The High Point Community Foundation wants to wish you all Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year! It is my pleasure to pass on to you, our donors, Trustees and extended HPCF family an overview of the past year and a peek into the New Year. We have much to be thankful for; it’s been a year of growth, impact and new visions for the Foundation. I want to take this time to share with you all about what has been one of the strongest years the Foundation has ever experienced in terms of impact, achievement and the continued pursuit of what I believe is a noble mission, enhancing the lives of those who live in High Point.

This past year took us into new territories with two key Foundation Initiatives that are destined to change High Point in two key quality of life issues that will impact the community in profound and very tangible ways.

First, our launch of the High-Dosage Tutoring Literacy Initiative that focuses on the elimination of High Point’s historic literacy deficit that currently has only 1 out of every 4 students in our local 3rd grade reading at grade level. The Foundation believes this is both unacceptable and yet fixable with our partnership with Guilford County Schools. We began fundraising in February and as of this December, we reached the $700,000 mark for our $800,000 goal. The High-Dosage Tutoring program began in September and will run for 2 school calendar years at which point we will present what I am confident will be very strong evidence that this approach to literacy should be done in every school in Guilford County. A key partner in this initiative is the City of High Point who granted $200,000 toward literacy. I want to extend a special thanks Dawn Spencer, Ann Busby and Tasha Logan Ford, our City Manager.

Second, a recently added Initiative, HPCF Housing Impact Fund will have tremendous economic impact upon our entire community, especially our workforce and High Point’s tax base. We are raising $10 million to address a significant housing shortage for those in our workforce who are making $30k to $80k a year which includes police officers, fire fighters, first responders and teachers. I am very excited to say that the Earl & Kathryn Congdon Foundation has already committed $2 million to this Fund! This will be a focus for us in 2025. As more industries relocate to this area it is critically important to provide safe, attractive and quality housing for them. This Initiative represents a significant step forward in our ability to impact High Point economically and enhance the quality of life for those who need it most.

This past year we have grown from $99 million to $120 million which represents an additional $21 million now under management at the High Point Community Foundation. Our Annual Grants Program gifted $565,000, our largest distribution ever to 23 local nonprofits. Since inception, our Annual Grants Program and Donor Advised Funds combined have granted over $115 million to initiatives and nonprofits that are changing lives in the greater High Point community.

The Foundation Staff celebrated its 3rd year in the office at Congdon Yards! I am moving into my 27th year and passed the 300-article milestone for my Giving 101 column in the High Point Enterprise. Karol Murks, Chief Financial Officer is entering her 19th year; Jaymi LaGuardia, Director of Marketing & Communications, hits her 6-year mark; and Amanda Bennett, Director of Donor Services, Grants & Initiatives will celebrate her 5th year at the Foundation. Barry Safrit, CFO of Marsh Cabinets, our 13th Chair, completed his first year as Chair and has overseen one of the largest growth years in the Foundation’s history. As of this year, we have had 118 Trustees serve on the HPCF Board of Trustees.

At the December Board Meeting, 3 Trustees rotated off; Dawn Spencer, who played a key role in overseeing the support in local schools and the driver & contributor in the HPCF Literacy Program. Stephanie Young was a significant member of the leadership team who helped us build our new offices at Congdon Yards and Justin Thompson who brought his expertise to our Marketing Committee. All three have been committed, hardworking Trustees who brought much to our endeavor. At the December Board Meeting, we confirmed 4 new Trustees who will begin their tenures in 2025 and they include: Marc DeLille, Kimberly Drye-Dancy, Meredith Covington, and Tom Smothers.

Looking Forward To 2025…We Have 3 Key Priorities

  • Wrap-up the Literacy Initiative, which is now at $700,000 toward the goal of $800,000. We will host a Literacy Donor’s Meeting in March to provide an overview of the progress of the Literacy Initiative at which we will share Dibbles Measurements and make a case for this to become a standard in all 14 of our Elementary Schools.
  • In January, we will move full speed ahead into our Housing Impact Fund, which has a total development goal of $40 million; this includes $30 million from local financial institutions plus the Foundation’s goal of $10 million. We formalized both a Development Committee and a Terms & Exemptions Committee to guide us through the process.
  • Finally, we will begin working in earnest on the future structure and organization of the Foundation. A new Administrative Assistant position will be hired. We also plan to hire a new Director of Development position to bolster our increasing fundraising needs. The Foundation will establish a Succession Planning Committee that will begin the process of transitioning leadership over the next several years.

As we complete a strong year of success in 2024, we look forward to what will be a very busy and productive 2025.

In closing, I want to underscore that it has been and continues to be the strength, wisdom and commitment of our Board of Trustees and the trust and confidence of donors which has made all of this good work possible. It is my honor and privilege to serve alongside folks who love and care about High Point today and for generations to come.

Always Faithful,

Paul Lessard, President