Deerfield Contributes $100,000 to CFWNC’s SUN Grant Program

A $100,000 grant to the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina’s Janirve Sudden and Urgent Needs (SUN) grant program was given from the Deerfield Retirement Community Advised Fund which will support human service nonprofits across Western North Carolina in fulfilling their missions.

“We were inspired by how quickly funders and donors rallied to support CFWNC’s Emergency Disaster Response Fund (EDRF) effort that distributed more than $1.3 million to help human service nonprofits responding to the pandemic,” explained Michelle Wooley, Director of Philanthropy, Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community. “We wanted to do something significant through our CFWNC donor advised fund to help. The SUN grant program is established and has a track record of getting money to nonprofits quickly through a streamlined and rapid process.”

CFWNC offers SUN grants of up to $10,000 to assist human service nonprofit organizations experiencing a sudden and unforeseen crisis that diminishes their ability to provide critical services. In 2020, WNC nonprofits received $53,000 through the grant program before remaining funds were reallocated to the EDRF effort.

“Starting July 1, CFWNC began addressing the pandemic through our four focus areas and resumed the SUN grant program,” said CFWNC President Elizabeth Brazas. “The additional funding from Deerfield provides a tremendous boost to CFWNC funds that seeded the SUN effort. We are certainly seeing an increase in the number of applications and nonprofit need across the region.”