The New Hanover Community Endowment held its semiannual public meeting Wednesday night, where officials addressed concerns about school bond funding, the local arts community and funding for the Northside Food Co-op. 

The endowment hosted the meeting at the Minnie Evans Performing Arts Center located on the Eugene Ashley High School campus. The endowment, which has a $58 million grant budget for 2026, has awarded $17 million through 58 grants since the beginning of the year, leaving more than $19 million available for grant funding this year. 

Last week, the endowment announced a landmark $116 million grant to New Hanover County to help fund a proposed $320 million bond to improve school facilities. The funding would be distributed equally over 10 years and is contingent upon the bond referendum gaining voter approval in November. If the bond does not pass, the endowment will not issue the $116 million grant, said Sophie Dagenais, the endowment’s president and CEO.

While the endowment grant is not tied to any specific obligation, county officials will likely use the funding to cover the bond's debt service, according to Dagenais.

"When we invest in our schools, we're investing in education, public health, workforce development, community safety, economic resilience and the long-term well-being of our New Hanover community,” said Dagenais at the public listening session. 

Several audience members raised concerns about the bond's funding structure, with some urging county commissioners to use the $116 million grant in addition to the $320 million bond rather than applying it toward debt payments. 

Officials also provided updates on the endowment’s landscape and data assessments announced last year, which are intended to inform and guide grantmaking. According to Dagenais, all assessments, except the entrepreneurial ecosystem assessment, will be completed this summer or by fall at the latest.

The endowment formalized a partnership with UNC Chapel Hill last week to launch the entrepreneurship and innovation landscape assessment, Dagenais said.

"Our landscape assessments, in large measure, are a lot about community voices,” Dagenais told the Business Journal on Thursday. “This is an organized effort, it's a framework, it's a way of thinking. Honestly, it's us stewarding the resources."

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Cierra Washington, project manager of the Northside Food Co-op, asked endowment leaders about the decision to end financial support of the co-op, which plans to build a grocery store in Wilmington’s Northside neighborhood. 

Dagenais said that the endowment could not use its resources to fund grocery store operations, citing private letter rulings from the Internal Revenue Service. 

“Grocery store operations are not a charitable purpose,” she said. 

Since pulling over $6 million in funding from the Northside Food Co-op, the endowment has announced plans to fund a two-year grocery delivery program serving eight food deserts in New Hanover County. 

Meanwhile, Washington has said the co-op remains committed to building a grocery store on the Northside, which is a USDA-designated food desert.

Additionally, members of the public called for greater transparency and public reporting from the endowment. Members of the local art community also asked for support.

“The arts are not in great shape necessarily in New Hanover County or Wilmington; they need help,” said resident Clare Kiley. “There isn't a part of our culture that needs us more.” 

Dagenais pointed to the endowment’s $3 million grant to Thalian Hall and a $50,000 grant to the Arts Council of Wilmington last year -- in addition to a grant of $500,000 to the Arts Council to enhance the endowment’s arts and culture grants program.

“We know how important the arts are,” she said. “They are certainly part of the fabric of our county and like so many other things, contribute to the overall well-being of the county.” 

The New Hanover Community Endowment was created from the sale of the area’s flagship hospital, New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC), to Novant Health in 2021. The initial fund has grown from nearly $1.3 billion to over $1.7 billion in five years, and the endowment has since committed $194 million in grants, according to Dagenais. 

The endowment is currently classified as a public charity because it continues to receive payments from the sale of NHRMC, which allows it to meet the IRS public-support requirement. Once those payments end and the endowment begins relying primarily on investment revenue, it will likely become a private foundation under IRS regulations.

The endowment is limited under its bylaws to allocate up to 4% of its assets’ fair market value each year. When the endowment becomes a private foundation, it will be required to grant at least 5% of its net assets annually.

Correction: This article corrects the grant amount from the endowment to the Northside Food Co-op and clarifies the grants made to the Arts Council of Wilmington.