Golden Leaf

About Golden Leaf

The Golden LEAF Inc. channels large grants into North Carolina’s rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities, with recent awards ranging from small-capacity support to multimillion-dollar infrastructure and workforce investments. A 2025 grant of $57.5 million to Mountain BizCapital Inc. stands out for Hurricane Helene small business loans and recovery funding, showing how the foundation responds when local business conditions are disrupted. Its 2025 support for North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, at $25 million for Golden LEAF Schools, points to a parallel commitment to education-linked economic opportunity. The foundation also backs workforce and industry pipelines through institutions such as Wilson Community College, which received $13 million for the Wilson Biologics Training Center Equipment, and Methodist University Inc., which received $8 million for job creation and new regional educational pathways with the Cape Fear Valley School of Medicine. Alongside those awards, Golden LEAF funds site development, housing, agriculture, scholarships, and disaster recovery, connecting local institutions, public agencies, and economic development organizations to projects intended to strengthen communities across the state.

What Golden Leaf Funds

Workforce preparation is a major thread in the foundation’s grantmaking. In 2025, Wilson Community College received $13 million for Wilson Biologics Training Center Equipment, and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College received $2.225 million to expand advanced manufacturing pathways and automotive technology pathways. Higher education and scholarships are another clear focus. The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority received $3.116 million for the Golden LEAF Colleges and Universities Scholarship in 2025-2026, while the North Carolina Community College System received $3 million for the Golden LEAF Community Colleges Scholarship in the same cycle. Golden LEAF also supports disaster recovery and small business resilience. Mountain BizCapital Inc. received $57.5 million for Hurricane Helene Small Business Loans and the Helene Small Business Recovery Fund Request, and North Carolina Baptist Men received $2.94 million for the Helene Relief Project. Site and infrastructure projects remain part of the portfolio as well, including $2.875 million to County of Robeson for the Robeson County Site Development Project & Shell Project.

How Golden Leaf Gives