Sustaining Far Western NC Farms through Financial Education
Contact: Tammara Cole
NC Cooperative Extension
PO Box 456
Cherokee, NC 28719
(828) 497-3521
Grant Amount: $39,875
Summary: Project will provide 25 farmers in western NC with non-formal training in business financial management, including planning, to give them skills to sustain their occupation and families.
Area Served: Cherokee, Cherokee Reservation, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, Swain
Project: Equipment Upgrade of Tobacco Literature Service
Contact: Keith Oakley
NC Tobacco Foundation
NCSU Box 7645
Raleigh, NC 27695
(919) 515-9262
Grant Amount: $72,695
Summary: Project will increase the publishing efficiency of Tobacco Abstracts by upgrading the software and equipment and by moving from print to an electronic format.
Area Served: Statewide
Project: Alternative Mushroom Industry (Black Truffles)
Contact: Kathy Kennel
NC Agricultural Foundation/Garland Truffles
NCSU Box 7645
Raleigh, NC 27695
(919)-515-9259
Grant Amount: $235,000
Summary: Project will supply 50 farms currently growing one to 20 acres of tobacco with the stock, supplies and expertise to each plant 200 inoculated truffle-bearing trees.
Area Served: Statewide
Project: Agriculture Tourism and Crop Diversification Demonstration Program for Tobacco-Dependent Communities, Tobacco Farmers and Other Farmers
Contact: Keith Oakely
NC Cooperative Extension Service Foundation
NCSU Box 7645
Raleigh, NC 27695
(919) 515-9262
Grant Amount: $198,210
Summary: Project will provide seed money to aide western NC farmers with crop diversification and/or agri-tourism by creating a Mini-Grant Demonstration Program to help with financial aid, education, training and marketing. Project will conduct 25 workshops for 200 to 300 farmers and award 50 farmers each a $2500 grant.
Area Served: Western Counties including the Cherokee Reservation