North Carolina Fund

The North Carolina Fund, an independent, non-profit, charitable corporation, sought and dispensed funds to fight poverty in North Carolina, 1963-1968. Gov. Terry Sanford and other North Carolinians convinced the Ford Foundation to grant $7 million initial funding for a statewide anti- poverty effort aimed at rural and urban communities. This money--plus additional funding from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation; the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation; the U.S. Dept. of Labor; U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare; U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development; and the Office of Economic Opportunity--enabled the Fund to support a broad program of education, community action, manpower development, research and planning, and other efforts to fight poverty.

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (The Opportunity Corporation) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847496

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Nash-Edgecombe Economic Development) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847487

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971. WorldCat record id: 34847481

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (WAMY Community Action, Inc.) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847503

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Research, Planning, and Program Development Department) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847491

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Operation Breakthrough) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847488

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Experiment for Self-Reliance) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847479

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Choanoke Area Development Association) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847476

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Training Programs Series) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847498

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Manpower Programs) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847485

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Salisbury-Rowan Community Service Council) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847492

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Charlotte Area Fund). WorldCat record id: 34847524

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Volunteer Programs Series) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847501

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Study Committees Series). WorldCat record id: 34847495

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Public Information Department Series). WorldCat record id: 34847489

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Macon Program for Progress) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847484

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Tri-County Community Action) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847500

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Administrative Series). WorldCat record id: 34847475

From the description of North Carolina Fund records, 1962-1971 (Coastal Progress, Inc.) [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34847478

The North Carolina Fund was incorporated in July 1963 as an independent, non-profit, charitable corporation to seek and dispense funds to attack the cycle of poverty in North Carolina. At the instigation of John Ehle, Governor Terry Sanford had met in New York with representatives of the Ford Foundation, which was funding model anti-poverty programs. Early in 1963, Ford Foundation leaders toured communities in North Carolina and met with leaders of grassroots organizations. After six months of negotiations, the North Carolinians convinced the Ford Foundation to fund its first statewide anti-poverty project, one which would be aimed at rural as well as urban communities. The Ford Foundation provided initial funding of $7 million for a demonstration program, with the condition that the program would be dissolved after five years.

In its five years, the North Carolina Fund received and spent more than $16 million in what director George Hyndman Esser (1921- ) described as a quest for new ways to enable the poor to become productive citizens, to encourage self-reliance, and to foster institutional, political, economic, and social change designed to strengthen the functioning of democratic society. Funding from the Ford Foundation, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Office of Economic Opportunity enabled the Fund to support a broad program of manpower development, community action, education, research and planning, and other efforts to fight poverty.

The early emphasis of the North Carolina Fund program was on education. Two million dollars of the original Ford Foundation grant went to the state Department of Public Instruction to improve elementary schools. The Fund's focus then shifted to community action and manpower development programs. The Fund supported eleven community action agencies across the state--in the mountains, in the Piedmont, and in coastal counties. Of these, ten are still in operation. Other organizations created under the Fund's aegis included the Foundation for Community Development, the North Carolina Low Income Housing Development Corporation, and the Manpower Development Corporation (now known as MDC Inc.).

An overview of the funds received, the distribution of funds by percentage, and a list of the major programs supported follows:

SOURCES OF FUNDS

Ford Foundation $7,000,000

Zachary Smith Reynolds Foundation (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1,625,000

Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 875,000

U.S. government (contracts and grants from the Office of Economic Opportunity; U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development; U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare; U.S. Dept. of Labor) 7,042,753

FUNDS EXPENDED

Manpower Development 43.7%

Education 21.0%

Grants to Communities for Administration of Projects 15.1%

Research and Planning 7.3%

Housing 5.3%

Motivation and Community Development 4.7%

Human Relations in Law Enforcement 1.5%

Health and Welfare 0.9%

Legal Services 0.4%

Day Care 0.1%

Total 100.0%

MAJOR PROGRAMS

North Carolina Volunteers. Summers 1964 and 1965. Recruited 327 college students, who were trained and placed in service jobs working with anti-poverty agencies throughout the state. Funded by $49,835 from the U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, $274,316 from the Office of Economic Opportunity, and $85,444 from the North Carolina Fund.

Community Action Technicians (CAT). 1964-1967. Recruited and trained 105 people from all economic levels to fill crucial manpower gaps in community action programs. Graduates of the program served as neighborhood workers, supervisors of Headstart and Neighborhood Youth Corps programs, and in other positions in community action agencies and anti-poverty institutions. Funded by $379,049 from the Office of Economic Opportunity and $65,502 from the North Carolina Fund.

VISTA Training. 1965-1966. Classroom and field training and instruction to 220 members of the federal Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) program. Funded by $261,161 contract with Office of Economic Opportunity.

Community Action Interns. 1967. Trained 30 college students in the basics of community organization and placed them in five North Carolina communities where local groups had requested summer assistance. A follow-up phase offered undergraduate courses in community organization to students at Catawba College, Livingstone College, and Shaw University. Funded by the Office of Economic Opportunity.

Foundation for Community Development (FCD). Founded 1967. Non-profit corporation working with the poor in eleven geographic areas in North Carolina in leadership development and training, community organization, and economic development. Its assistance to United Organizations for Community Improvement (UOCI) in Durham resulted in the establishment of United Durham Inc., a group of poor people that established businesses owned and operated by the poor. Initially funded by a grant from the North Carolina Fund of $263,838; subsequent grants from the North Carolina Fund of $8,093, $241,625, and $210,000. Other support came from the Office of Economic Opportunity--a special impact grant of $900,000 for economic development paired with a $60,000 grant from the Economic Development Agency (EDA). Smaller amounts of support came from a variety of other sources.

Community Action Programs. Eleven programs in eleven North Carolina communities over a five-year period with grants of $30,000 to $40,000 annually for administrative support, plus a total of 82 special grants varying from $3,000 to $150,000 for innovative experimental programs not fundable by federal sources. Among other projects, special grants financed the Winston-Salem Police Department's specially-trained community services squad for low-income neighborhoods; a mountain community action program's plan for making small incentive grants to neighborhood councils; and a three-year development program for enabling low-income farmers to grow, process, and market truck crops.

Manpower Improvement Through Community Effort (MITCE). 1965-1967. Established field offices in three eastern North Carolina areas and sent out field workers to find the unemployed and underemployed, analyze total family problems, and assist families in meeting their employment and other family needs by using local resources. Contacted 10,000 families. Funded through a $1.8 million contract with the U.S. Dept. of Labor.

Mobility. Established 1965. Recruited unemployed rural people in coastal and mountain counties, developed jobs for them in industrial areas of the state, and assisted them in moving and adapting to new job and living environments. Relocated 1,136 families, 1965-1968. Funded by a $628,248 contract with U.S. Dept. of Labor. Later operated by North Carolina Manpower Development Corporation.

Manpower Development Corporation. Established 1967. Planned and operated statewide manpower programs. Lobbied for establishment of a state manpower council.

Survey of Low-Income Families. 1965-1968. Gathered data on 12,000 families living in 11 areas served by community action programs. Measured attitude, values, wants and needs of family members, as well as income, education, housing, health.

Analysis of the Community Action Process. 1965-1968. Examined the relationship between communities and community action agencies, analyzing general patterns in which communities make decisions, formulate goals, and resolve conflicts.

Learning Institute of North Carolina (LINC). 1964-1969. A private, non-profit corporation providing leadership, technical assistance, and information to improve public education in North Carolina. The North Carolina Fund joined Duke University, the Consolidated University of North Carolina, the State Board of Education, and the State Board of Higher Education in financial support of LINC. North Carolina Fund share of support totaled $362,473.

Comprehensive School Improvement Project (CSIP). 1964-1965. Joint effort of North Carolina Fund and State Board of Education. Experimental programs in 228 schools reached more than 25,000 children from kindergarten through third grade. Total cost was $2.9 million, 55% from state government and 45% from North Carolina Fund.

Low-Income Housing Development Corporation (LIHDC). Established 1967. Private, non-profit corporation with a small staff of experts who assisted North Carolina communities in developing privately-sponsored, low-income housing. LIHDC also explored solutions to the problems of building decent, but economical new housing to enable home ownership by low-income families. Began operation with grants of $133,530 from the North Carolina Fund and $497,535 from the Office of Economic Opportunity.

From the guide to the North Carolina Fund Records, 1962-1971, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)