The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation has awarded the North Carolina Coastal Federation a $110,000 grant. The federation plans to use the grant to support its community-based education, restoration and advocacy programs in 2018.
The federation works with coastal communities in all aspects of its work, and these partnerships create a healthier, more resilient coast.
The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is a statewide, private, family foundation that has been a catalyst for positive change in North Carolina for more than 80 years. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation has invested more than $553 million into North Carolina. The organization is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all North Carolinians.
The federation has also been accepted to be a host organization for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation’s Non-Profit Internship Program. This intern will work closely with the federation’s outreach and education staff to engage and connect people from all walks of life with environmental issues and initiatives important to their community.
The intern will organize and promote outreach events, plan curriculum and presentations, contribute to presentations and represent the federation at various events.
“We’re very thankful to the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation for their important support of our work, and for the opportunity to host a summer intern,” said Todd Miller, executive director of the federation. “Engaging coastal residents in being good stewards of our coast is key in accomplishing our goals, and these funds provide many opportunities to do so.”
One of the programs that will benefit from this grant is the federation’s three-year Coastal Resilience Initiative. Launched in November 2017, it promotes coastal resiliency and aims to restore more than 5,000 acres of wetlands over the next three years.
Details about this initiative are at nccoast.org/resilience. Additional donations to this program that are made by 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar through a matching pledge, up to $25,000.
Through this initiative, the federation will: build living shorelines, an erosion control method that uses natural materials to protect shorelines, restore habitat and improve water quality; protect existing wetlands; restore 5,000 acres of farmland back to wetlands that will absorb nearly seven billion gallons of runoff; collaborate with coastal communities to develop watershed restoration plans to restore habitat and water quality; and engage North Carolinians through public forums and workshops as well as communications through social media, email and print.
“For years, the North Carolina Coastal Federation has remained a steadfast champion for our state’s coast,” said Maurice “Mo” Green, executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. “North Carolina is extremely fortunate to have an organization like the federation that is dedicated to protecting and restoring our state’s shoreline and promoting efforts to cultivate a healthy, vibrant coast for us all. We are also thrilled that the federation will host a summer intern through the Non-Profit Internship Program, which we believe is crucial to developing a pipeline for the next generation of diverse, nonprofit professionals.”
For more information about the grant, please contact Lauren Kolodij at 252-393-8185.