A lot of people in the county don’t believe the Guilford County Board of Commissioners should be picking winners and losers in the non-profit community and handing out tax dollars to churches, fraternities, school booster clubs and lots of others; however, the Democratic majority on the Board of Commissioners wholeheartedly disagrees.
And, this year, the list of beneficiaries of taxpayer dollars is the longest in history, with 83 organizations getting a total of $1,740,000.
For decades, the Guilford County manager would bring a list of his or her recommendations to the commissioners leading up to the budget’s adoption each year and then the commissioners would publicly discuss those recommendations at work sessions and arrive at a final list that would be approved in the budget.
Then, last year, suddenly, there was no list included in the manager’s budget proposal, nor were there any lengthy discussions of the non-profit funding. It’s something the commissioners always get criticized for, since many of those groups that get funding do so because a commissioner sits on the organization’s board or because they are friends with the director of that group.
Last year the list was first trotted out just seconds before the budget was adopted. It was like Moses coming down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments.
For the fiscal 2025-2026 budget adopted last month, there was nothing but a black-box placeholder in the document. That hole was just over $1.7 million with a note that the commissioners would determine the list of funded organizations later.
It may have looked like the commissioners wanted to do it after the spotlight was off the budget, but Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston and another commissioner said it was done this way this year because the board was pressed for time.
Commissioner Frankie Jones Jr. defended the board’s funding of the long list of community-based organizations. He said the timing and structure of the allocations were shaped largely by the constraints of this year’s budget.
“This was a tight budget year, and the Board was committed to not raising the tax rate,” Jones said. “We were working on that budget up until the 11th hour, and we didn’t want to rush the CBO [community-based organization] process.”
Jones pushed back on the idea that the funding is used to win budget votes or to curry favor.
In the past it often has been that way but this year it just seemed to be a case of every Democratic commissioner getting funding for the groups they like.
There are two Republican commissioners – Alan Perdue and Pat Tillman – and Perdue voted no on all of the funding while Tillman was not at the Thursday, July 17 meeting.
jones added that the current approach is shifting away from a few large grants toward smaller awards spread among more groups.
“The idea is to avoid having any single organization become overly reliant on county funding,” he said. “Spreading the grants around allows us to have a broader impact across the community.”
Jones acknowledged that the program can be controversial.
“Look, reasonable people can disagree on this,” he said. “But the funding totals about $1.7 million out of an $840 million budget – that’s roughly 0.2 percent. I’m not minimizing that amount, but I think we can have a meaningful impact by partnering with organizations that are doing good work in our community.”
Jones also emphasized the accountability measures in place.
“Every organization, no matter how small the grant, has to submit quarterly reports showing how the funds are being used,” he said. “And once a grant crosses a certain threshold – I believe it’s $100,000 – they’re required to have a full CPA audit.”
He admitted it was a long list this year but reiterated that the board was trying to give smaller amounts to more groups to maximize the positive effects in the community.
“They do a good job making sure the money’s being used as intended,” he said of county staff. “But we can also do more to help the public understand the outcomes and how these groups extend the work of county departments like social services. That kind of transparency helps people see the value.”
A lot of the groups do very good work, but there are a lot on the list that the Rhino Times has never heard of.
Here’s a list of the groups that got money this year:
Action Greensboro – $25,000
Southwest Renewal Foundation of High Point Inc. – $75,000
YMCA of High Point Chavis Branch – $40,000
United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro 75,000
Greensboro Sports Foundation – $25,000
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Kappa Lambda Chapter – $5,000
Youth Behavior Helper – $20,000
Triad Health Project – $40,000
Turning Everything Around – $35,000
Greensboro ArtsHub – $3,000
Heroes Center Inc. – $10,000
African American Atelier, Inc. – $50,000
Casa Azul – $10,000
Friends of John Coltrane – $25,000
Greensboro Parks Foundation – $5,000
High Point Arts Council – $50,000
High Point Discovered – $10,000
Historic Jamestown Society, Inc. – $15,000
North Carolina Folk Festival – $25,000
Piedmont Triad Film Commission – $15,000
The Carolina Theatre of Greensboro – $25,000
Yalik’s African American Art & Cultural Movement – $20,000
B Natural Academy of Music and the Arts – $5,000
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Piedmont – $15,000
Black Child Development Institute of Greensboro, Inc. – $10,000
Commander Peace Academy, Inc. – $20,000
Drawers of Hope Resource Center – $15,000
D-UP Inc. – $15,000
Establishing Safe Cultures – $20,000
Glenwood Together – $10,000
Hayes-Taylor YMCA of Greensboro – $40,000
Housing Authority of the City of High Point – $15,000
I Am A Queen – $10,000
Kids Poetry Basketball Inc. – $10,000
Mega Mission Ministries – $20,000
Next Level of the Triad – $45,000
Providence Educational and Community Services –$10,000
Puzzle Play – $40,000
The Black Suit Initiative (The Sparrows Nest, Inc.) – $25,000
TSCF Food Network – $15,000
Urban Roots – $12,500
Women’s Foundation of North Carolina – $10,000
Young Women’s Christian Association of High Point – $15,000
YWCA Greensboro – $15,000
A Simple Gesture-Greensboro Inc. – $15,000
Divine Healing and Restoration Ministries Inc. – $7,500
FASK – $20,000
Greensboro Urban Ministry – $40,000
Malachi House II – $35,000
Neighborhood Markets Inc. – $10,000
Out of Greensboro Garden Project – $20,000
TCC Community Health Foundation – $15,000
The Arc Of High Point – $7,500
The Oaks Therapeutic Community, Inc. – $12,000
The Success Hope Center – $25,000
Triad Black Faith Leaders & Black Farmers Network – $40,000
Triad Food Pantry – $50,000
Aaron T Jones Black Empowerment Foundation – $45,000
Greensboro Housing Coalition – $10,000
West End Ministries/ Leslie’s House – $10,000
Children’s Law Center Of Central NC – $25,000
Combat Female Veteran’s Families United – $45,000
Family Room Foster Care Resource Center Inc. – $10,000
Jalloh’s Upright Services of NC – $10,000
New hope Missionary Baptist Church Inc. – $10,000
Peacehaven Farm Inc. – $5,500
Senior Resources of Guilford – $25,000
W.D. Mohammed Islamic Center – $7,500
Greensboro Business League – $45,000
Junior Achievement of the Triad – $20,000
Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship – $20,000
The Sister Circle International – $45,000
United Way of Greater Greensboro Inc. – $10,000
United Way of Greater High Point Inc. – $10,000
Back Pack Beginnings – $15,000
Cambodian Association of NC – $4,000
Greater Cerebral Palsy Association – $3,000
High Point Schools Partnership – $5,000
Total: $1,740,000
The board previously approved 200,000 in the new budget for the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in downtown Greensboro.
