The Golden LEAF board of directors awarded more than $10 million in funding to support projects through the Community-Based Grants Initiative in the Southeast Prosperity Zone, $1.5 million to support projects through the Open Grants Program and just over  $1 million for projects through the Flood Mitigation Program.

The Open Grants Program funding supports job creation and economic investment, agriculture and workforce preparedness in five counties, including Rowan, where $200,000 will go to Cabarrus Rowan Community Health Centers Inc. to support construction costs to expand a primary care clinic in Spencer, creating seven new jobs. CRCHC is seeking $1 million  from UDSA and plans to contribute $180,458 of its own revenues to fund the project.

“Today, the Golden LEAF Board awarded projects that represent all three funding priorities of the foundation: job creation and economic investment, workforce preparedness, and agriculture,” said Golden LEAF Board Chair Don Flow said in a news release. “These projects will support the long-term economic advancement of rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities. We look forward to the impact these projects will make for years to come.”

The state appropriated the Golden LEAF Foundation’s $25 million for flood mitigation and will award up to $250,000 per project.

The Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to receive a portion of North Carolina’s funding from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers.