Every year, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners’ fiscal budget that’s adopted in June includes a good deal of money – usually around $2 million – that is handed out to a wide range of non-profit Community-Based Organizations.
Since the turn of the century, there have been many attempts to establish a rational formula for which groups should get money; however, even in years when those guidelines have been unanimously adopted by the Board of Commissioners, the board has thrown those guidelines out the window at budget time, with some of the money always going to groups run by friends of various commissioners.
Though the final decisions this year, as in past years, will ultimately come down to the predilections of the individual county commissioners, Guilford County staff is starting the process early with a call for applications at the start of the year. So, if you have a group that does good work in the community, or you have a group and are friends with a county commissioner, the application process is about to begin.
The county is holding application information sessions in early January and early February.
Guilford County will open applications for the Community-Based Organization funding in January for the money that will be handed out in fiscal year 2025- 2026.
That new budget will kick into effect on July 1, 2025.
Every year, Guilford County provides some funds to the selected community organizations that meet the definition of a 501(c) non-profit and that “facilitate economically, culturally, and civically valuable services.”
The county conducts a “competitive process” to distribute the money. As part of that process, all groups requesting money must submit an application, and there is some training required for all applicants as well.
Three upcoming online information sessions will provide comprehensive information about the funding timeline, applications and contract templates.
County staff will also address any new changes slated for fiscal year 2025 -2026.
Those interested in getting some of the taxpayer money can register at https://forms.office.com/g/wETwH0TjDJ.
Anyone who wants highly detailed information about the Guilford County Community Based Organization funding process can visit: https://bit.ly/GuilfordCountyCBOs.
Two information sessions will be held on Monday, Jan. 6, at 9 a.m. and at 3 p.m., with a third session to be held on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m.
A recording of the information session will be available on the county’s website.
The application period will open up on Monday, Jan. 20 and run through Friday, Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. (A link to the application will be emailed to registered, potential applicants on Monday, Jan. 20.)
When the Guilford County Board of Commissioners adopted a new 2024-2025 fiscal budget in June of last year, $1.7 million of that budget was taxpayer money that the board handed out to community-based non-profits.
The group of chosen recipients was especially interesting last year because, unlike in past years, the Board of Commissioners didn’t hold any public discussions at budget time on which organizations should or shouldn’t get money.
Also, unlike in past years, the county manager and a committee of county staff designed to determine which non-profits should get money was never formed – and therefore didn’t provide any input as they had in past years.
Instead, last year, the county commissioners wanted to control the process entirely, which is what they did.
In the past, the manager’s recommended budget always included a list of recommended non-profits; however, last year for the first time, there weren’t even any recommendations from the manager regarding the funding.
In previous years, county staff would weed through applications and ask questions such as: Is this organization financially trustworthy? Can they produce audits that show how the money is being used? What tangible, measurable results and benefits does this program produce? How do the goals of this non-profit fit in with Guilford County’s service efforts?
The 2024-2025 list was instead a hodge-podge of churches, schools, and organizations – many of which had never before been funded by the county and some that the Rhino Times had never even heard of.
Since there were no public discussions on the non-profit funding last year, no one knows why each organization got money or how the amounts were decided.
Last year, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston admitted that – even though the county has tried for the vast majority of this century to come up with a rational policy for handing out the money to non-profits – in the end, he said, the list is always a list of which organizations can get five votes from the nine-member board.
Some county residents don’t believe the county should use taxpayer money to pick who wins and loses when it comes to non-profits; however, the commissioners clearly don’t feel that way.
The following is a list of the groups that received money in the 2024-2025 budget and how much each recieved:
A Legacy of Hope $5,000
A Simple Gesture – Greensboro Inc. $15,000
Aaron T. Jones Jet-black Empowerment $45,000
African American Atelier Inc. $50,000
ARC of High Point $10,000
Beyond Sports NC $20,000
Big Brother Big Sister $15,000
Black Child Development Institute $10,000
B-Natural $5,000
Carolina Theater $25,000
Children Law Center $20,000
Combat Female Veterans Assoc. $50,000
Commander Peace Academy $20,000
D-Up Inc. $20,000
Establishing Safe Cultures $20,000
Families Against Senseless Killings $20,000
Family Room Foster Care Resource $10,000
Folk Festival $25,000
Friends Of John Coltrane $25,000
Glenwood Together $10,000
Greensboro Business League $45,000
Greensboro Urban Ministry $40,000
Growing The Distance Inc. $20,000
Guilford Housing Foundation $10,000
Hayes Taylor YMCA $40,000
High Point Arts Council $50,000
High Point Discovered $10,000
Historic Jamestown Society $20,000
Horse Power $10,000
HP Friendship Foundation $15,000
HP Housing Authority $15,000
Jalloh’s Upright Services $15,000
Junior Aggies $7,500
Kids Poetry Basketball Inc. $15,000
Level Up Parenting $10,000
Lydia House Inc. $20,000
Malachi House II $37,500
Mega Church Ministries $20,000
Mustard Seed Community Health. $10,000
New Hope Missionary Baptist Next $10,000
Level of the Triad Inc. $45,000
Open Door $25,000
Peacehaven Community Farms $15,000
Piedmont Triad Film Commission $15,000
Room at The Inn $15,000
Senior Resources. $25,000
Sister Circle. $70,000
Southwest Renewal, HP $75,000
St. Stephen AME Zion Church Still $10,000
I Rise $25,000
T Wingate Andrews High School $50,000
TCC Community Health $20,000
The Heroes Center $10,000
The Mind Group $20,000
The Oaks Therapeutic Community $15,000
The Salvation Army of Greater HP $15,000
Triad Food Pantry Inc. $50,000
Triad Health Project. $40,000
Triad Play Therapeutic After $25,000
School TSCF Food Network. $15,000
Turning Everything Around United. $20,000
Arts Council of Greensboro United. $75,000
Way of Greater High Point United $10,000
Way of Greensboro $10,000
Urban Roots NC $12,500
D. Muhammad Center $7,500
West End Ministries. $20,000
Welfare Reform Liaison Project $25,000
YMCA Of High Point-Chavis Branch $40,000
Youth Behavior Helper $20,000
Youth Focus $25,000
YWCA of High Point $15,000
