Donor Stories
Donor Awards Hard Work with Opportunity
When Daniel Flores arrived in Chapel Hill from El Salvador four years ago at age 14 to join his mother, who had left him with his grandmother and aunt six years earlier so she could find a job in the U.S., he could not speak English. It took him two years to learn the language,…
Ron Strom: Passionate Philanthropist
The following is an interview with Ron Strom (R), Foundation fundholder, conducted by Meg Buckingham (M), senior marketing & communications officer for the Foundation. M: Ron, tell me a little about your passion, and how you connect it to your philanthropy. R: My personal passions involve connecting with the environment and with others. I grew…
A Family Rooted in Philanthropy: Mary and Dale Carey
The following is an interview with Mary (MC) & Dale (DC) Carey, Foundation Fundholders, conducted by Meg Buckingham (M), senior marketing & communications officer for the Foundation. M: Mary & Dale, tell me a little about your passion, and how you connect it to your philanthropy. MC: That’s easy. Literacy and Hunger. Hunger, because we…
A Different Way to Give: NGAAP
The following is an interview with Michelle (MSM) Serrano-Mills & Linsey (LM) Mills, Foundation fundholders with NGAAP, conducted by Meg Buckingham (M), senior marketing & communications officer for the Foundation. M: Michelle and Linsey, can you tell me a little more about NGAAP, and why you choose to do your philanthropy through collective means? LM:…
An Interview with Jerry VanSant
What fuels your passion (for the environment)? I have no professional background in the environment, rather, my experience lies in the evaluation of nonprofits and the nonprofit sector. I have always cared about the outdoors, even as a young child, and I feel it is an extraordinarily important issue. It is a personal priority, but…
Family Philanthropy: It’s All About the Values
An Interview with Chuck Recorr Why do you give back? There is a real gap in America today. I live in a society where important things aren’t being addressed, and because of that, the fabric of the community is disintegrating. I can put an alarm system in my house and live in a gated community…
Perry Colwell, Philanthropist
This text is from an interview with Perry Colwell, Board Member and Philanthropist Why is giving back (philanthropy) so important to you? Do you have a story, or one specific instance in your life that started you on the path of giving to others? Since my retirement from business some 20 years ago, most of…
Jim Stewart, Investor
Community service is built into Jim Stewart’s DNA. His mother’s uncle, C.C. Spaulding, was an early executive of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, which became the largest black-owned business in the U.S. and, with Mechanics and Farmers Bank, and Mutual Savings and Loan, served as the core of the Parrish Street section of Durham…
Bob Johnston, The Innovator
Giving with a big heart As a child growing up in Houston, Tex., Bob Johnston learned the importance of going beyond one’s means to help people in need. His father, a firefighter and then a long-time employee of the U.S. Post Office, and his mother, a bookkeeper, were devout Southern Baptists who took seriously the…