Golden LEAF’s major focus is rural North Carolina and has been since it was created in the late 1990s with a chunk of the state’s settlement money from the big tobacco companies. In the past couple of decades , Golden LEAF has distributed more than $1.1 billion in grants to help spur rural economic development and it still managed to grow its assets to nearly $1.4 billion by mid-2021.

Hamilton thought it would be a good idea, when he took over, to get around and talk to folks in a systematic way. A saying he heard in high school — “You can pretend to care but you can’t pretend to be there” – made an impression on him. When it comes to learning about places and building relationships, there’s no substitute for going there.

But most of Golden LEAF’s around 2,000 grants over the past two decades have been smaller, although they are crucial for local initiatives. The foundation is tightly focused on projects that will create jobs in rural counties that last well after the Golden LEAF grant has been spent.