Community Almanac

Friends and family of Riley Howell gather together Saturday, April 3, for the inaugural Mighty 4-Miler Race, held in support of the Riley Howell Foundation Fund.

Compliance training for nonprofits

WNC Nonprofit Pathways will offer an online 2021 Nonprofit Compliance Update on Tuesday, April 20. The day will begin with a morning session held from 10:30 a.m. to noon, followed by an afternoon session from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

This one-stop event will provide nonprofits everything they need to know about compliance rules and regulations. During the morning session, Ed Chaney, from Schell Bray PLLC, advises taxexempt organizations on a broad range of tax and corporate matters and will be presenting on compliance fundamentals during the morning session.

During the afternoon session, interactive breakout discussions will be led by attorneys Ryan Coffield, Anderson Ellis, Meredith Silliman, and Stephen Williamson from the Asheville-based Van Winkle Law Firm.

Register at www.nonprofitpathways.org.

Grants awarded to Haywood nonprofits

The Fund for Haywood County with the J. Aaron and Adora H. Prevost Endowment Fund and the Mib and Phil Medford Endowment Fund awarded nine grants totaling $24,610 in a recent grant cycle.

Since 1994, The Fund for Haywood County, in partnership with The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, has awarded grants totaling $1,196,298.

The 2021 grants are: $2,710 to Babies Need Bottoms to provide diapers, wipes, rash cream and basic hygiene essentials to Haywood families facing persistent poverty and acute crisis; $2,325 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina to recruit, screen, train and place 10 new mentoring volunteers; $2,125 to Clothes to Kids of Haywood County to defray the cost of rent, utilities and phone for its clothing shop for kids; $2,975 to Community Kitchen to purchase food and supplies needed to provide fresh, hot meals nightly; $3,115 to Fines Creek Community Association toward supplemental food and MANNA Pantry operating costs; $3,080 to Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency to provide new mothers with access to education and infant safety products, including car seats, pack and plays and diapers; $3,220 to Haywood County Meals on Wheels to provide meals to disadvantaged seniors 60 years and older who are homebound; $2,850 to Haywood Habitat for Humanity toward the construction of a greenway in Chestnut Park neighborhood and $2,210 to KARE to support the Positive Parenting Program.

To make a tax-deductible contribution, donate online at www.fundforhaywoodcounty.org. Make checks payable to CFWNC, noting “Fund for Haywood County” in the memo line.

Library offers new printing service

All Fontana Regional Library locations in Macon, Jackson, and Swain counties now have remote printing services available.

Community members can send a document, file, or photo from their own laptop, tablet, or smartphone to print at a library printer. Print jobs can be sent from inside the library or from anywhere else. That means that you can print from home and then pick up your document at the Print Release Station inside the library.

Jobs are held for up to three days and are printed when the user comes into the library to release and pay for the job.

Cost is 25 cents per page for either color or black-and-white, and the Print Release Stations in the library accept cash only in small bills up to $10.

For more details, visit www.fontanalib.org/print.

Haywood library seeks board members

The Friends organization raises money to support programming at the four branches of the Haywood County Public Library. The positions are a two-year term, starting in May. Volunteers attend six meetings per year and may be asked to participate in a committee. Most committee work can be completed in a few hours each month. The board especially seeks members who would be interested in taking meeting minutes, helping to organize the annual member meeting, or in assisting with publicity and digital communications.

To learn more, email folhaywoodcounty@gmail.com.

ACA enrollment period extended

Healthcare.gov is open through Aug. 15 thanks to an extension of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Special Enrollment Period and thanks to new federal subsidies from the American Rescue Plan monthly premiums for many will be reduced or even eliminated.

On average, premiums will decrease by $50 per month. Premium payments are calculated at the benchmark of 8.5% of household income. People with income below 150% of the poverty line (about $19,000 for a single person, $25,800 for a couple, and $39,000 for a family of four) will pay no premiums for some plans, including Silver plans with cost sharing reductions.

Pisgah Legal Services and its Enrollment Partners of WNC are again offering free assistance helping people in the 18-county mountain region review their options and sign up for ACA health insurance. Pisgah Legal and other Enrollment Partners of WNC participating organizations give local residents free, unbiased health insurance information and enrollment assistance in the NC Health Insurance Marketplace.

For more information, visit www.pisgahlegal.org to apply for help online or make a gift in support of this important work.

Dogwood Health launches grant portal

In an effort to make grants more readily accessible and to streamline the grantmaking process, Dogwood Health Trust has launched an online grant application portal for organizations serving all or part of 18 Western North Carolina counties and The Qualla Boundary.

Dogwood is most interested in projects that address one or more of the organization’s four strategic priorities: Housing, Education, Economic Opportunity, and Health & Wellness. Visit www.dogwoodhealthtrust.org/apply-for-funding to access the portal.

Dogwood’s new grantmaking process focuses on learning more about an applicant’s idea or project before requiring a detailed grant proposal. Applicants are invited to complete a pre-application first. Pre-applications are accepted on a rolling basis; there is no due date for submitting requests.

To learn more, visit www.dht.org.

Funding available for disability agencies

The Evergreen Foundation board of directors is accepting grant proposals for first quarter 202122. Proposals for this cycle are due by Friday, May 21. Grant proposals submitted via email should be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on the due date. Mailed proposals must be postmarked by 5 p.m. on the due date.

Applications and information on applying for funding can be found on the Evergreen Foundation website www.evergreenfoundationnc.org. If there are additional questions, email them to dcoleman@evergreennc.org. www.evergreenfoundationnc.org.

New nonprofit partnership in Macon

Macon County CareNet and Macon New Beginnings, Inc. recently announced their expanded partnership and a new chapter in their efforts to help those less fortunate in the community. Macon New Beginnings, Inc. will be moving their administrative office and sharing space at the CareNet administrative and distribution facility located on 130 Bidwell Street. Clients with food and housing security issues will now be able to access those resources in one stop.

For further information, visit www.maconcarenet.org or www.maconnewbeginnings.org.

Cheer teams win first place

The Smoky Mountain Competition Cheer teams competed at three events during the month of February. The teams consist of the Sparking Gems (ages 6-8), the Dazzling Diamonds (ages 6-10), and the Senior Sapphires (ages 7-18). Members are from Haywood, Jackson, Swain, and Macon counties.

The teams competed at the Great Smoky Mashup with Maximum Cheer and Dance on Feb. 13 at the Gatlinburg Convention Center. All three teams won first place for their divisions. The Sparkling Gems and the Dazzling Diamonds received zero deductions for their performances. The teams traveled to Greenville, South Carolina, Feb. 20 to compete in Triad Xpress competition and won first place for their divisions.

They finished out the month competing at the Smokey Mountain Crown Feb. 27 in Sevierville, Tennessee. The Sparkling Gems took second place in their division and received zero deductions for the routine. The Dazzling Diamonds and The Senior Sapphires took first place. All three teams received invitational only bids to compete at The One, a unique end-of-season event held at three locations in the United States.

The teams will continue to compete throughout the months of March and April. Tryouts for the 2021-22 season will be held in May. For more information, call 828.506.1419.