Our Mission is to enhance the lives of young children and support their families to ensure a strong foundation for learning.
Blue Ridge Partnership for Children’s grantmaking is built around early childhood supports that help families access care, learning, and services in three North Carolina counties. One of its clearest recurring commitments is the local implementation of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which mails free books to children from birth through age 5 in Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey counties. The foundation also backs direct service work that reaches parents and caregivers, including home visiting and parenting education. Recent grants show a mix of county-level partners and regional intermediaries. It awarded $55,328 to Toe River Health District for Amy Wellness intensive home visiting, and later gave $37,345 to Resources for Resilience for resilience programming. The organization’s mission is to enhance the lives of young children and support their families to build a strong foundation for learning, and its grant history reflects that emphasis through preschool access, family support, and child care-related services. Leadership is listed under Jennifer Simpson, and the foundation reported $234,402 in annual grants on the latest 990 on file.
Early literacy is a core theme. Blue Ridge Partnership for Children supports Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides free monthly books to children from birth until their 5th birthday in Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey counties. Family support shows up through health and parenting services. The foundation gave $55,328 to Toe River Health District for Amy Wellness intensive home visiting, and it also funded Amy Wellness parenting education through Mitchell County Cooperative Extension, Yancey County Cooperative Extension, and Avery County Cooperative Extension. Child care access and quality are another recurring area. It awarded $32,298 to Mountain Area Health Education Center Inc for child care health consultant work, then made a later $19,201 grant for the same purpose. Preschool affordability appears in a grant to Church Street Preschool Inc for preschool scholarships and part-day program child care and education affordability.
Typical grants are modest in size, with a p25 of $6,802, a median of $9,200, and a p75 of $15,600. The recent record shows both larger program awards and smaller local support grants, including multiple awards to the same organization across different years. Grants are made through the foundation rather than as individual awards to people, and program-related investments are not part of the structure. The active Imagination Library program is locally administered and open to unsolicited support through donor sponsorships and donations.
$172K
$1.1M
$2.3M
$1.9M
Most grants fall between $7K and $16K, with a median of $9K.
25th Percentile
$7K
Median
$9K
75th Percentile
$16K
JENNIFER SIMPSON
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Giving is locally concentrated in North Carolina, and every recent grant in the dataset went to a U.S. recipient. Recipient cities include Bakersville, Asheville, Sylva, Hendersonville, Brevard, Mars Hill, Forest City, Burnsville, and Newland. Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey counties appear repeatedly through both program geography and grant recipients such as county cooperative extension offices and transportation services. The recent grant list also shows repeated support for Asheville-based regional partners.
The foundation’s focus areas center on early childhood education, early literacy, family support services, home visiting, child care resource and referral, preschool scholarships, and community events and outreach. Recent grants also reflect child care health consultation, parenting education, transportation support, and preschool affordability.
Typical grant size is $6,802 at the 25th percentile, $9,200 at the median, and $15,600 at the 75th percentile. The recent grant record includes both smaller local awards and larger program grants.
Its giving is local, with 100% of grants going to recipients in North Carolina. Recent recipients are spread across cities including Bakersville, Asheville, Burnsville, Sylva, Hendersonville, Brevard, Mars Hill, Forest City, and Newland.
Yes. The active Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program and its related sponsorship and donation opportunities are marked as accepting unsolicited support, including local donor sponsorships for children and donations to fund early childhood programs.
The listed beneficiary groups include preschool-aged children, parents and primary caregivers, low-income families seeking childcare affordability, childcare providers receiving health consultation, and families impacted by COVID-19. The foundation’s mission emphasizes young children and their families.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Current and upcoming funding from Blue Ridge Partnership for Children that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Child must be resident of Avery, Mitchell, or Yancey County and be under age 5 at time of enrollment. There is no cost to parents.
Deadline: Rolling enrollment (children may be signed up any time; books begin next month after enrollment)
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHILDREN'S CASTLE CHILDCARE CENTER | MARION, NC | $58,492 | 2026 | CFWNC-HURRICANE RELIEF |
| KINGDOM KIDS CHILDCARE CENTER | NEWLAND, NC | $33,358 | 2026 | HURRICANE RELIEF |
| YANCEY HEAD START | BURNSVILLE, NC | $20,273 | 2026 | CFWNC - HURRICARE RELIEF |
| SPRUCE PONE MONTESSORI | SPRUCE PINE, NC | $19,350 | 2026 | HURRICANE RELIEF; CCHC EXPRESSIVE ARTS |
| BUNCOMBE COUNTY PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN | ASHEVILLE, NC | $10,003 | 2026 | RESILIENCY |
| PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN OF THE FOOTHILLS | FOREST CITY, NC | $10,000 | 2026 | RESILIENCY |
| BURKE COUNTY SMART START | MORGANTON, NC | $8,981 | 2026 | RESILIENCY |
| CHURCH STREET PRESCHOOL INC | BURNSVILLE, NC | $5,950 | 2026 | PRESCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS ; HURRICANE RELIEF |
| AVERY COUNTY SCHOOLS | NEWLAND, NC | $5,209 | 2026 | HURRICANE RELIEF |
| RESOURCES FOR RESILENCE | ASHEVILLE, NC | $37,345 | 2025 | RESILIENCE |
| MOUNTAIN AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER INC | ASHEVILLE, NC | $19,201 | 2025 | CHILD CARE HEALTH CONSULTANT |
| REGION A PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN | SYLVA, NC | $12,000 | 2025 | RESILIENCE |
| SMART START OF TRANSYLVANIA | BREVARD, NC | $10,000 | 2025 | RESILIENCE |
| SMART START PARTNERSHIP | HENDERSONVILLE, NC | $10,000 | 2025 | RESILIENCE |
| MADISON COUNTY PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN | MARS HILL, NC | $9,070 | 2025 | RESILIENCE |
| PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN OF THE FOOTHILLS | FOREST CITY, NC | $7,603 | 2025 | RESILIENCE |
| CHURCH STREET PRESCHOOL INC | BURNSVILLE, NC | $6,000 | 2025 | PRESCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS; PART DAY PROGRAM-CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION AFFORDABILITY |
| MOUNTAIN AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER INC | ASHEVILLE, NC | $94,264 | 2024 | CHILD CARE HEALTH CONSULTANT |
| CHURCH STREET PRESCHOOL INC | BURNSVILLE, NC | $6,000 | 2024 | PRESCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS; PART DAY PROGRAM-CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION AFFORDABILITY; DOGWOOD HEALTH-COVID RELIEF |
| TOE RIVER HEALTH DISTRICT | BAKERSVILLE, NC | $5,345 | 2024 | AMY WELLNESS - INTENSIVE HOME VISITING |
| TOE RIVER HEALTH DISTRICT | BAKERSVILLE, NC | $55,328 | 2023 | AMY WELLNESS - INTENSIVE HOME VISITING |
| MOUNTAIN AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER INC | ASHEVILLE, NC | $32,298 | 2023 | CHILD CARE HEALTH CONSULTANT |
| YANCEY COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION | BURNSVILLE, NC | $9,200 | 2023 | AMY WELLNESS - PARENTING EDUCATION |
| MITCHELL COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION | BAKERSVILLE, NC | $9,200 | 2023 | AMY WELLNESS - PARENTING EDUCATION |
| AVERY COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION | NEWLAND, NC | $5,905 | 2023 | AMY WELLNESS - PARENTING EDUCATION |
| CHURCH STREET PRESCHOOL INC | BURNSVILLE, NC | $5,752 | 2023 | PRESCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS; PART DAY PROGRAM-CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION AFFORDABILITY; DOGWOOD HEALTH-COVID RELIEF |
| YANCEY COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY | BURNSVILLE, NC | $5,500 | 2023 | FAMILY SUPPORT - TRANSPORTATION SERVICES |
CHILDREN'S CASTLE CHILDCARE CENTER
$58,492CFWNC-HURRICANE RELIEF
KINGDOM KIDS CHILDCARE CENTER
$33,358HURRICANE RELIEF
YANCEY HEAD START
$20,273CFWNC - HURRICARE RELIEF
SPRUCE PONE MONTESSORI
$19,350HURRICANE RELIEF; CCHC EXPRESSIVE ARTS
PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN OF THE FOOTHILLS
$10,000RESILIENCY
BURKE COUNTY SMART START
$8,981RESILIENCY
CHURCH STREET PRESCHOOL INC
$5,950PRESCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS ; HURRICANE RELIEF
AVERY COUNTY SCHOOLS
$5,209HURRICANE RELIEF
RESOURCES FOR RESILENCE
$37,345RESILIENCE
SMART START PARTNERSHIP
$10,000RESILIENCE
MADISON COUNTY PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN
$9,070RESILIENCE
PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN OF THE FOOTHILLS
$7,603RESILIENCE
CHURCH STREET PRESCHOOL INC
$6,000PRESCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS; PART DAY PROGRAM-CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION AFFORDABILITY
CHURCH STREET PRESCHOOL INC
$6,000PRESCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS; PART DAY PROGRAM-CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION AFFORDABILITY; DOGWOOD HEALTH-COVID RELIEF
TOE RIVER HEALTH DISTRICT
$5,345AMY WELLNESS - INTENSIVE HOME VISITING
TOE RIVER HEALTH DISTRICT
$55,328AMY WELLNESS - INTENSIVE HOME VISITING
YANCEY COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
$9,200AMY WELLNESS - PARENTING EDUCATION
MITCHELL COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
$9,200AMY WELLNESS - PARENTING EDUCATION
AVERY COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
$5,905AMY WELLNESS - PARENTING EDUCATION
CHURCH STREET PRESCHOOL INC
$5,752PRESCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS; PART DAY PROGRAM-CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION AFFORDABILITY; DOGWOOD HEALTH-COVID RELIEF
YANCEY COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
$5,500FAMILY SUPPORT - TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
