The Rockefeller Foundation becomes the first national philanthropy to commit to this regional initiative, triggering a matching commitment from the John M. Belk Endowment.
$3.2 million in previously raised funds awarded to 11 community colleges in the region to train and place 1,200 people into good jobs, promising jobs, and work-based learning in health care, skilled trades, and manufacturing.
ASHEVILLE, N.C., Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- America Achieves today announced $3.3 million in new philanthropic commitments to Good Jobs Western North Carolina, a regional effort to help residents of 23 counties land good jobs and to build the talent systems that will keep that work going. The New York-based Rockefeller Foundation is committing $1 million over two years – the first national philanthropy to invest in this effort – triggering a matching two-year $2 million investment from John M. Belk Endowment. The North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation also recently announced it is joining the Good Jobs WNC funding coalition, adding an in-state partner with deep roots in apprenticeship and work-based learning. Good Jobs WNC is a large-scale rural regional talent system intervention, and its built-in learning loop will surface the specific barriers that keep people from reaching good jobs, giving policymakers, policy shapers, college and K-12 leaders, and philanthropists a clear picture of what needs to change in policy, funding, and institutional practice to scale and sustain this work.
MC Belk Pilon, President and Board Chair of the John M. Belk Endowment, and Jon Schnur, CEO of America Achieves, made the announcements at the Good Jobs Western North Carolina Summit, which brought together hundreds of employers, education and workforce leaders, policymakers, local funders, and 11 national foundations to advance the region's work and consider what it means for communities nationwide. The Summit is co-hosted by the John M. Belk Endowment, America Achieves, AMY Wellness Foundation, Dogwood Health Trust, The Leon Levine Foundation, and WNC Bridge Foundation, several of which have been engaged in Western North Carolina's recovery since the earliest days after the storm.
That work is the backdrop for this week's announcements, which come two years after Hurricane Helene struck the region. The recovery that followed has been extraordinary in its scope and its persistence: rebuilding roads, homes, water systems, and businesses, and sustaining families and communities through a long and difficult stretch. Many of the philanthropies now backing Good Jobs Western North Carolina funded immediate relief and then the slower, less visible work of rebuilding. As the region moved from response to recovery, its community colleges and local partners began asking what their role should be in rebuilding the regional economy for the long term, and how to connect residents to good jobs. Good Jobs Western North Carolina emerged from that locally led effort.
The Rockefeller Foundation's commitment will support its Big Bet on Good Jobs for America, a three-year, $100 million strategy launched in April 2026. The strategy supports locally driven approaches that connect people, particularly in distressed and underserved communities, to good jobs, while spreading effective practices to expand economic opportunity in communities across the country.
The Good Jobs Western North Carolina Steering Committee also announced today $3.2 million from the Good Jobs Program Fund to help all 11 community colleges in the region train and place 1,200 people into good jobs, promising jobs, and work-based learning in the region's 23 counties. The funding will help colleges expand and redesign training with local employers so more residents can access jobs with good pay, benefits and opportunities to advance.
"This funding will provide western North Carolinians new opportunities to build careers in the communities they call home," said Governor Josh Stein."This initiative is preparing people for good jobs, supporting businesses' searches for skilled workers, and strengthening the region's economic recovery for years to come."
"Good Jobs Western North Carolina is a model for how to help people get and keep good jobs at a time of profound transformation in the labor market," said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. "This effort stood out to us because it brings together employers, educators, and the public sector to train people for the work employers need and help them get hired. The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to be the first national philanthropy to join this initiative as part of our $100 million Big Bet to connect Americans to the dignity of work in a changing economy."
The Good Jobs Framework, developed by America Achieves, guides the initiative's work across 11 community colleges and 23 counties to expand education, training and employment access for low-income residents of Western North Carolina. The goal is twofold: prepare and place more residents into good jobs in Western North Carolina, and translate that experience and lessons learned to build evidence, tools, and recommendations to improve education and workforce policy at large scale at the state and national levels.
"This work began with listening to the people who know Western North Carolina best: its community college leaders, employers, and residents," said MC Belk Pilon, President and Board Chair of the John M. Belk Endowment. "Their leadership has brought us to this point. We are thrilled that national philanthropy will build on local communities to help make sure that this region not only delivers strong local programs but develops lessons learned and tools to take lasting pathways to economic mobility to a much larger scale."
"Western North Carolina's colleges and employers are working together to build scalable models to help people get good jobs that employers need to fill," said Jon Schnur, CEO of America Achieves. "This initiative and the Good Jobs Framework guide and support that programming – and will inform the design of a system enabling this type of work statewide for the long-term. Philanthropy is intended here to finance the transition, not permanently subsidize the system."
The initiative will share tools, labor-market findings, playbooks, and policy recommendations gained from implementation so other communities and states can adapt the approach.
The initiative builds on bipartisan National Governors Association (NGA) calls for states to take action. Good Jobs Western North Carolina was introduced publicly in April as part of America Achieves' broader Good Jobs Economy national work that was first announced by then-NGA Chair Oklahoma Governor Stitt and current NGA Chair Maryland Governor Wes Moore at the NGA summer meeting in 2025. At the time, Governor Stitt called on governors to "build strong bridges between millions of Americans seeking good jobs and the employers excited to hire them" – including by establishing a "Good Jobs Fund that supports scaleable, high-impact workforce solutions."
Investments in 11 Community Colleges across Western North Carolina
These investments will help local residents attain good-paying jobs, address labor market shortages in health care, advanced manufacturing and skilled trades, and support the region's recovery from Hurricane Helene. Programs range from expanded nursing education and paid manufacturing training to shorter skilled-trades certificates and class schedules that better accommodate working adults.
The initiative builds on early support from North Carolina philanthropy, including the John M. Belk Endowment and The Leon Levine Foundation – and then an expansion of that support from NCCCS Foundation, SECU Foundation, AMY Wellness Foundation, WNC Bridge Foundation, C.D. Spangler Foundation, Cannon Foundation, Dogwood Health Trust, Pisgah Health Foundation, and NC GSK Foundation.
Through its Good Jobs Program Fund, the initiative pairs flexible funding with hands-on support to help colleges redesign programs around employer demand and track whether participants move into better-paying work. America Achieves provides technical assistance in partnership with the John M. Belk Endowment and regional funder leaders.
Today's grants build on an initial planning phase that brought all 11 colleges together to examine labor market data, identify priority occupations and develop programs with employers. Colleges used a regional labor market analysis from Strada Education Foundation and the Good Jobs Western North Carolina Data Hub, powered by Julius Education and co-developed with America Achieves.
The resulting portfolio involves 48 employer partners engaged in activities that include curriculum development, hiring and financial or other contributions. Partnerships connect classroom learning with opportunities such as paid work experience, clinical training and guaranteed interviews.
Current college plans project approximately 1,200 participants during the first two years – about 900 in job placements and about 300 in work-based learning such as internships, clinical rotations and apprenticeships. The projections include new program completers, existing students and workers pursuing advancement. Colleges will track credential completion, job placement, wages and retention. Investments in instructors, equipment and employer partnerships build capacity to serve additional students each academic year.
"The education we provide must reflect the skills and expectations of today's employers, and the best way to ensure that alignment is to design programs with employers at the table from the very beginning," said Dr. Mark Poarch, President of Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. "For working learners, access is equally important. Programs must fit the realities of their lives through flexible scheduling, relevant instruction, comprehensive support services, and clear pathways to employment.