New Hanover Community Endowment expects nearly $63 million in new grants in 2027 and adds four grants staff
The Wilmington endowment, created from the sale of the county's public hospital and now holding about $1.8 billion, announced the budget on Nov. 11 with four hires. It expects to become a private foundation in 2028.
New Hanover Community Endowment grants awarded by year
Wilmington. The New Hanover Community Endowment in Wilmington, N.C., expects its budget for new grants in 2027 to be nearly $63 million, it said on Nov. 11, as it announced four additions to its Programs and Grants team. Its annual grantmaking will increase as it prepares to become a private foundation in 2028, the endowment said.
The endowment, which has about $1.8 billion in assets, manages 215 active grant commitments and awards totaling $308.6 million. It has made 491 grants totaling more than $349 million since it began. Its grants serve health, education, safety and economic opportunity in New Hanover County.
From a hospital sale to a payout rule
The endowment was created through the sale of the county-owned New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health in 2020, with an initial deposit of $1.3 billion from the county, according to its website. Of its 13 directors, six are appointed by Novant Health, five by the county and two by the board itself.
As long as it is a public charity, its founding documents cap its annual grants at 4 percent of its value, averaged over five years. A private foundation must pay out an amount based on a minimum investment return of 5 percent of the assets it does not use directly for charitable purposes, under IRS rules. WHQR, Wilmington's public radio station, reported in 2023 that IRS rules would require the change of status.
The endowment's quarterly report of Oct. 29 gives its awards by year: 111 grants totaling $9.3 million in 2022, 33 totaling $55 million in 2023, 50 totaling $53 million in 2024 and 169 totaling $54 million in 2025. Its 2026 grants budget is $58 million. Its running total in that report included a contingent $116 million commitment to New Hanover County for a schools initiative.
One grantee the report describes, Cape Fear Clinic, a free clinic for uninsured adults, received a three-year, $1.2 million grant in 2023 and an additional $850,000 in 2026.
Four new hires
Veronica Creech will join as director, a post that opened when Dr. David Stegall was named vice president of programs and grants. Elizabeth Naegle will serve as senior network officer, and Jamar Jenkins and Lauren Iammatteo as network associates. They will work with community partners, monitor active grants and report on their impact.
Mr. Jenkins has served on the endowment's Community Advisory Council since 2024, and Ms. Naegle interned at the endowment this year during doctoral studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
“Over the past year, we've taken a careful look at what it takes to sustain that work well and prepare for what comes next.”
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