The New Hanover Community Endowment will be announcing grant criteria for its initial grantmaking round during a public session in August.

The endowment was launched with $1.25 billion in proceeds from the sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center by New Hanover County to Novant Health, a deal that closed last year. As of Nov. 5, the total stood at $1.29 billion, according to a WilmingtonBiz Magazine story in July.  The article stated that no more than 4% of the endowment’s average net fair market value can be used for grants annually.

The grant criteria public information session is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Aug. 24 at The Harrelson Center event space, according to a news release. It will be simultaneously broadcast on NHCTV (Spectrum Channel 13) and streamed via New Hanover County Government TV’s website and YouTube channel. Interpretation in Spanish and ASL will be available at the session.

These grants, dubbed the Cape Fear Opportunities and Needs Grants, "will be intended to address the immediate needs and challenges in the community’s health, education, safety, and economic opportunity, as well as lay groundwork for the future strategic and long-term work of the endowment," the release stated.

William Buster, the endowment’s CEO and president, said in the release, “Holding this information session will allow the community to understand how to be part of the exciting and transformational work that the endowment is going to be doing, while also giving us the chance to increase accessibility and awareness, so money goes to where it can do the most good.”

The session will consist of a presentation of the 2022 grants criteria, a walkthrough of the application process and a Q&A about the grants, according to the release.

Additional information about the session will be made available on the NHCE’s website or can be found by calling the endowment during normal business hours at (910) 756-5990.