These Charlotte organizations landed grants from NBA Foundation for impact on Black community

Doug Coats
·2 min read
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Two Charlotte organizations and another with a strong local presence received grants from the NBA Foundation Friday.

The foundation said the three nonprofits: Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts Culture, The Relatives and ElevateMeD, align with its mission of promoting economic equity in the Black community.

  • The Harvey B. Gantt Center celebrates art, history and culture of Africans and African Americans;

  • The Relatives, a Charlotte-based nonprofit, supports more than 5,000 homeless and runaway youth annually through its range of unique programs; and

  • ElevateMeD is a national organization that aims to increase physician workforce diversity and improve cultural competence among physicians to reduce health disparities

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In total, 45 organizations across the country received a total of $8.6 million in grants from the NBA Foundation this funding cycle.

“We are very pleased that the NBA Foundation has recognized the impact that the Harvey B. Gantt Center, The Relatives and ElevateMeD have made within our community,” said Betsy Mack, Hornets Sports & Entertainment’s vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility. “These organizations are doing remarkable things to drive education and economic opportunity in the Black community, particularly among youth.”

Mack said that the team donates $1 million annually to the NBA Foundation.

While the Gantt Center has existed for five decades, the current state-of-the-art campus opened in 2009 in Uptown, in a once-thriving Black neighborhood called Brooklyn. Today the space has grown to become the region’s destination for celebrating the African-American experience, and the NBA Foundation grant will aid in furthering their mission of igniting conversation and engagement that inspires, empowers and enlightens the community.

The Gantt Center’s grant will benefit the organization’s EnVisionMe program.

“EnVisionMe aligns with the NBA Foundation’s vision of providing skills training, mentorship, and a professional vision for Black youth in the Charlotte region and is a partner program with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools designed to provide an elevated, engaging, and transformational experience,” aid Gantt Center President and CEO Bonita Buford.

The Relatives, with facilities in Dilworth and west Charlotte, will use the grant to support its On Ramp Resource Center, which provides services ranging from employment resources to workshops on money management to GED tutoring for approximately 800 Black homeless and disconnected young adults.

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“For many Charlotte youth, The Relatives is a source of hope in place of despair, acceptance in place of rejection and empowerment in place of helplessness, and we know this grant will help us have an even greater impact within the community,” said The Relatives Executive Director Trish Hobson.

ElevateMeD will utilize the grant to benefit 25 local Black youth selected for the organization’s Scholars Program, which provides tuition support, physician mentorship, leadership development opportunities, financial wellness education and access to peer network support.

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