The Golden LEAF Foundation in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, has announced grants totaling $3.3 million in support of several programs designed to advance economic opportunity in the state.

The foundation awarded $445,582 in support of projects through its Open Grants Program, which bolsters workforce preparedness and job creation and economic investment in Carteret, Beaufort, and Wayne counties. The foundation committed nearly $1.4 million to establish and develop rural broadband to community anchor institutions through the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC). In addition, the support for broadband will serve as matching funds in MCNC’s application for federal broadband funding, which would be used to build 127 miles of broadband fiber between Sanford and Jacksonville.

The foundation also awarded $127,534 to enable the NC Rural Center to administer the Rural Internship Initiative as part of the Golden LEAF Scholarship Program, and $1.36 million for projects through the Flood Mitigation Program. 

“These awards support job creation, workforce preparedness, internships, and expanding middle-mile broadband in rural North Carolina,” said Golden LEAF president and CEO Scott T. Hamilton. “As a long-term economic advancement foundation, we look forward to the returns on these investments for years to come.” 

(Photo credit: Getty Images/pawel.gaul)