Landfall Foundation awards annual grants to 78 local nonprofits

The Cucalorus Film Festival, Cape Fear Clinic and the Friends School of Wilmington are among 78 nonprofit organizations that will receive a total of $361,000 in grants from the Landfall Foundation on Thursday, Nov. 5.

The Cape Fear Guardian Ad Litem Association (CFGALA), an organization that focuses on addressing the needs of abused and neglected children in New Hanover and Pender counties, is also a grant recipient. The all-volunteer nonprofit will receive $7,500 for its 2016 Growth Adventure Learning About Self project.

The project provides services including academic tutoring, music, dance and gymnastics lessons, along with other activities, to the children it serves. This year marks the 10^th consecutive year the Landfall Foundation has donated grant money to CFGALA.

The Landfall Foundation has received increased grant requests in recent years as many governmental entities cut nonprofit funding due to the country’s economic recession. An art show each August, the Legends of Tennis tournament each September and the Holiday Marketplace each December are held to meet its funding needs. Landfall residents also support the foundation financially and comprise its volunteer base, with Mary Brown and Karen Gibson serving as this year’s grant committee co-chairs.

The 20 art initiative grants donated by the Landfall Foundation include $6,000 to Cape Fear Shakespeare’s Shakespeare in the Park program, whose productions take place at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater; $4,000 to the Cape Fear Volunteer Center’s Bring Big Buddy to Arts project; $2,000 to the North Carolina Jazz Festival’s musical workshops; and $4,000 to the Wilmington Ballet Company’s creation of permanent backdrops for its annual production of “The Nutcracker.” A total of $79, 385 will be donated to art programs.

The 25 health and wellness initiative grants include $7,500 to the Cape Fear Clinic’s Hypertensive Patient Support program; $7,500 toward the Domestic Violence Shelter’s kitchen renovations; $7,500 toward Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard’s programs to end hunger; $4,000 to Prevent Blindness North Carolina’s vision screenings for preschoolers in New Hanover County; $4,000 to the Rachel Freeman School of Engineering to purchase uniforms for students in need; $7,500 to St. Mary Health Center’s supplies for pediatric dental clinics; and $1,000 to Welcome Home Angel’s project that provides a room makeover for a child in need. The foundation will donate a total of $145,295 to health initiatives.

The 33 education grants include $3,500 toward new science exhibits at the Children’s Museum of Wilmington; $1,950 to College Park Elementary School’s school uniforms; $3,000 to Masonboro.org’s Island Explorer Program, which provides field trips to Masonboro Island for fifth grade students in New Hanover County; $5,000 to MCS Noble Middle School’s library collection of nonfiction books; $3,790 to North Topsail Elementary School’s Technology Innovation Grant for iPads; $3,000 to Wrightsville Beach School’s Parent Teacher Association to purchase iPads; and $2,750 to the Wrightsville Beach Museum’s oral history project. The Landfall Foundation will award a total of $136,320 to education initiatives.

Since its inception in 1995, the Landfall Foundation has donated nearly $3.4 million toward initiatives that support the arts, wellness and education.

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