One of the fastest growing charities in the nation is located right hear in the Queen City. The Foundation for The Carolinas was originally founded in 1958 “as a catalyst for charitable good, connecting individuals, companies and organizations to needs and philanthropic opportunities” throughout the greater Charlotte region.
In their first 55 years, they built their endowment to an impressive $908 million, but in the past 2 years alone, they’ve almost doubled that number. According to a March 24th press release on their website, they had over $1.68 billion total assets at the start of this year.
The size and frequency of its donations are even more impressive. In 2015, they gave out 14,532 grants and hosted a record setting 2,492 charitable funds. They’re now ranked No. 2 in the United States for total giving and No. 9 for total endowment size.
The organization has found incredible success through creative donation solutions, including; accepting donations of real estate, percentages of businesses (specifically fast-food restaurants and gas stations), and even large foreign currency gifts.
New donors have also been attracted by the success of recent large scale initiatives, such as; project LIFT (raising graduation rates on the city’s west side), A Way Home endowment (stabilizing housing for low-income families), and the Economic Opportunity Task Force (working to improve economic mobility among Charotte’s poorest residents).
They’ve also started work on the historic Carolina Theatre – a $39.8 million renovation project that will also feature a new high-rise hotel.
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