This small, local family foundation concentrates its support in the Raleigh/Smithfield area, directing most of its funding to education and local faith-based social service institutions. The largest gifts are scholarship/endowment-style grants to Johnston Community College and substantial general-purpose operating support to a local United Methodist church and the Salvation Army, indicating a focus on sustaining community institutions and direct local relief. Funding is concentrated and recurrent rather than broadly distributed, suggesting long-term relationships with a few core recipients.
Concentrated, repetitive large gifts to a very small set of local organizations—multiple multi-thousand-dollar grants to the same grantees rather than many small, diverse awards.
Charles Elbert Bingham & Meta Lunceford’s recent giving is anchored by repeated general-purpose support for Johnston Community College Foundation Scholarship Fd and Centenary United Methodist Church of Smithfield, each receiving grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025. That recurring pattern points to a foundation that sustains a small set of local institutions over time rather than spreading funds widely. The grant list also shows support for the Salvation Army of Smithfield, the Public Library of Johnston County, and Smithfield Area Ministries Food Closet, which places education, faith-based community life, and local relief work at the center of its philanthropy. The foundation’s annual grantmaking total of $288,597 is modest in scale but steady, and its recent awards are concentrated entirely in North Carolina. General-purpose language appears throughout the recent grants, suggesting flexible support for recipient organizations instead of tightly restricted project funding. The overall picture is of a family foundation with long-term relationships in the Smithfield area and a clear preference for strengthening existing community anchors.
Education is a major theme in the foundation’s giving. Johnston Community College Foundation Scholarship Fd received $43,126 in 2023, $36,885 in 2024, and $35,427 in 2025 for general purposes, showing consistent support for scholarship-related work. Faith-based community support is another visible area: Centenary United Methodist Church of Smithfield received the same sequence of general-purpose grants over those three years, including $43,126 in 2023 and $35,427 in 2025. Local emergency and social services also appear in the grant list. The Salvation Army of Smithfield received $11,860 in 2023, $10,143 in 2024, and $9,743 in 2025, again for general purposes. Beyond that, the Public Library of Johnston County and Smithfield Area Ministries Food Closet each received repeated general-purpose awards, indicating support for community access and basic needs infrastructure.
Typical grants are small to mid-sized, with a p25 of $4,520, a median of $10,143, and a p75 of $36,156. The recent record shows repeated annual awards to the same recipients across 2023, 2024, and 2025, including the foundation’s scholarship fund, a local church, and community-service organizations. That makes the giving pattern look relationship-based and recurring rather than one-off. The foundation is a family foundation, makes no program-related investments, and does not fund individuals. Recent awards are described as general-purpose support, indicating flexible use funding rather than restricted project-only grants.
$95K
$1.7M
$107K
$122K
Most grants fall between $5K and $36K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$36K
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Notable grantees: Johnston Community College Foundation Scholarship Fund, Centenary United Methodist Church of Smithfield, Salvation Army of Smithfield
Grantmaking is entirely in North Carolina, and the recipient country distribution is 100% US. The center of gravity is Smithfield, where Johnston Community College Foundation Scholarship Fd, Centenary United Methodist Church of Smithfield, Public Library of Johnston County, and Smithfield Area Ministries Food Closet all appear in the recent grants list. The Salvation Army of Smithfield is also a recurring recipient, though listed with Charlotte, NC in the grant table. The foundation’s giving is local, with the top state by grant count also North Carolina.
The recent grants point to education, faith-based community institutions, and local relief organizations. Recurring recipients include Johnston Community College Foundation Scholarship Fd, Centenary United Methodist Church of Smithfield, the Salvation Army of Smithfield, the Public Library of Johnston County, and Smithfield Area Ministries Food Closet.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years across the recent grants list. Johnston Community College Foundation Scholarship Fd and Centenary United Methodist Church of Smithfield each received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and the same pattern appears for the Salvation Army of Smithfield, the Public Library of Johnston County, and Smithfield Area Ministries Food Closet.
The grant-size distribution is centered on relatively modest awards: p25 is $4,520, the median is $10,143, and p75 is $36,156. Recent grants also show a wide gap between the smaller recurring awards and the larger support for education and church institutions.
Its giving is local and entirely in North Carolina. The recent grants list shows 15 grants to US recipients, and the listed organizations are concentrated in Smithfield, with one recurring recipient shown in Charlotte, NC.
The recent grants are described as general-purpose awards. That includes support to Johnston Community College Foundation Scholarship Fd, Centenary United Methodist Church of Smithfield, the Salvation Army of Smithfield, the Public Library of Johnston County, and Smithfield Area Ministries Food Closet.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JOHNSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP FD | SMITHFIELD, NC | $37,966 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF SMITHFIELD | SMITHFIELD, NC | $37,936 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| SALVATION ARMY OF SMITHFIELD | CHARLOTTE, NC | $10,432 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| PUBLIC LIBRARY OF JOHNSTON COUNTY | SMITHFIELD, NC | $4,742 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| SMITHFIELD AREA MINISTRIES FOOD CLOSET | SMITHFIELD, NC | $3,794 | 2026 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| JOHNSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP FD | SMITHFIELD, NC | $35,427 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF SMITHFIELD | SMITHFIELD, NC | $35,427 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| SALVATION ARMY OF SMITHFIELD | CHARLOTTE, NC | $9,743 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| PUBLIC LIBRARY OF JOHNSTON COUNTY | SMITHFIELD, NC | $4,428 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| SMITHFIELD AREA MINISTRIES FOOD CLOSET | SMITHFIELD, NC | $3,543 | 2025 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF SMITHFIELD | SMITHFIELD, NC | $36,885 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| JOHNSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP FD | SMITHFIELD, NC | $36,885 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| SALVATION ARMY OF SMITHFIELD | CHARLOTTE, NC | $10,143 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| PUBLIC LIBRARY OF JOHNSTON COUNTY | SMITHFIELD, NC | $4,611 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| SMITHFIELD AREA MINISTRIES FOOD CLOSET | SMITHFIELD, NC | $3,689 | 2024 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF SMITHFIELD | SMITHFIELD, NC | $43,126 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| JOHNSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP FD | SMITHFIELD, NC | $43,126 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| SALVATION ARMY OF SMITHFIELD | CHARLOTTE, NC | $11,860 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| PUBLIC LIBRARY OF JOHNSTON COUNTY | SMITHFIELD, NC | $5,391 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
| SMITHFIELD AREA MINISTRIES FOOD CLOSET | SMITHFIELD, NC | $4,313 | 2023 | GENERAL PURPOSES |
CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF SMITHFIELD
$37,936GENERAL PURPOSES
SALVATION ARMY OF SMITHFIELD
$10,432GENERAL PURPOSES
PUBLIC LIBRARY OF JOHNSTON COUNTY
$4,742GENERAL PURPOSES
SMITHFIELD AREA MINISTRIES FOOD CLOSET
$3,794GENERAL PURPOSES
GENERAL PURPOSES
CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF SMITHFIELD
$35,427GENERAL PURPOSES
SALVATION ARMY OF SMITHFIELD
$9,743GENERAL PURPOSES
PUBLIC LIBRARY OF JOHNSTON COUNTY
$4,428GENERAL PURPOSES
SMITHFIELD AREA MINISTRIES FOOD CLOSET
$3,543GENERAL PURPOSES
CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF SMITHFIELD
$36,885GENERAL PURPOSES
SALVATION ARMY OF SMITHFIELD
$10,143GENERAL PURPOSES
PUBLIC LIBRARY OF JOHNSTON COUNTY
$4,611GENERAL PURPOSES
SMITHFIELD AREA MINISTRIES FOOD CLOSET
$3,689GENERAL PURPOSES
CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF SMITHFIELD
$43,126GENERAL PURPOSES
SALVATION ARMY OF SMITHFIELD
$11,860GENERAL PURPOSES
PUBLIC LIBRARY OF JOHNSTON COUNTY
$5,391GENERAL PURPOSES
SMITHFIELD AREA MINISTRIES FOOD CLOSET
$4,313GENERAL PURPOSES