As we all know, 2020 was a tough year - especially for our nonprofit community.  Despite the hope that a new year brings, COVID-19 continues to make fundraising challenging. The pandemic’s  impact on our economy has also resulted in a higher demand for nonprofit services, especially those related to  housing, food, mental health, foster care, access to technology, education and domestic violence - forcing  many nonprofits to reimagine the way they serve their constituents. 

Additionally, 2020’s protests for racial equality as well as the recent availability of data demonstrating funding inequities for Black-led social change has put a spotlight on Black-led, Black-benefitting organizations. With a heightened awareness of the inequality in giving that exists, it is up to donors and funders to intentionally  invest in Black-led and Black-benefitting nonprofits to promote racial equity.

Attolero is Latin for “sustain” or “support”, and that is exactly what Robert Bales and his small team of professionals at Attolero aim to do for Charlotte nonprofits.  Founded in 2016 and serving nonprofits nation-wide, Attolero is excited to contribute right here in their hometown by partnering with SHARE Charlotte.

"Attolero is thrilled to team up with SHARE Charlotte -  we have a shared passion and mission for serving nonprofits, and we [Attolero] are excited to broaden our impact in the Charlotte nonprofit community," Bales announces.  “Together, we are going to bring more meaningful content to SHARE’s digital Nonprofit Bulletin Board, a private Facebook group where over 400 Mecklenburg County nonprofits are collaborating to share ideas, resources and needs across their organizations”.  

Written by Michelle Boudin

Shay Hunt burst into tears when she got the call that Raise a Child of the Carolinas, the nonprofit she founded just a year ago, had won a $5,000 grant through SHARE Charlotte from the Amy and Brian France Foundation. “Oh my gosh when they called me I started crying. I could not believe it, my voice was shaking,” Hunt said.
 

November 8 is National STEM Day, and a nonprofit that started right here in Charlotte is celebrating in a big way. Project Scientist kicked off a campaign on International Day of the Girl (October 11) to raise enough funds to provide high-quality STEM education programs to 60 under-resourced girls. The nonprofit, which was founded in Charlotte in 2011, hopes to reach their goal by National STEM Day. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has kept millions of school-aged children at home, and it's made the digital divide and educational opportunity gaps even worse than they already were. Children from under-resourced communities are being hit hardest and are losing opportunities to experience hands-on teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Glenn Smith heard the same thing over and over in the life skills classes he led at the Mecklenburg County Jail: If I had learned this stuff when I was younger, I probably wouldn't be here. 

After hearing this refrain for six years, Glenn proposed a youth prevention program to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, the group that decides which organizations get money from the crime prevention funds the NC Department of Public Safety gives the county each year. Glenn ended up getting his program funded, and he set to work, inspired by those words from the inmates at the county jail: If I had learned this stuff when I was younger, I probably wouldn't be here.