In partnership with families, organizations, and individuals, we influence the well-being of children. We accept responsibility for the improvement of high-quality early care and education for young children in Transylvania County.
Smart Start of Transylvania County centers its grantmaking on early childhood systems in Transylvania County, with payments to providers forming the clearest pattern in the recent record. In 2024, its largest listed grant went to Transylvania County Public Schools for $383,960, and two other major payments supported local child care providers, including Nanna's and Mommy's at $129,490 and Lisa's Kiddiegarten at $80,495. Those awards fit the foundation’s stated role in improving high-quality early care and education for young children in the county. The foundation’s program profile shows a strong emphasis on the early years workforce and family access to care. It administers local child care subsidy support, NC Pre-K, WAGE$ wage supplements, and the Prosperity wage supplement initiative, while also operating programs for early educator mentorship and family support. Its work also extends into emergency response, with recovery support for impacted families, home-based providers, and child care centers after Hurricane Helene. The overall picture is of a local intermediary that uses restricted, service-delivery funding to stabilize child care supply, support educator compensation, and connect children to early learning opportunities.
A major part of Smart Start of Transylvania County’s work is early childhood workforce support. Through the Pathways to Early Education mentorship program, participants receive a $400 stipend after completing the five-week peer mentorship experience, and the program is built around retention and professional development for early educators. The foundation also administers child care access funding. Its child care subsidy programs provide vouchers to eligible families in Transylvania County so children can attend licensed care, support parents working, training, or attending school, and help providers cover care costs. Another recurring area is educator compensation. The WAGE$ program offers education-based salary supplements for low-paid teachers, directors, and family child care educators serving children ages 0-5, while the Prosperity program provides annual wage supplements to part-time early childhood educators in part-day care settings. It also runs NC Pre-K locally, coordinating participation and providing high-quality early education experiences for eligible four-year-old children.
$348K
$1M
$1.2M
$1.3M
Most grants fall between $79K and $193K, with a median of $105K.
25th Percentile
$79K
Median
$105K
75th Percentile
$193K
EILEEN MOUYARD
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The grant-size distribution is relatively high for a local intermediary: p25 is $78,746, median grant size is $104,992, and p75 is $193,108. The recent record also shows a very large provider payment to a public school system alongside several smaller operational payments to local child care providers. Funding is local rather than regional or national, and the grant data show 100% of grants going to recipients in North Carolina. The pattern suggests recurring program administration rather than one-off philanthropy. Multiple active programs are administered locally, including child care subsidy, NC Pre-K, WAGE$, Prosperity, and mentorship stipends. The foundation funds service delivery contracting and provider reimbursement, and the application structure is program-specific: some programs accept unsolicited applications, while others require director referral or are administered through partner systems.
Smart Start of Transylvania County gives entirely within North Carolina, and the grant record is concentrated in Transylvania County. Recent recipients include Brevard, Pisgah Forest, and Hendersonville. The largest listed grant went to Transylvania County Public Schools in Brevard, while other recent payments supported providers in Pisgah Forest and Hendersonville. Program geography remains local, with several initiatives explicitly serving Transylvania County and one recovery effort extending into Western North Carolina.
Its active programs include child care subsidy, NC Pre-K, WAGE$ wage supplements, the Prosperity wage supplement initiative, early educator mentorship through Pathways to Early Education, family support programs such as GetSet and GetSet Babies, advocacy work, and digital inclusion or technology access.
The foundation funds education-based salary supplements through WAGE$ for low-paid teachers, directors, and family child care educators serving children ages 0-5. It also runs the Prosperity Wage Supplement Initiative, which provides annual wage supplements to part-time early childhood educators in part-day care settings, and a Pathways mentorship program with a $400 completion stipend.
The typical grant size is $78,746 at the 25th percentile, $104,992 at the median, and $193,108 at the 75th percentile. The recent grant list also shows a broad range of provider payments, from $73,500 to $383,960.
Its giving is entirely in North Carolina, with 100% of grants going to recipients in the state. The foundation’s program geography is local to Transylvania County, and recent recipients are in Brevard, Pisgah Forest, and Hendersonville.
No. Some programs accept unsolicited applications, including child care subsidy, NC Pre-K, and WAGE$, while the Pathways mentorship program requires director referral and only directors may submit enrollment applications. Emergency child care wage supplement distribution is also not open to unsolicited applications.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Current and upcoming funding from Smart Start of Transylvania County that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Must be employed as a teacher, teacher’s assistant, or director; work with children ages 0-5 years; work at least 10 hours per week in a licensed childcare center; earn less than $23 per hour; have at least 12 semester hours of eligible coursework.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRANSYLVANIA CTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS | BREVARD, NC | $327,700 | 2026 | — |
| BREVARD-DAVIDSON RIVER | BREVARD, NC | $9,728 | 2026 | — |
| FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH BREVARD | BREVARD, NC | $5,844 | 2026 | — |
| PISGAH COLLECTIVE LLC | PISGAH FOREST, NC | $5,201 | 2026 | — |
| TRANSYLVANIA CTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS | BREVARD, NC | $364,205 | 2025 | — |
| WNC SOURCE | HENDERSONVILLE, NC | $11,923 | 2025 | — |
| TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS | BREVARD, NC | $383,960 | 2024 | PAYMENT TO PROVIDER |
| NANNA'S AND MOMMY'S | PISGAH FOREST, NC | $129,490 | 2024 | PAYMENT TO PROVIDER |
| LISA'S KIDDIEGARTEN | BREVARD, NC | $80,495 | 2024 | PAYMENT TO PROVIDER |
| WESTERN CAROLINA COMMUNITY ACTION | HENDERSONVILLE, NC | $73,500 | 2024 | PAYMENT TO PROVIDER |
TRANSYLVANIA CTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
$327,700FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH BREVARD
$5,844PISGAH COLLECTIVE LLC
$5,201TRANSYLVANIA CTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
$364,205TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
$383,960PAYMENT TO PROVIDER
NANNA'S AND MOMMY'S
$129,490PAYMENT TO PROVIDER
LISA'S KIDDIEGARTEN
$80,495PAYMENT TO PROVIDER
