The Grant Assessment Committee has been busy the last several months reviewing the virtual flood of emergency grant requests due to the Coronavirus outbreak and its impacts on our community. However, despite the flurry of emergency grant activity we, at Lake Toxaway Charities, have not forgotten our commitment to you and our supported agencies to review routine grant requests.
Your Grant Assessment Committee met on May 26th to discuss our 2020 grant requests. Several grant requests were formally approved in the meeting, but others required additional due diligence of site visits, eight of which were completed just last week. Each agency request stands on its own merit each year, and we “say no” if a new agency does not meet our mission’s criteria. We have, in fact, reduced funding and/or turned down current agencies based on our site visit and/or their current description of need.
Due to the tremendous response from our donors, a RECORD $642,000 was granted this June, which is a 72% increase over the record 2019 grant amount of $372,000. Lake Toxaway Charities now serves total of 51 agencies. In addition to these routine grants, our donors also raised an incredible $175,000 in “emergency grant” funding. Thus far, $75,500 in emergency COVID grants have been approved in 2020 to provide for the critical needs of our neighbors: food, shelter, and prescription medications. The remainder, is being held in reserve to supply additional emergency grants for food and shelter and medical needs through Christmas due to the unprecedented need in Transylvania County in the wake of the Coronavirus.
We have highlighted a few of the approved 2020 grants below. We look forward to sharing more with you in our next e-blast. We take your trust in us seriously. Thank you for your generosity. Your donations go to very good causes and support many deserving people in our county.
2020 Grant Approvals
North Toxaway Baptist Church Food Bank
The North Toxaway Baptist Church Food Bank was established in 2005 to provide for those in need in the local area, distributing food twice a month. In 2015, the Food Bank teamed with Manna Food Bank in Asheville, paying a small delivery fee and a portion of costs for the purchased food. Volunteers from the…
The Children’s Center of Transylvania County
The Children’s Center is an agency working to stabilize, support and improve the lives of children and families in Transylvania County. The Children’s Center provides space for supervised visitation for families when children are in DSS custody, one-on-one mentoring programs for improving parenting skills, emergency assistance and many school programs. The Children’s Center strives to…
Transylvania Vocational Services
TVS provides day programming for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities with a focus on enrichment, community engagement, preparation for employment, and skills for independence. Lake Toxaway Charities grants help TVS enhance art activities, create areas for peace and tranquility, and promote learning and engagement. Lake Toxaway Charities supported TVS in 2020 and 2021 with…
Bread of Life
The Bread of Life serves the poor, the disadvantaged, and the food-insecure residents of Transylvania County in an accepting, open, and non-threatening environment. The Bread of Life serves over 45,000 meals a year and distribute approximately 900 boxes of food for home preparation over the weekends. Bread of Life is the only regularly operating community kitchen providing…
Creating a Family
This national non-profit has a local chapter in Brevard. Its role is to support adoptive, foster and kinship families. Foster and kinship parents (most often grandparents) are on the front line of child welfare caring for neglected and abused children. These children are often left with both physical and emotional scars from childhood trauma….
Tiger Impact Group (TIG)
The Tiger Impact Group (TIG) first formed in 2017 as a collaboration between Lake Toxaway Charities, the Transylvania County Schools Educational Foundation (TCSEF) and Transylvania County Schools to provide a variety of supportive programs and services in the Rosman district schools. Lake Toxaway Charities designs TIG programs in conjunction with teachers, administrators, and community members…
Weekday Children’s Program of Brevard’s First United Methodist Church
Weekday Children’s Program of Brevard’s First United Methodist Church’s mission is to provide a quality Christian child care program for children ages 1-5. Lake Toxaway Charities awarded a grant in 2020 to finance a new playground. The playground is accessible to all people and children of the community.
Rosman High School
In 2021 Lake Toxaway Charities supported Rosman High School’s purchase of MiniOne systems starter kit. These systems are cutting edge, but easy for students to use, and they allow completion of labs within a normal class period. Students are more engaged in the material and REMEMBER the experience of actually solving a “crime” that applies…
Mountain Roots
Mountain Roots is a local educational non-profit that provides discovery and outdoor learning experiences for youth, teens and their families in Transylvania County. It operates 50 weeks a year providing programs for every local public elementary school and summer day camps for children, as well as leadership and group development retreats and workshops for community…
T.C. Henderson
Lake Toxaway Charities approved a grant to T.C. Henderson in 2020. The grant will help children add books to their home libraries or start to build one. The grant will also supply reading and math materials for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. T.C. is a beneficiary of our Tiger Impact Group (TIG) initiative.
Neighbors in Ministry – Rise and Shine
Neighbors in Ministry exists to enrich children, empower parents and encourage community through year-round programs. Since 1996, Rise & Shine has helped Transylvania County’s economically disadvantaged and racial minority children learn about the fundamental importance of education, about their community and culture, and about themselves. Lake Toxaway Charities approved grants for 2020 and 2021 for…
Rosman Elementary School
Lake Toxaway Charities approved a grant to Rosman Elementary School for the 2020 year. The grant will provide for an upgraded media center, Muddy Sneakers programming, new programming in the wake of COVID 19, and new library chairs. Rosman Elementary School is a beneficiary of our Tiger Impact Group (TIG) initiative.
Earthshine Mountain Programs
Earthshine Earthshine Nature Programs was founded in 2010 by naturalist Steve O’Neil. Earthshine Mountain Program’s mission is to provide a unique learning environment and opportunities for everyone that will foster a lasting interest, respect, love and hopefully greater conservation of wildlife, wild places, and the fragile environment that supports us all. Earthshine Mountain Programs works…
Quebec Community Club
Lake Toxaway Charities awarded a grant in 2020 to replace gravel in the club’s parking lot and upgrade two bathrooms.
Transylvania County Schools Educational Foundation (TCSEF)
The Transylvania County Schools Educational Foundation’s mission is to promote, develop, and encourage public and private support of the Transylvania County Schools. Lake Toxaway Charities awarded grants in 2020 and in 2021 in support of the TCSEF. Transylvania County Schools Educational Foundation is grateful for the partnership and support they have received from Lake Toxaway Charities. Our partnership began in June of…
Young Life Camp
Young Life is a group of staff and volunteers committed to building relationships with youth to earn their trust. Young Life employs active ministries that reach out to students at Brevard and Rosman High Schools, together with WyldLife for children at Brevard and Rosman Middle Schools and Brevard Academy. In addition, YoungLives targets teen-aged mothers in Transylvania County. Lake Toxaway Charities partners…
Blue Ridge Community Health Services
Blue Ridge Community Health Services is a nonprofit, federally qualified health center, providing quality healthcare, including dental and mental, accessible and affordable for all. In 2020, Lake Toxaway Charities approved a grant to make a single payment on a loan so Blue Ridge Community Health Services could continue its efforts. In October of 2012, BRH…
Brevard College
Brevard College is committed to an experiential liberal arts education that encourages personal growth and inspires artistic, intellectual, and social action. A baccalaureate, residential, church-affiliated institution, Brevard College is situated in the southern Appalachian mountains of Western North Carolina. True to our Motto: Cognosce ut prosis – learning in order to serve, the programs and…
Isaac Homes Youth Shelter
The mission of the Isaac Homes Youth Shelter is to provide basic needs and build capacity for a supervised drop-in center for homeless youth. The Youth Center is a social and recreational center intended primarily for use by children ages 11 to 17 years. The Center supports opportunities for youth to develop their physical, social,…
Mediation Center
The mission of the Mediation Center is to create opportunity from conflict. The Mediation Center provides conflict resolution services to help people move through difficult and stressful times and resolve conflict without violence and abuse. For adults, they provide community and family mediation services to resolve disputes between neighbors, family members, co-workers, and others. Lake Toxaway Charities approved a $5,000 grant request in 2020 to help with these efforts.