Kabrina Shamburger – Page 3 – Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro

Legacy Spotlight: Betty Jo Forrest

Kabrina Shamburger on April 26, 2024

“Returning to my hometown of Greensboro, after spending many years away, has been a pleasure. There is so much beauty here with our parks and plenty of trails where I enjoy spending a lot of my time. I established my fund with the Community Foundation in 2017. Since that time, I have worked with the very qualified and capable staff as I continue to grow and develop my philanthropic interests. On several occasions I have had the experience of having meetings arranged with the staff of nonprofits which caught my attention. I feel that I can trust the staff to do their due diligence in the screening of organizations and sometimes offer suggestions about nonprofits which had not previously drawn my attention.

This confidence in the staff at the Foundation gives me the opportunity to feel that my money will be going to places where it will be used wisely. The ease with which I can modify my estate planning without involving my estate attorney each time is certainly one of the major advantages of having my Wall-Forrest Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.”

A Legacy of Exceptional Educators

Kabrina Shamburger on April 18, 2024

A scholarship in memory of one of Greensboro’s most beloved educational leaders has created a pathway to success for generations of Guilford County teachers.

When John R. Kernodle, Jr., died suddenly in 1995, at the age of 50, the News & Record announced his passing, saying, “Greensboro lost part of its conscience and its soul.”

John was beloved and admired for the many ways he served this community, the most notable of which was his role as chairman of the Guilford County Board of Education. His commitment to developing an outstanding school system for the children of Guilford County is surely one of his most enduring legacies.

A year after John’s death, a group of Guilford County citizens, working through the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, established the John R. Kernodle, Jr. Memorial Scholarship to honor the memory and life’s work of this incredible man.

Each year, one exceptional graduate of Guilford County Schools is the lucky recipient of this scholarship, which provides up to $10,000 each year for four years to cover tuition and fees, on-campus room and meals, and books and supplies as he or she pursues a degree in education.

In return, upon graduation, Kernodle Scholars are required to serve at least three years as a full-time teacher in grades K-12 in North Carolina public schools, preferably in Guilford County.

Every recipient of the John R. Kernodle Memorial Scholarship is special, but they are especially so to Lynn Wright Kernodle, John’s widow. She keeps a small photo album containing each Scholar’s graduation picture, along with their name, high school, graduation year, and where they attended college.

She knows each of their stories and delights in the fact that Kernodle Scholars get together, year after year, welcoming the new Scholars and creating a living legacy of educators.

To learn how you can honor a loved one while also making an impact in our community for years to come, contact us today.

Women to Women Period Power Initiative

Kabrina Shamburger on April 9, 2024

Students at all Guilford County Schools traditional high schools now have access to free period products, thanks to the Period Power initiative by the Diaper Bank of North Carolina.

The initiative’s expansion into Guilford County Schools was made possible by a grant from the Women to Women endowment at the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.

According to the National Library of Medicine, period poverty can be defined as “the lack of access to safe and hygienic menstrual products during monthly periods and inaccessibility to basic sanitation services or facilities as well as menstrual hygiene education.” One in 5 teens in the United States have struggled to afford period products or were not able to purchase them at all — Period Power aims to alleviate that burden.

The Diaper Bank of North Carolina first implemented Period Power initiatives in Durham Public Schools in 2014, but has since expanded to districts across the state, including large districts like Orange County Schools, New Hanover County Schools, and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. Today, the initiative serves more than 300 public schools across the state.

After the Diaper Bank of North Carolina received the $50,000 grant from Women to Women, they immediately began brainstorming how to implement these programs in Guilford County Schools. In addition to providing pads, tampons, and liners, Period Power also offers leggings, underwear, and shorts.

This lack of access to menstrual products causes some menstruating teens to miss school. More than 4 in 5 students in the United States have either missed class time or know someone who missed class time because they did not have access to period products.

Investment Options

Kabrina Shamburger on March 25, 2024

The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro offers four primary investment options: Main (Long-Term) Pool, ESG Pool, Direct Asset Manager Portfolios, and Charitable Trusts’ Portfolios. Most assets are invested in one of the Community Foundation’s pools, based on the preference and the time horizons of our donors. Large investment pools benefit from economies of scale in terms of both investment fees and access to types of investment holdings. Over time, lower investment fees result in higher annual grant support for charitable causes.

Main (Long-Term) Pool

Our largest pool to date has a long-term horizon, with a broadly diversified portfolio, including specific allocations to private capital investments. For this long-term pool, the Investment Committee is responsible for selecting the investment managers, along with all other aspects of investment policy.

ESG Pool

Investments for this pool are focused on investment managers and underlying companies that integrate environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors into their business practices and decision-making processes. As with the Main Pool, the ESG Pool has a long-term focus, and the Investment Committee is responsible for selecting its managers and overseeing the investment policy.

Direct Asset Manager Portfolios

These represent a pool(s) of charitable assets managed by local investment advisor(s) in order to enhance client relationships and facilitate charitable giving to the Community Foundation. The minimum balance for a Direct Asset Manager portfolio is $500,000, and total fees should be comparable to the Community Foundation’s Main Pool. Direct Asset Manager accounts may not confer any financial benefit to the donor or related party. The Investment Committee maintains fiduciary responsibilities for the approval of these Manager relationships, along with oversight of asset allocation and investment policy.

Charitable Trusts’ Portfolios

These are charitable trust accounts, established by donors, in which the Community Foundation retains a financial interest. Investment managers may be selected by the donor. Similar to a Direct Asset Manager portfolio, the Investment Committee maintains all fiduciary responsibilities for these assets and for setting overall investment policy.

Short Term Pool

The Community Foundation also has a short-term pool which is invested solely in cash equivalents, and an option for a 50/50 “balanced” pool, invested in publicly traded, liquid equity, and fixed income holdings.

YMCA of Greensboro President and CEO Rhonda Anderson Appointed to YMCA of the USA National Board of Directors

Kabrina Shamburger on March 13, 2024

Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro Board member, Rhonda Anderson, President and Chief Operating Officer of the YMCA of Greensboro, has been selected to serve on the YMCA of the USA National Board of Directors. Anderson is one of five newly appointed board members who will contribute to the organization’s mission of providing national resources for the 2,600 Ys across the country.

With an impressive background in leadership and experience in both the nonprofit and corporate sectors, Anderson brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the board. She joined the YMCA of Greensboro in February 2020, after serving as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of the YMCA of Greater Charlotte for two and a half years and the President and Chief Operating Officer of The Community YMCA in Red Bank, N.J. for five years. Prior to her work with the Y, Anderson held several leadership positions within national brands including Johnson & Johnson and Pearson.

Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro: Family Forward NC Certified Employer

Kabrina Shamburger on March 12, 2024

The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro has been named a Family Forward NC Certified Employer by the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation’s (NCEC) Family Forward NC initiative. A Family Forward NC Employer Certification designates employers that offer policies and practices that support the health and well-being of working families and children.

To achieve certification, NCEC looks at employer benefits in the following policy and practice categories:

paid leave and wages,
accommodations for pregnant and breastfeeding workers,
childcare supports,
health and wellness benefits,
and scheduling practices.

“I am proud that my employer, the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, has been designated as a Family Forward Certified Employer because we are a family-friendly workplace,” says Martin Acevedo, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. “I moved to Greensboro for a job, but I stayed for the quality of life that Greensboro and this job affords me.”

The U.S. is facing a massive talent shortage that will result in a deficit of millions of workers by 2030, and a childcare crisis coupled with lack of supports like paid leave mean pregnant workers and working parents and caregivers—especially women—are disproportionately forced to change jobs or leave the workforce entirely or are unable to rejoin the workforce after giving birth.

“Employers want to attract and retain the best employees, and they want those employees to be happy and healthy,” said Muffy Grant, executive director of the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation. The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro offers the following family-friendly benefits to employees and their families:

Maternity Leave
Lactation/Breastfeeding Accommodations
Parental and Family Leave
Bereavement Leave
Volunteer Involvement
Personal Leave
Jury and Witness Duty Leave
Military Leave
Professional Development Leave
Professional Development
Education Assistance Benefits
SEP (7% ER contribution), 403b
Flex Spending and HRA
STD, LTD, and Life Insurance – 100% Employer Paid
Medical and Dental benefits – 100% Employer Paid
Vision Plan
PTO
Office closes on Fridays at 3pm
Remote Work
Flex Schedules
12 Paid Holidays plus week of July 4^th(17 days annually)

Decades of research have established that children need supportive and supported families and communities to build strong brains, along with health and development on track from birth and high-quality birth-through-age eight learning environments with regular attendance.

“For children, our future workforce, there is a critical window of time for brain development during the earliest years of life. In fact, the first 2,000 days of a child’s life are so defining that by the time that child turns eight, his or her third grade reading outcomes can predict future academic achievement and career success,” Grant said.

Launched in 2018, Family Forward NC is an innovative initiative to improve children’s health and well-being and keep North Carolina’s businesses competitive. It is employer-led change to increase access to research-based, family-friendly practices — big and small — that improve workplace productivity, recruitment, and retention; grow a strong economy; and support children’s healthy development. To date, Family Forward NC has engaged with more than 6,900 employers across North Carolina.

For more information about our employee benefits and culture, visit cfgg.org. For more information about Family Forward NC and the Family Forward NC Employer Certification, visit www.familyforwardnc.com.

Greensboro Housing Loan Fund aims to increase the city’s affordable housing stock

Kabrina Shamburger on February 2, 2024

A new multi-million-dollar loan program for developers aims to increase the number of affordable housing units in Greensboro. The recently launched Greensboro Housing Loan Fund is a public-private partnership that’s been years in the making.

In 2016, a comprehensive study showed that more than 40,000 of the city’s housing units were cost-burdened or unaffordable — families paying more than a third of their income on housing. Four years later, recommendations for a loan fund made their way into the city’s 10-year housing plan: Housing GSO.

Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro President Walker Sanders says the fund targets local developers, incentivizing them to build more workforce units for people who make below the per capita income — teachers, firefighters, police officers — and are unable to afford market-rate units.

“The way communities are addressing those needs is to build into market rate developments affordable rents,” says Sanders. “An example would be a developer wants to build a project with 400 units. They can access this fund with say, they build 300 units at market rate, and 100 of them below market rate. So, it would really be a mixed income housing complex.”

Sanders says the money comes from several sources — the city of Greensboro, Community Foundation, financial institutions, and others — with roughly $21 million launched last month, and a goal to raise an additional $11.5 million. Sanders says there’s a need for some 20,000 new affordable units and that number is likely to grow.

Celebrating Black History Month: Amplifying Black Voices

Kabrina Shamburger on February 1, 2024

As we honor Black History Month, we are proud to amplify the diverse voices and perspectives of our Black and African American team members. Their quotes encapsulate the richness of their experiences, insights, and aspirations, serving as a testament to the invaluable contributions of Black individuals to our organization and the broader community.

In Greensboro, Black history is a considerable part of the beauty of our city, from the courageous acts of civil rights pioneers to the vibrant cultural expressions that continue to shape our identity. Through these quotes, we celebrate the strength, creativity, and resilience of the Black community, inspiring us to reflect on the past, embrace the present, and work towards a more inclusive and equitable future for all.

“The footsteps of Black history have literally traveled right through the heart of Greensboro from the Underground Railroad stop on Guilford’s campus to the desegregation of hospitals/public schools, the Greensboro Four, and much more. I feel a strong sense of pride and responsibility to honor and celebrate those that have come before us and paved the way for the Black community here in Greensboro and across the nation”.

-Ericka Woodruff, AP Specialist & ETWI/GAP Program Assistant

“My daddy use to say…” You may have to fight a little more complicated . . . but you can be whatever you put your mind to.”

-Sadie Blue, Building Stronger Neighborhoods

“As a Black first-generation immigrant from Ethiopia, I’m proud to work in a county that holds 9000 people from the 54 African nations-approximately 250 of whom are Ethiopian. ”

-Cathy Knowles, Vice President of Development and Donor Engagement

“I embrace a reflective essence every Black History Month. Always remember the importance of learning from the past to build a bright and vibrant future.”

-Amber Smith, Administrative Assistant, Grants and Community Impact

“The Black community in Greensboro is unique because we have such a rich history. From the Civil War to civil rights, dozens of powerful people, voices, and movements started here in Greensboro. I feel lucky to be a part of an undeniably monumental community.”

-Kabrina Shamburger, Marketing Manager

“It’s so beautiful to be part of a culture with such poise, grace, richness, creativity, and resilience. I am proud of my heritage and make it a priority to show gratitude for those who paved the way.”

-Stephanie Surratt, Communications Specialist and Administrative Assistant, Guilford Nonprofit Consortium