Celebrating “AfricansAmerica250”, The museum will use these funds to help educate and inform Gaston County citizens about the importance of celebrating AfricansAmerica250. Every citizen in Gaston County should know and understand the contributions that African Americans have made to the history of this much anticipated celebration scheduled for July 4, 2026.

Funds for this grant will be used for “Empowering Growth: Building the Benefits of Inclusive Employment”, for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Funds will be used toward the cost of providing healthy, non-perishable weekend meals for students across Gaston County, ensuring children return to school nourished and ready to learn.

Supporting the Client Assistance Program to provide essential resources like food, clothing, and housing support for families in need in Belmont and across Gaston County.

Funds for this grant will be used to cover annual operational expenses and bulk food purchases from Second Harvest Food Bank and other entities.

Funds will be used for Triple Play, BGCA’s comprehensive health and wellness initiative, striving to improve the overall health of members, ages 6-18, by increasing their daily physical activity, teaching them good nutrition, and helping them develop healthy relationships.

This grant helps Camp Centurion offer a safe, structured environment where homeless and low-income veterans can rebuild their lives with dignity and work toward lasting stability. This grant will provide storage units for the residents.

Through their Center for Grief and Healing Program, individuals can receive counseling, bereavement materials, and outreach for coping with loss—regardless of hospice involvement. With the Robin Johnson House as the anchor site in Gaston County, Carolina Caring is committed to ensuring no grieving individual falls through the cracks simply because they cannot afford care.

Catawba Riverkeeper will use these funds to assess the health of Gaston County streams through biomonitoring, specifically, fish and benthic macroinvertebrate sampling. The state's data is woefully out of date, where it exists at all. More data is needed so that if streams are unhealthy Catawba Riverkeeper and state and local agencies can improve them through policy changes and restoration projects.

Catherine’s House will use these funds to support the implementation of a variable length of stay model in their transitional housing program to address the growing needs of women aged 55 and older experiencing homelessness.

Equitable and lifesaving cancer treatment access for an estimated 46 Gaston County children and youth regardless of how far from home, how often or long required. We assist all Gaston County children and their families but especially those of limited resources since they are in the greatest jeopardy of incomplete and failed treatments.

Funds to help purchase a commercial refrigerator to enable them to store more food and serve more people.

Grant funding will provide core, urgently needed school supplies to be distributed through the Free Store and Mobile Free Store to serve Gaston County schools and students in need.

Grant funding will be used for the BRIGHT SCHOLARS (GASTON) Project, a summer enrichment program for Gaston County students identified as struggling with math concepts.

To protect their perishable inventories of meats, frozen fruits and vegetables, milk, fresh produce, deli products, and bread, funds will be used to purchase and install a propane powered generator to power the 20 refrigerators and freezers at their distribution facility.

This request is for funds to assist CAM with providing direct financial assistance for rent/mortgage and utilities for individuals and families experiencing a financial crisis in the Greater Gastonia area.

Funding will be used to provide flexible client service support across multiple critical needs programs. This funding will help prevent homelessness, feed hungry families, support unhoused neighbors, and assist with medication and urgent client needs.

This grant will go towards the greenhouse repairs as part of the Growing Center Renovations and Enhancements project. Greenhouse repairs will allow Daniel Stowe Conservancy to operate more efficiently, save money, and generate revenue, which will help the organization become more self-sustaining.

In 2025-26, DCA will continue to provide high-quality, year-round programming for 160 middle and high school students and their families, as well as offer consulting services to 42 postsecondary students.

Funding request is to replace the old carpeting in the remainder of the home (upstairs bedrooms, main floor bedroom, and basement) with Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring, remodel and update the upstairs resident bathroom, replace ceiling tiles in the basement that have been water/other damage, make repair upgrades to the outdoor metal stairwell fire escape to bring it up to code, repair cracks in the walls and update with fresh paint (primarily in the main first floor hallway, living room, dining room, and kitchen area), and replace outlets with GFCI outlets to bring up to code.

This grant will help implement the Community Resilience Model (CRM) at Warlick Alternative School to empower students as Youth Ambassadors of Resilience. This initiative trains students in trauma-informed coping strategies and equips them to model and share these tools with peers.

This grant will help From Hearts 2 Homes rent warehousing space to house their operations in one centralized location and hire qualified movers to better serve our community. From Hearts 2 Homes serves underserved members of our community who are transitioning from homelessness to a home or apartment by providing them with furniture, bedding, and the essential needs to set up their new living space.

The ArtsGaston Initiative is a year-long program designed to strengthen Gaston County’s creative community by building connections, encouraging growth, and celebrating the arts. Through a mix of artist-focused events and sector-wide gatherings, the initiative creates space for collaboration, visibility, and shared learning.

Gaston College requests funds to increase students’ opportunities for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) identity and career informing activities and faculty professional development in the Institution’s STEM programs.

The Gaston County Museum (GCM) seeks funding to develop and furnish a dedicated Art/STEAM MakerSpace in the Museum's under-utilized Learning Depot and Caboose that will serve as a free creative hub for the community. By re-imagining and outfitting this space, the Museum will integrate the arts with science, technology, engineering, and math, supporting hands-on learning and cross-disciplinary exploration for all ages. Designed to be accessible and inclusive, the MakerSpace will be equipped with essential tools and materials—such as 3D printers, art supplies, electronics kits, and crafting tools—to empower users to explore innovation through making.

Gaston County Schools is seeking support to have the ability to implement Communities in Schools within the ten lowest performing schools in the district. Communities In Schools (CIS) will expand its student support model in targeted Gaston County schools to address barriers to academic success. Funding will support site coordinators, integrated student support, and community partnerships to ensure every student has access to academic, emotional, and social services necessary for graduation and lifelong achievement.

Hope in Christ Ministries is working to expand and strengthen its education and enrichment programs serving children, youth, and adults in Gaston County. This funding will support the hiring of a Tutoring Director and ESL Instructor, purchase technology and instructional materials for student learning, and provide a video security system upgrade to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all participants.

The Gaston Literacy Council (GLC) will use these funds to create a comprehensive marketing and communications initiative that will help enroll new learners, recruit volunteer instructors and tutors, raise funds, and build community understanding of the vital role of literacy in individual and community success. Specifically ,GLC will redesign the website, secure a professionally produced video on their mission and impact, and update printed marketing materials.

Gaston Missional Network is providing meaningful support to Warlick Academy through a variety of initiatives that recognize and encourage both students and staff. These efforts include monthly recognition of outstanding students with gift cards, generous support for Teacher Appreciation Week with meals, and gift cards, and additional meals provided throughout the year during key school events such as the first day of school, parent/teacher conferences, and after winter break.

GSOA requests $10,000 to defray the $33,650 cost of resurfacing one of two asphalt parking lots. The lot is the original asphalt parking lot from the original property.

The Gaston Symphonic Band unites our community through free, high-quality live music, giving musicians of all ages a welcoming place to grow, perform with excellence, and share the beauty and connection that only live music can create. Gaston Symphonic Band holds four performances throughout the year and this grant will be used toward those performances.

Goodwill requests funding to support the Workforce Services programs at the Gastonia Career Center, located in the heart of Downtown Gastonia. This investment will directly support their mission to provide accessible, no-cost career development services and training programs that promote economic mobility for individuals in Gaston County.

Habitat Charlotte Region (HCR) requested $60,000 to support the implementation of Critical Home Repair (CHR) in Gastonia, addressing health and safety issues for qualified homeowners, preventing displacement, and preserving generational wealth. HCR aims to serve 6 households in the Highland neighborhood during this first phase of implementation of CHR for this portion of the service area.

HealthNet Gaston (HNG) requested funding to upgrade and expand the current HNG website, which is outdated and significantly limits the ability to effectively serve our community. HNG plays a critical role in supporting the health and social needs of underserved populations in Gaston County through education, advocacy, and comprehensive resources aimed at promoting long-term well-being.

The requested grant will provide potentially lifesaving cardiac-related medication to clients across Gaston County who cannot afford the medications. We purchase medication through local pharmacies for clients who are insured but cannot afford their co-pay, for clients who are uninsured and for clients who are waiting on the pharmaceutical companies to approve their application, and for cardiac medications not available from the drug company programs.

House of Mercy requested support to implement critical upgrades to their 34-year-old facility, which serves vulnerable individuals managing a chronic condition. While the building has provided essential shelter and support, it now requires modernization to ensure a safe, trauma-informed, and empowering environment that promotes healing, stability, and self-sufficiency.

Funding requested to complete the second phase of the Aunt Charlotte McClee Community Garden in Gastonia’s historic Highland neighborhood.

Loray Girls' Home is committed to the health and safety of their residents. Grant funds were requested to purchase a new van and to assist in meeting the rising cost of food.

This funding request supports a free, 45-chair NC Missions of Mercy (NC MOM) dental clinic in Gaston County. NC MOM is a flagship initiative of the NC Dental Society Foundation, delivering essential dental care at no cost to low-income adults whose household income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Since its inception, NC MOM has provided over $40 million in free dental services to more than 71,025 patients across North Carolina.

The First Responders Exploring Program provides local high school students with the opportunity to participate in a career readiness program to explore future careers. This grant will help subsidize the cost of this program.

The Rotary Community Garden (RCG) requested funds to upgrade the Garden. The Rotary Club of Gastonia established it in 2014 with a vision to feed the hungry, beautify our city, teach a new generation to garden, and promote friendships.

Grant funding will support mobile pantries in Gaston County. Mobile pantries are an excellent way to get fresh fruits and vegetables to underserved communities. Fresh produce has the highest nutritional value. Produce boxes will contain approximately 10 different produce items including both fresh fruits and vegetables. Each box will provide 20 pounds of fresh produce.

Shining Hope Farms is requested funds to purchase and install a professional-grade round pen at their Mt. Holly farm to support their expanding mental health therapy services.

The request seeks support to provide financial relief and wish fulfillment for children battling cancer in Gaston County, covering essential daily expenses, emergency financial relief, and granting special experiences to bring them joy.

The kitchen at the domestic violence shelter is in urgent need of renovation after more than a decade of constant use. This grant will help update cabinetry and kitchen appliances.

United Way of Gaston County requested funding for critical infrastructure improvement—replacement of the roof on the downtown Gastonia facility. This project will ensure the long-term sustainability and viability of the building, which serves as a hub for nonprofit organizations, community partners, and residents across Gaston County.