DURHAM – June kicks off summer and winds down our fiscal year. Despite marking the halfway point of the calendar year, at NC IDEA it is a time for new beginnings – we change Board Officers, add new Directors, and approve the operating budget for the new year that starts July 1st.
The NC IDEA Board of Directors elected a new Board Chair; Peyton Anderson, CEO of Affinergy. He takes the reins from Patti Gillenwater; CEO of Elinvar and Associates, who served us so very well for two years in the role.
[Separately, NC IDEA said it is expanding its budget “to expand North Carolina’s economic development efforts via entrepreneurship, with a continued emphasis on specific populations that have been historically under-served. Signature grant programs MICRO, SEED, ENGAGE and
ECOSYSTEM, will all have increased funding for the fiscal year that starts July 1st. Additionally, NC IDEA has granted a second tranche of $500,000 to be managed under the leadership of the North Carolina Black Entrepreneurship Council; bringing the total to $1M since launching the NC BEC last August.]
Thom Ruhe (WRAL TechWire photo by Rick Smith)
Joining them on the Board will be three new Directors: Spencer Disher of Charlotte, Sonja Ebron of Durham and Jerry Edmonds, Ed.D. of Henderson. All three new Directors have direct experience with various NC IDEA grants and programs and are a welcome addition! These new Directors were added to fill seats vacated, for mandatory term limits, by Karen LeVert and Sean O’Leary who served the Foundation for six years and helped lead a historical expansion of our grants and programs. They will be missed, and we are profoundly grateful for their service to our mission.
With new leadership came a historic new budget, the largest in the history of the organization. Staying true to a commitment made last year in the face of the devastating impact of COVID, the Board approved a budget equal to 10% of our net assets – double what is required by law. Thanks to a strengthening economy, as our asset base grew, our budget for next year did likewise. This additional largesse will be spread across our signature programs of MICRO and SEED for entrepreneurs, as well as ENGAGE and ECOSYSTEM for entrepreneur support organizations.
Additionally, NC IDEA has granted a second tranche of $500,000 to be managed under the leadership of the North Carolina Black Entrepreneurship Council; bringing the total to $1M since launching the NC BEC last August.
Clearly, we are ready to jump into our new fiscal year funded and fearless, with an expanding network of partners that are helping us redefine what equitable economic development can be when envisioned through an entrepreneurial mindset.
(C) NC IDEA
