By Andrew Dundas • Contributing writer | Paper, a folder and pencils — both colored and No. 2. These are just some of the supplies required in Kara Faust’s art classes at Canton Middle School each semester. Yet, her school is not able to provide funding for these resources.

The Coronavirus Pandemic has forced many nonprofit organizations to find new, innovative ways to meet their mission while not being able to hold traditional fundraising methods or connect directly with their clients.

More help is on the way for small business owners now that several nonprofits have teamed up with Haywood County government to create a fund that will soon begin issuing loans to companies affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic. 

HIGHTS is an organization serving vulnerable youth in Jackson, Haywood, and Macon counties. Since 2007, the organization has sponsored educational opportunities, recreational activities, job skills training and community service projects for public schools, mental health agencies, church youth groups and many other community organizations.

Sharon Taylor was in her mid-30s when she left her office gig to return to school, hoping to pursue a career that would allow her to spend more time outdoors and less time handling fluorescent-lit paperwork.

After graduating from Western Carolina University with a degree in natural resources management, Taylor found a job at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in Macon County, where she worked as a research technician and enjoyed the full menu of retirement and health benefits to which she was entitled as an employee of the University of Georgia. Things were going well, and if she gave UGA the next 20 years, they’d give her a comfortable retirement. 

Neither Jamie and nor Ruffin Shackleford ever attended summer camp as children, but they believe they were built to lead it. 

Jamie first heeded that calling at the tender age of 10, when she invited all the neighborhood 3- and 4-year-olds to attend her three-day-a-week backyard summer camp. All it cost them was a quarter to help pay for snacks. 

The organization tasked with managing homeless services in Jackson County for the year ahead received official status as a federal nonprofit this month. 

Many have probably passed by the Triangle Club on Miller Street in Waynesville without realizing what it was, but those within the recovery community are familiar with the space and know what an impact the clubhouse has in the county. 

The town of Franklin’s adopted 2019-20 budget will not include funding for local nonprofit organizations as it has in the past. 

The volunteer board members of the nonprofit Nikwasi Initiative are appreciative of the public’s interest in our mission and role in development of a cultural corridor extending from south Macon County to the Qualla Boundary. We would like to take this opportunity to go into more detail about the Initiative.