The Bruce Barclay Cameron Foundation concentrates its giving in southeastern North Carolina, funding cultural institutions, coastal and environmental conservation, K-12 and youth education (with a particular emphasis on girls and underserved students), and basic needs services like hunger relief and homelessness. Grants skew toward place-based organizations in Wilmington and the Cape Fear region, with repeated multi-year support for several anchor nonprofits that advance arts, marine stewardship, and youth development. The foundation also makes targeted gifts to health and faith-based organizations, reflecting a mix of civic, environmental and social-service priorities.
Bruce Barclay Cameron Foundation Inc has built a clear pattern of large, repeated support for place-based institutions in Wilmington and the Cape Fear region, especially cultural arts, girls’ education, environmental conservation, and basic-needs services. The strongest signals in the recent grants are multi-year commitments rather than one-off gifts. Cameron Art Museum received multiple awards at the top end of the foundation’s recent giving, including $900,000 in both 2023 and 2024, plus additional large grants in 2024 and 2025. The foundation also backed GLOW NC / Beacon Education with substantial support for education of underprivileged girls, and funded Eden Village of Wilmington for homelessness services across several years. Beyond those anchor relationships, the foundation’s portfolio shows a local focus with repeated support for organizations serving southeastern North Carolina communities. It funds marine and estuarine preservation, children’s and youth education, food access, and hospice care, while also making targeted gifts to schools and faith-based organizations. The recurring nature of the grants suggests a funder that favors sustained support for organizations tied to the region’s civic, environmental, and social-service needs.
In cultural arts, the foundation repeatedly supported Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington with major grants across 2023, 2024, and 2025, showing an ongoing relationship rather than a single project gift. In education for underprivileged girls, it gave $550,000 to Glow NC in 2023 and again in 2024, then continued support through GLOW NC (Beacon Education) in 2025. That same education theme also appears in grants to Cape Fear Academy and Hill School of Wilmington. Environmental work is another steady theme. The foundation supported NC Marine & Estuary Foundation Inc in Raleigh with multiple six-figure grants, and it also funded Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation in Linville for environmental education and conservation. On the basic-needs side, Food Bank Central & Eastern NC received repeated support for feeding underserved people, while Eden Village of Wilmington was funded for homelessness services in several years.
Typical grants cluster around a $25,000 p25, $50,000 median, and $100,000 p75, but the recent list also includes several much larger recurring awards. The pattern is heavily repeat-based: Cameron Art Museum, GLOW NC, NC Marine & Estuary Foundation Inc, Food Bank Central & Eastern NC, Eden Village of Wilmington, Cape Fear Academy, and Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation all appear across multiple years. This is a public charity, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. The recent grant list shows institutional grants rather than application-based awards, with no application process evident in the data.
$1.8M
$59.9M
$1.7M
$2.4M
Most grants fall between $25K and $100K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$100K
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Relatively concentrated, place-based giving with multiple grants to a small set of core regional grantees; a mix of several large multi-year awards (six-figure to seven-figure) for anchor institutions and numerous smaller recurring grants to service providers and specialty nonprofits.
Notable grantees: Cameron Art Museum, NC Marine & Estuary Foundation, GLOW NC (Beacon Education), Food Bank Central & Eastern NC, Eden Village of Wilmington
Grantmaking is overwhelmingly in North Carolina, with 86% of grants going to recipients in the foundation’s home state. Wilmington is the central city in the portfolio, with repeated grants to Cameron Art Museum, GLOW NC, Cape Fear Academy, Hill School of Wilmington, Eden Village of Wilmington, and Lower Cape Fear Hospice. Other North Carolina locations appear as well, including Raleigh for NC Marine & Estuary Foundation Inc and Food Bank Central & Eastern NC, and Linville for Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. All listed grants in the recent set went to U.S. recipients.
The recent grants show repeated support for cultural arts, girls’ education, environmental conservation and education, food security, homelessness services, and hospice care. Examples include Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, GLOW NC for underprivileged girls, NC Marine & Estuary Foundation Inc, Food Bank Central & Eastern NC, and Eden Village of Wilmington.
The stated grant-size distribution is $25,000 at the 25th percentile, $50,000 at the median, and $100,000 at the 75th percentile. Recent awards also include larger multi-year grants, such as six-figure gifts and several $900,000, $775,000, and $600,000 awards.
Yes. Several organizations appear across multiple years in the recent grant list, including Cameron Art Museum, GLOW NC, NC Marine & Estuary Foundation Inc, Food Bank Central & Eastern NC, Eden Village of Wilmington, Cape Fear Academy, and Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. That pattern points to sustained support over time.
Its grantmaking is concentrated in North Carolina. The data says 86% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state, and Wilmington is especially prominent among recipients. Other North Carolina recipient cities include Raleigh and Linville.
No. The foundation is marked as not funding individuals and not making program-related investments. The recent grant record instead shows institutional grants to nonprofits, schools, and related organizations.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron Art Museum | Wilmington, NC | $600,000 | 2025 | Cultural Arts |
| NC Marine & Estuary Foundation Inc | Raleigh, NC | $486,000 | 2025 | Preservaton |
| GLOW NC (Beacon Education) | Wilmington, NC | $150,000 | 2025 | Ed Underpriviledge Girls |
| Hill School of Wilmington | Wilmington, NC | $100,000 | 2025 | Education |
| Cape Fear Academy | Wilmington, NC | $100,000 | 2025 | Education |
| Eden Village of Wilmington | Wilmington, NC | $100,000 | 2025 | Helping the homeless |
| Grandfather Mountain Stewartship Foundation | Linville, NC | $90,000 | 2025 | Environmental Education |
| Salvation Army | Hickory, NC | $50,000 | 2025 | Religious Org |
| University of NC at Wilmington | Wilmington, NC | $50,000 | 2025 | Education |
| Hunger & Health Coalition | Boone, NC | $10,000 | 2025 | Helping the Homeless & Hungry |
| Western Youth Network Inc | Boone, NC | $10,000 | 2025 | Education |
| First Tee Greater Wilmington | Wilmington, NC | $10,000 | 2025 | Education |
| Children's Cancer Partners | Spartanburg, SC | $10,000 | 2025 | Healthcare |
| Duck's Unlimited | Memphis, TN | $10,000 | 2025 | Specified |
| Autism Society of NC | Raleigh, NC | $10,000 | 2025 | Healthcare |
| NWTF | Edgefield, SC | $10,000 | 2025 | Wildlife |
| Cameron Art Museum | Wilmington, NC | $900,000 | 2024 | Cultural Arts |
| Cameron Art Museum | Wilmington, NC | $775,000 | 2024 | Cultural Arts |
| GLOW NC | Wilmington, NC | $550,000 | 2024 | Ed Underpriviledge Girls |
| NC Marine & Estuary Foundation Inc | Raleigh, NC | $540,000 | 2024 | Preservation |
| NC Marine & Estuary Foundation Inc | Raleigh, NC | $540,000 | 2024 | Preservation |
| Food Bank of Centeral & Eastern NC | Raleigh, NC | $200,000 | 2024 | Feeding the underpriviledged |
| Food Bank Central & Eastern NC | Raleigh, NC | $200,000 | 2024 | Feeding the Underprivledged |
| Cape Fear Academy | Wilmington, NC | $100,000 | 2024 | Education |
| GLOW NC | Wilmington, NC | $100,000 | 2024 | Ed Underpriviledge Girls |
| Eden Village of Wilmington | Wilmington, NC | $100,000 | 2024 | Helping the Homeless |
| Eden Village of Wilmington | Wilmington, NC | $100,000 | 2024 | Helping the Homeless |
| Cape Fear Academy | Wilmington, NC | $100,000 | 2024 | Education |
| Grandfather Mountain Stewartship Foundation | Linville, NC | $90,000 | 2024 | Environmental Ed Conservation |
| Grandfather Mountain Stewartship Foundation | Linville, NC | $90,000 | 2024 | Environmental Ed Conservation |
| Lower Cape Fear Hospice | Wilmington, NC | $52,293 | 2024 | End of Life Care |
| The Carousel Center | Wilmington, NC | $50,000 | 2024 | Healthcare |
| University of NC at Wilmington | Wilmington, NC | $50,000 | 2024 | Education |
| University of NC at Wilmington | Wilmington, NC | $50,000 | 2024 | Education |
| Center for Christian Thought | Wilmington, NC | $50,000 | 2024 | Religion |
| RSV Kids Inc | Peachtree City, GA | $35,000 | 2024 | Education |
| RSV Kids Inc | Peachtree City, GA | $35,000 | 2024 | Education |
| Hill School of Wilmington | Wilmington, NC | $30,000 | 2024 | Education |
| Children's Museum of Wilmington | Wilmington, NC | $25,000 | 2024 | Museum |
| Friends of the Battleship NC | Wilmington, NC | $25,000 | 2024 | Preservation Battleship NC |
| NWTF | Edgefield, SC | $10,000 | 2024 | Wildlife |
| JDRF-Coastal Carolina Chapter | Wilmington, NC | $10,000 | 2024 | Healthcare |
| Autism Society of NC | Raleigh, NC | $10,000 | 2024 | Healthcare |
| Greater Wilmington Youth Initiative Inc | Wilmington, NC | $10,000 | 2024 | Education |
| The Carousel Center | Wilmington, NC | $10,000 | 2024 | Healthcare |
| Ducks Unlimited | Memphis, TN | $10,000 | 2024 | Specified |
| JDRF-Coastal Carolina Chapter | Wilmington, NC | $10,000 | 2024 | Healthcare |
| Cameron Art Museum | Wilmington, NC | $900,000 | 2023 | Cultural Arts |
| GLOW NC | Wilmington, NC | $550,000 | 2023 | Ed Underpriviledge Girls |
| NC Marine & Estuary Foundation Inc | Raleigh, NC | $540,000 | 2023 | Preservation |
Cameron Art Museum
$600,000Cultural Arts
Hill School of Wilmington
$100,000Education
Cape Fear Academy
$100,000Education
Helping the homeless
Grandfather Mountain Stewartship Foundation
$90,000Environmental Education
Salvation Army
$50,000Religious Org
University of NC at Wilmington
$50,000Education
Western Youth Network Inc
$10,000Education
First Tee Greater Wilmington
$10,000Education
Duck's Unlimited
$10,000Specified
NWTF
$10,000Wildlife
Cameron Art Museum
$900,000Cultural Arts
Cameron Art Museum
$775,000Cultural Arts
Cape Fear Academy
$100,000Education
Cape Fear Academy
$100,000Education
Grandfather Mountain Stewartship Foundation
$90,000Environmental Ed Conservation
Grandfather Mountain Stewartship Foundation
$90,000Environmental Ed Conservation
Lower Cape Fear Hospice
$52,293End of Life Care
The Carousel Center
$50,000Healthcare
University of NC at Wilmington
$50,000Education
University of NC at Wilmington
$50,000Education
Center for Christian Thought
$50,000Religion
RSV Kids Inc
$35,000Education
RSV Kids Inc
$35,000Education
Hill School of Wilmington
$30,000Education
Children's Museum of Wilmington
$25,000Museum
Friends of the Battleship NC
$25,000Preservation Battleship NC
NWTF
$10,000Wildlife
Greater Wilmington Youth Initiative Inc
$10,000Education
The Carousel Center
$10,000Healthcare
Ducks Unlimited
$10,000Specified
Cameron Art Museum
$900,000Cultural Arts