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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 10-03-2000-8fORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: October 3, 2000 Action Agenda Item No. _ g--~ SUBJECT: Grant Application for Tobac~ Settlement Funds (Golden LEAF Foundation) DEPARTMENT: BOCC, CES, EDC, ERCD PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): Grant program information Resolution from Agricultural Preservation Board INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Jacobs, 732941 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To authorize staff to submit a grant application to the Golden LEAF Foundation for funds to assist Orange County agriculture (the deadline for submittals is October 16, 2000). BACKGROUND: The Golden LEAF Foundation was established by the State of North Carolina in 1999 to distribute some of the State's funds received from the legal settlement of North Carolina v. Phillip Morris Incorporated, et al. The Foundation provides economic impact assistance to economically affected ortobacco-dependent areas of North Carolina. Tobacco has been a staple of Orange County's agricultural economy for more than a century, with over $5.4 million in gross sales last year. In each of the last two years, the County hosted agricultural summits that included presentations to encourage tobacco farmers to move to alternative farms of value-added products. Over the past two months, Commissioner Jacobs (liaison to the Economic Development Commission and Agricultural Preservation Board) has met with Cooperative Extension Director Fletcher Barber, EDC Director Dianne Reid and ERC Director David Stancil to look at the potential for an application to this Foundation. After discussing alternative projects and the Foundation's funding interests, the group proposes advancing a submittal that would establish a pilot program to spur development of a local agricultural economy in an urbanizing county by providing funds to enhance the Hillsborough farmer's market; providing funds far an agricultural economic development specialist to work with farmers in identifying crops and developing business plans for their operations; and providing a broker between producers and local institutions (UNC, school districts, Child Care Services) to stimulate alocally-based agricultural economy. At a joint meeting on September 27, the EDC and Agricultural Preservation Board (APB) expressed support for this grant application (a resolution passed by the APB is attached). Grant awards will be announced in December. 2 FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact for County funds. The grant application has not yet been completed, but the anticipated funding request would be for $200,000-250,000. Funding far the proposed agricultural economic development specialist position would expire after three years. There is no .implied commitment to continue the position beyond this grant, although indicators will be developed to evaluate the effectiveness of the position over time. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the submittal of the grant application, with any revisions as discussed by the Board. 3 Golden LEAF Foundation The Golden LEAF Foundation announces its first program opportunity for eligible North Carolina organizations to propose activities that will improve social and economic conditions in economically affected or tobacco-dependent regions of the state. The Foundation was established by the State of North Cazolina in 1999 for the purposes of receipt and distribution of a portion of the funds North Cazolina receives as a result of the settlement of North Carolina v. Philip Morris Incorporated, et al. This announcement serves as a request for grant proposals. The conditions of grantmaking aze explained in this announcement, along with the procedures required to be considered for a grant awazd. Applicants should complete the application forms provided and follow the proposal instructions far content and submission of your proposal. What are the Foundation's Objectives? The Foundation is a public charitable corporation with two basic objectives: to promote the social welfare of North Carolina's citizens. to receive and distribute funds to be used for economic impact assistance. Who benefits from the Foundation? Funds are to be used on behalf of the citizens in economically affected or tobacco- dependent regions of North Carolina. How does the Foundation operate? The Foundation intends to use the tobacco settlement funds to create an endowment, the income from which will be used consistent with the purposes envisaged by the General Assembly as specified in the Foundation's charter. The Foundation will operate as a public charitable corporation. The Foundation may choose from time to time to make available funds from the principal as well as earnings on the endowment. The Foundation's activities aze a matter of public record. Foundation meetings are subject to the Open Meetings Law as provided in Article 33C of Chapter 1~3 of the North Cazolina General Statutes and the Public Records Act as provided in Chapter 132 of the North Cazalina General Statutes. The Foundation's annual report, to be filed with the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, will be available to the public. It includes information on expenditures and distributions in furtherance of the public, charitable purposes of the Foundation. 4 All funding decisions are the responsibility of the Foundation's Boazd of Directors. What activities may the Foundation fund? The Foundation intends to use the funds to fulfill purposes not well served by other sources of funding. The Foundation's articles of incorporation state that activities in which it may engage, but are not limited to, include the following: Education Assistance _ Educational programs for tobacco farmers and other workers impacted or projected to be impacted by a decline in demand for and/or production of tobacco or tobacco products. Job Training and Employment Assistance -Job training and other employment- related programs, available to organizations assisting tobacco farmers and other workers who aze dependent on tobacco farming, production and sales so that these people may transition to other sources of income. Scientific Research - Reseazch to develop new uses for tobacco or to develop alternative cash craps. Economic Hazdship Assistance -Programs to reduce or remove the economic hardship, poverty or need that tobacco farmers, quota owners, their families and others experience as a result of the decline in quota and/or production of tobacco or tobacco products. Public Works and Industrial Recruitment -Assistance for local governments in upgrading utilities, transportation, and other public service infrastructure to attract new businesses or for more general economic development purposes. Health and Human Services --Health caze and other social service improvements needed to maintain the stability aftnbacco-dependent communities. Community Assistance -Assistance for economically depressed and deteriorating tobacco-dependent communities (exclusively far public purposes). Applications will be considered and awazds will be made under this Announcement with preference given to the expenses directly related to providing a new service or otherwise to a specific activity sepazable from the regulaz, on-going operations of the grantee. Requests for operational expenses of established programs, such as salaries, equipment, office supplies, etc., should clearly state how the operational expenses will be used for activities that aze directly linked to the Foundation's purposes and how they would otherwise not be carried out without Foundation funding. Examples of direct service activities include workbooks far job training programs and the salary ofa coordinator of services. Tn addition, awazd decisions made under this Announcement will not include grants for endowments, fundraising/development campaigns, political campaigns, or lobbying. S What is the schedule for proposals? Tn general, the Foundation will issue announcements from time to time actively soliciting applications for either more specific or broader purposes, and may during some time periods focus the funding on only a subset of activities consistent with the charter and legislative intent. The deadline for responding to the current announcement is October,„1,6.2000.4:00 p.m. Awazds are scheduled to be announced in December, 2000. What organizations are eligible? Only established organizations, no individuals, aze eligible for activities/projects funded under this Announcement. Only tax-exempt organizations and governmental units aze eligible to receive funds under this Announcement. The organization or governmental unit must agree that it will use the funds exclusively for charitable, scientific, educational, or other exempt public purposes. Organizations must be North Carolina organizations, or multi-state organizations based in North Carolina. All activities funded by this announcement must be in North Cazolina and/or directly for the benefit of North Carolina. Organizations must have established accounting systems capable of segregating and maintaining records of funds received from the Foundation under this Announcement, and the expenditures of these funds, separate from all other funds available to the organization. Organizations less than three (3) years old, unless specially created out of one or more pre-existing pazent organizations for the purpose of administering a Foundation fimded project, must demonstrate with convincing evidence that they can be sustained during the life of the grant. Multiple eligible organizations may submit a joint application. However, one of the organizations must serve as the primary grantee. What level of funding is available? Depending on the quality and feasibility of activities proposed for funding, the Foundation may awazd up to approximately $S million during this funding cycle. The Foundation is not obligated to commit this maximum amount if, in the judgment of the Board, there are insufficient proposals meeting the awazd criteria. 6 Continuation of funding to applicants who are awarded multi-year grants is subject to satisfactory progress and funding availability. Activities funded under this announcement are eligible for a maximum of three years, but applications maybe submitted during the third year for additional years. Funding will be delivered to the grant recipient semiannually during the Foundation's fiscal year. Following the first installment, the remaining installments will be contingent upon receipt of a written report documenting satisfactory progress on the project. Such a report shall include a fmancial statement. 3 7 Resolution Agricultural Preservation Board WHEREAS, the Golden LEAF program offers an opportunity to help tobacco farmers who are dealing with a period of signii:lcant change and difficulty; and WHEREAS, tobacco farming in Orange County has been a staple of the economy for over a century, with over $5 million in gross sales and 1245 acres harvested on 198 farms in 1999, and WHEREAS, Orange County tobacco farmers could reap substantial assistance from programs to build local markets for agricultural products, and WHERF-AS, an agricultural development specialist could help serve as a coordinator, broker and financial planner for farmers in the County, and WHEREAS, increasing awareness among tobacco farmers of alternative agricultural enterprises may help many tobacco farmers to remain in farming. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the Orange County Agricultural Preservation Board endorses the submittal of a grant application to the Golden LEAF Foundation to build a local agricultural economy and local markets within the County by funding an agricultural economic development specialist and enhancing the Hillsborough farmer's market. This, the 27th day of September, 200p W. WhitFi Morrow, Chair Agricultural Preservation Board ATTEST Carol Crawford