February 1997
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 6/ $5.00
A nonprofit newspaper for the nonprofit community
Look for os on the World Wide Web at http://philonthropy-journal.org
- OF NORTH CAROLINA
Rolling the dice
Cherokee bank on gambling to counter poverty
Leaders of the Eastern Band of
Cherokee expect to see an eco
nomic boom from a new elec
tronic gambling casino slated to
open next fall. Nonprofits on the
reservation are hoping to reap
some of the benefits.
By Stephanie Greer
Cherokee
The Eastern Band of Cherokee,
whose reservation straddles Swain,
Jackson, Graham and Cherokee
counties in the western North
Carolina mountains, is a nation
steeped in the traditions of ancestiy
culture - and poverty
With an economy that depends
mainlv on the seasonal tourist indus
try and dwindling federal and state
grants, about 68 percent of the 11,000
Cherokee on the North Carolina
reservation live in poverty
Of income the Cherokee do earn,
about 90 percent is spent off the
reservation, says Verl Emrick, plan
ning director for the Eastern Band of
Cherokee.
Until about 50 years ago, farming
was the primary means of support for
the people on the reservation, says
Joyce Dugan, Eastern Band chief. In
the 1960s, government grants became
indispensable.
Today, grant money - both federal
and state - is being sliced, and
tourism still does not provide enough
to pull the Eastern Band out of pover
ty
The reservation has nonprofits
Bingo used to be the most popular game in Cherokee, but that has
changed with the building of an electronic casino.
Photo by Chuck Liddy
supported by the government and the
Cherokee, such as Head Start, a food
bank and a health and human ser
vices department. Tribal funds go
into programs for the elderly, handi
capped and the poor. But it is not
enough to meet existing needs,
Cherokee leaders say
So after much deliberation, the
tribe’s leadership decided to build an
electronic gaming casino which
opened in 1995.
This fall, a bigger casino will
replace the old one, and community
leaders on and off the reservation are
waiting to see what its impact will be
on the economy.
With 60,000 square feet of gaming
space, a 20,000-square-foot event
Look for CHEROKEE, page 22
Hard times ahead
Plant shutdown spurs action by nonprofits
The impending closing of a Dayco
plant leaves Haywood County
reeling - and nonprofits are
springing into action to deal
with the fallout.
By Stephanie Greer
Waynesville
Haywood County’s second-largest
employer will close its doors within
the next year or so, plunging about
3.5 percent of the county’s workforce
into joblessness and forcing nonprof
it service agencies into a red-alert
status.
“This is the biggest thing in the
history of the county” says Leon
Turner, executive director of the
Haywood County Economic
Development Commission.
Approximately 765 employees will
be out of a job when the Dayco rubber
products manufacturing plant in
Waynesviile closes, putting a strain
on a local economy in which jobs
already are scarce and often season
al.
Representatives of Dayco
announced the closing in October
but, so far, employees have been told
only that the plant’s final days will be
in the next 12 to 18 months.
County and private nonprofit
agencies are working together to
ease the transition for empioyees in
the face of the impending closing.
Through an initiative calied “Project
Sunrise,” committees are analyzing
problems that laid-off employees will
face, and deciding how nonprofits
can help.
Dayco is one of the county’s top
two corporate employers - behind
Champion International Corp., a
Look for SHUTDOWN, page 22
Corporate support for the arts
The New York-based Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. has been of how North Carolina companies view giving to the arts and how arts non
studying trends in U.S. corporate givingto the arts. The following charts are profits are responding,
from a committee study on the topic. See story on page 12 for a description
Business funding of arts by arts discipline
broadcasting dance
performing spaces
performing spaces
symphony
museums
opera
theater
united arts funds
dance
broadcasitng
education
opera
United arts funds
symphony
other
Hunt
embraces
nonprofits
Gov. Jim Hunt says he wili work in
ciose partnership with nonprofit
organizations to improve life in North
Carolina - and he has pledged to be a
better partner than he was in the
past four years.
At a session Jan. 22 to brief non
profit leaders about his legislative
agenda. Hunt also announced he
would launch a grass-roots initiative,
based mainly in churches and other
religious congregations, to improve
race relations in the state.
“We have not begun to make the
progress in race relations we ought
to have made,” Hunt told more than
150 nonprofit leaders.
Hunt said he initially would talk
with civic, education and nonprofit
leaders about how to build a
statewide conversation on race.
He also announced that he had
named Robin Britt, former state sec
retary of human resources, to be his
nonprofit Uaison. Britt also will serve
as Hunt’s special adviser on children
and families,
Hunt said he has asked Britt to
meet regularly with nonprofit leaders
and with nonprofit Uaisons in all gov
ernment departments to “institution
alize and make sure we’re having
regular contact.”
Hunt, who convened a statewide
nonprofit summit four years ago at
the start of his previous term and
promised then to work with nonprof
its, conceded “we haven’t talked
enou^. I’ll take the responsiblify for
that, but I want to get it right this
time.”
i- ■....
Connections 3
Grants & Gifts 16
In February 16
Job Opportunities 20
Opinion 10
People 17
Professional Services...! 9
1 NONPROFITS
1 FOUNDATIONS
VOLUNTiERS
; CORPORATE GIVING
An empty post
Lloyd Hockley has resigned
as head of the state's
community college system
and observers say finding a
replacement will be a key
challenge tor the state.
A welcome gift
The Community Foundation
of Greater Greensboro has
received a gift of more than
$5 million from a retired
executive that will more than
double its unrestricted funds.
A new source of help
The North Carolina Medical
Society Foundation has
launched a program aimed
at encouraging more retired
doctors to volunteer in their
communities.
Nearing the end
Corporate gifts have made
up a healthy portion of
donations to the Food Bank
of North Carolina' capital
campaign, which is
approaching the finish line.
• Page 4
• Page 6
• Page 8
• Page 12
I FUNDRAISING
Facing a crossroads
The Wake Summerbridge
program has reached a
point where it needs to
replenish grant income and
other donations.
Page 14