CHARLOTTE – Bank of America today announced Community Culinary School of Charlotte (CCSC) and GenOne as the 2023 Neighborhood Builders® awardees for their work advancing economic mobility and building up underserved neighborhoods in Charlotte. Through this multi-year grant funding and extensive leadership training for the nonprofits’ leadership, programs and services addressing barriers to education and long-term employment will be able to expand.
The Neighborhood Builders program is one of the largest philanthropic investments into nonprofit leadership development in the nation, providing comprehensive leadership training for an executive director and an emerging leader on topics ranging from increasing financial sustainability, human capital management and strategic storytelling, and the opportunity to join a national network of peer organizations. Each Builder is also awarded a $200,000 grant over two years.
“GenOne and the Community Culinary School of Charlotte are integral in addressing educational and workforce barriers and are helping strengthen the vitality of our Charlotte community,” said Kieth Cockrell, president, Bank of America Charlotte. “Our goal for providing flexible funding and leadership training is to recognize the nonprofits for creating real change and help position them for sustainable, long-term success.”
The Community Culinary School of Charlotte has grown from a single room into a legacy that spans over 25 years, now with a fully-equipped kitchen to serve classes of more than 20 students three times a year. They provide workforce development training and job placement assistance in the food service industry for adults who face barriers to long-term successful employment. With this new grant funding, CCSC will be able to expand and offer an alumni dining series which will spotlight CCSC alumni who want to go into business for themselves. These alumni will focus on everything culinary, from pies, cakes, and all baked goods, to soups, stocks, sauces, and savory meals.
“With this monumental support from Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders grant, CCSC will be able to strengthen our mission and continue to go deeper into the communities of need and help facilitate trained culinarians in all aspects of the hospitality industry,” said Chef Ron Ahlert, executive director, Community Culinary School of Charlotte. “We are ‘over the moon’ for this tremendous gift from Bank of America and are humbled by this recognition. Please stop in and witness workforce development and economic mobility in action.”
GenOne partners with talented, first-generation students from under-served communities, helping them successfully navigate to and through college. Based on data from North Carolina School Report Cards, there are over 3,000 students who would be eligible for GenOne services in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Middle Schools annually; however, GenOne currently has resources to service about 200 total students. With this new grant funding from Bank of America, GenOne will be able to expand their services to additional middle and high school students who are in need of their support. It will also ensure that their first cohort of college students will get the support they need to graduate college next year with a degree and post-graduation plans.
“The impact of this transformative gift is almost hard to communicate,” said Ian Joyce, executive director, GenOne. “Both the leadership development for staff and major financial support will catapult GenOne into our next phase of facilitating access for first generation students and families to find their affordable pathway through postsecondary success.”
The invitation-only program is highly competitive. Nonprofits are selected by a committee comprised of community leaders and past Builders awardees.
Within Charlotte, an inaugural city of the program, 32 nonprofits have been selected as Neighborhood Builders since 2004, with the bank investing $8 million into these local organizations.
Since 2004, Bank of America has invested more than $300 million in nearly 100 communities across the U.S., partnered with more than 1,600 nonprofits, and helped more than 3,000 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills through the Neighborhood Builders and Champions program.
