A message from the President
As 2024 comes to a close, I am thrilled to present the NC Chamber Foundation’s 2024 Annual Impact Report, which highlights a transformative year for our work in securing a prosperous future for North Carolina.
We began the year by fully funding the Foundation’s five-year NC Leads strategic plan. Thanks to your leadership and investment, we surpassed our $7.5 million goal, securing $7.68 million to fuel this vital initiative.
Through NC Leads, we are driving data-based, non-partisan policy research, fostering effective collaborations, and executing outcome-focused programs. Our work focuses on education and talent supply, infrastructure, and business climate— pillars that will ensure North Carolina remains a competitive, thriving state for generations to come.
The 2024 report reflects our commitment to addressing some of our state’s most pressing challenges. From assessing the economic impact of limited child care access to leading solutions for health care workforce shortages and prioritizing research for infrastructure challenges, the Foundation is delivering actionable, data-based solutions that promote long-term growth and position all North Carolinians for success.
As we look to 2025, we are energized by the strides we’ve made and grateful for the leadership and support of investors and collaborative partners. I encourage you to explore the full 2024 Annual Impact Report to learn more about the Foundation’s ongoing efforts and successes.
In 2024, the NC Chamber Foundation successfully funded its five-year NC Leads strategic plan. Of the 54 investors, 32 are new investors in the NC Chamber Foundation. New investors represent nearly a third of the total amount raised.
Child Care
Measuring the economic impact of a barrier to work
The Foundation was selected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to be a state partner on the Untapped Potential in North Carolina report, which examined how lack of access to high quality and reliable child care impacts the state’s workforce productivity and economy. The Foundation released the statewide report in June that estimates insufficient child care availability is costing North Carolina $5.65 billion in lost economic activity each year. Given the significant costs to business, the Foundation has successfully positioned child care as a workforce and economic priority for the state.
The NC Chamber and other advocates used this data to secure $67.5 million in stop gap funding for child care in North Carolina.
Next Steps: The NC Chamber Foundation is underway on an additional research effort to assess the national landscape, examine best practices and identify potential policy solutions to address our state’s child care crisis and support working families.
NC Health Talent Alliance
Tackling health care workforce shortages statewide
The NC Chamber Foundation significantly advanced its NC Health Talent Alliance public-private partnership with the NC Center on the Workforce for Health to aggressively address the state’s critical health care workforce shortages. Spearheaded by NC Chamber Foundation Director of Workforce Competitiveness Vincent Ginski, we are leveraging the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s proven Talent Pipeline Management® framework to build robust talent pipelines aligned with industry demand.
The NC Chamber Foundation is providing training and technical expertise to the nine regional coalitions, and working with statewide industry leaders, trade associations, and education partners on customized but replicable solutions and policy recommendations. This work is making a measurable, employer-led impact in communities across the state.
By transitioning from a general plea for more talent to a regularly occurring, detailed understanding of specific needs, we can ensure our efforts today shape a stronger health care workforce for tomorrow.”
- Vincent Ginski, Director of Workforce Competitiveness, NC Chamber Foundation
Regions implementing TPM®
Hosting the Career Readiness Talent Pipeline Management Academy
The NC Chamber Foundation, in partnership with the NC Community College System, was selected to host a Career Readiness Talent Pipeline Management (TPM) Academy® after a competitive national RFP process. The academy aims to improve employment outcomes for adult students of color and other opportunity populations.
40 community college professionals and strategic partners are being trained through this effort, made possible by funding from the Lumina Foundation.
By the end of 2024, North Carolina is expected to have the largest TPM movement in the country.
This is an important step in our collective work to create a demand-driven workforce system in North Carolina. North Carolina’s community colleges play a critical role in bolstering the state’s workforce, and this partnership further affirms our commitment to advancing North Carolina’s Talent Pipeline Management strategy."
- Dr. Jeff Cox, President, NC Community College System
Connecting Employers with K-12 Students
Acting on feedback from the business community, the NC Chamber Foundation launched a new toolkit, developed in partnership with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, to help employers and industry partners navigate the K-12 public education system.
The toolkit, which has received more than 3,000 views, provides resources and success stories of different types of partnerships and aims to help organizations become more involved in education in their community, ultimately connecting North Carolina students with viable career opportunities.
We know that one of the most important issues facing employers today is their future workforce. By engaging with employers and creating a resource that shows how they can partner with schools and connect with students, we are better able to match employer needs with North Carolina’s public-school students – our future workforce.”
- Catherine Truitt, North Carolina State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Convening Leaders in Business, Government, and Education
To continue strengthening alignment between education and industry, the NC Chamber and NC Chamber Foundation partnered with the NC Community College System; NC School Superintendents' Association; myFutureNC; the NC Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center; and the Successful Practice Network to convene leaders in business, government, education, and community organizations at four regional roundtables across the state.
Participants unpacked real-time examples of how employers and educators are incorporating innovative generative AI and other technological advancements in in-demand industries to build employee competencies and improve our regional talent pipelines.
Setting the Long-term Plan for North Carolina’s Water Infrastructure
The NC Chamber Foundation formed a Water Resources & Infrastructure Task Force of cross-industry experts to identify key issues, prioritize needs, and propose solutions to address North Carolina’s water infrastructure challenges.
In support of this work, the Foundation developed a Request for Research Proposal that is currently open to provide a competitive analysis, inform recommendations, and identify barriers to progress for North Carolina’s water infrastructure.
The research and results from this effort will:
- provide insight into the current state of water infrastructure and management in North Carolina,
- provide best-practices information from comparable states or regions,
- initiate a process of benchmarking and comparative assessment of water infrastructure, and
- develop projections and recommendations for a future robust, resilient, and sustainable future state of water infrastructure in North Carolina.
Developing the long-term strategy for NC’s #1 industry
The NC Chamber Foundation, in partnership with the Golden LEAF Foundation and supported by North Carolina Farm Bureau and Google, is leading a two-year strategic planning process bringing stakeholders together to address industry-wide, cross-cutting topics that impact commodities grown in our state, and to chart a course that strengthens North Carolina’s position as a leader for agriculture and agribusiness in the United States.
Phase one, the discernment phase of the strategic planning initiative, yielded tremendous engagement, including:
In August, NC Ag Leads proceeded to phase two, the resolution phase, of the strategic planning process. Six working groups are currently working to identify solutions and make recommendations to North Carolina’s ag industry for the priorities identified by the industry during phase one. The recommendations will be presented in early 2025.
NC Ag Leads is about coming together, discussing and establishing priorities, identifying things we can control, and building on our deep agricultural foundation to move the industry forward."
Steve Troxler, N.C. Agriculture Commissioner
Hurricane Helene
Funding Business Recovery
Western North Carolina chambers have been indispensable in providing support, connecting resources, and bringing together their local business communities in response to the extraordinary challenges posed by Hurricane Helene. This fall, the NC Chamber Foundation provided a total of $50,000 in grants to five chambers of commerce in western North Carolina.
The funds went directly to chambers and chamber foundations that have created business recovery initiatives focused on direct support to local and small businesses working tirelessly to rebuild. The Foundation is proud to play a part in fostering economic recovery efforts in these communities.
Elevating the NC Chamber Foundation Brand
Establishing the separate, but connected, brand of the NC Chamber Foundation was a priority in 2024. The amplification of the work has yielded a tremendous increase in brand recognition and opportunity.
About the NC Chamber Foundation
The NC Chamber Foundation is creating a strong, sustainable future for business and communities across North Carolina. Through nonpartisan research and thoughtful collaboration, the NC Chamber Foundation serves as a convener and works to disseminate information related to complex challenges, craft sound policy recommendations, track progress, and drive a future-focused vision to expand economic growth and prosperity for all North Carolinians. The work of the NC Chamber Foundation is leveraged by the NC Chamber and aligned business organizations to advocate for change that positions North Carolina as a top-10 state to live, work, and do business. For more information, visit ncchamber.com/foundation.