(The Center Square) – Full compliance was maintained by a renowned nonprofit awarded $3 million in state grant money to help Hurricane Helene recovery in western North Carolina, an audit says.
Baptists on Mission was praised for its urgency and effective management of volunteers by first-term Republican Auditor Dave Boliek. Formerly known as North Carolina Baptist Men, the Christian missions organization is an arm of the Baptist State Convention that focuses on disaster relief inclusive of being able to mobilize and help feed and repair damaged homes after storms.
Baptists on Mission operates internationally and nationwide.
“Baptists on Mission met people in western North Carolina where they needed to be met, and did so with a sense of urgency,” said State Auditor Dave Boliek. “They were able to leverage public dollars to complete hundreds of individual projects, and effectively managed volunteers all throughout the western North Carolina region. This combination of public funds and focused motivation allows for the type of return on investment that should be replicated moving forward.”
From February to October of last year, the Rapid Response Special Report from Boliek’s staff said 472 grant-related home repair projects were completed with average expenditure per home of $6,392. That’s a savings from the estimated $20,000 per home.
“Baptists on Mission has demonstrated strict adherence to the terms outlined in the Office of State Budget and Management Grant Agreement, ensuring full compliance with all statutory and contractual requirements,” the report says. “The agreement mandated that funds be used exclusively for nonsectarian, nonreligious purposes, and capped individual salaries funded by the grant at $140,000 annually.”
Baptists on Mission said it “effectively reduced per-repair project costs by utilizing volunteer labor, securing disaster relief discounts from retailers, and bulk purchasing building materials.”
Baptists on Mission provided an estimated 500,000 hot meals in mass-feeding units, operated mobile shower and laundry facilities, and delivered childcare services for displaced families, the report said. Using more than 30,000 trained volunteers, the organization worked in coordination with North Carolina Emergency Management, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
Work was done in the communities of Burnsville, Spruce Pine, Hendersonville, Marion, Boone, Canton, Weaverville and Swannanoa. Six rebuild centers were established to help house and feed volunteers.
Baptists on Mission averaged 1.87 repairs per day and 52.4 houses per month.
