A shared commitment to building community vitality throughout Gaston County unites our nonprofit partners. The Foundation serves as a resource in many capacities.

To stay up to date on educational opportunities offered by the Foundation be sure to like us on Facebook and sign up to receive our e-newsletters.

The Gaston Community Foundation also partners with nonprofits to build endowments. See below some of the Foundation's areas of focus as well as the nonprofits we work with within each area. Be sure to scroll through to learn more about our community nonprofits and the ways partnership with the Foundation can make a difference in helping them achieve their mission.

Gaston Christian School

Mission – To help students mature spiritually and excel academically by offering a Biblically integrated, college-preparatory program that will enable them to impact the kingdom of God by living productive Christian lives.

Gaston Day School

Mission – To educate our students, prepare them for success, and instill a desire to make a positive difference in family, community, and world.

Gaston Literacy Council

Mission – Exists to help people become functionally literate through advocacy initiatives and instructional services. GLC is a progressive organization dedicated to helping individuals improve their reading, writing, mathematics, listening, speaking, and technology skills.

Gaston Music Education Foundation

Mission – To provide scholarships to summer music camps for eligible middle and high school students who live and attend school in Gaston County, and tuition for college-bound music majors.

Gaston Education Foundation

Mission-

  • To fund extraordinary educational programs and initiatives not covered by the regular school system budget.
  • Acquire earmarked funds for memorial and honorarium scholarships.
  • Serve as a nonprofit organization to channel creative funding to Gaston County Schools.

Catawba Lands Conservancy

Mission – Saving land and connecting lives to nature.

Catawba Lands Conservancy, lead agency of the Carolina Thread Trail, is a local, regional land trust serving Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Iredell, Catawba and Union counties.

Catawba Riverkeeper

Mission - Catawba Riverkeeper preserves, protects, and restores the waters of the Catawba-Wateree River basin for all through education, advocacy, and engagement.

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

Mission - To create an inspiring, unforgettable garden experience that instills a love of nature and its beauty.

In 1991, retired Belmont textile executive Daniel J. Stowe bestowed a gift destined to provide beauty and joy for future generations. With the vision of a botanical garden to rival the world's best, Stowe set aside nearly 400 acres of prime rolling meadows, woodland, and lakefront property. Today, the Garden is Carolinas' Garden for all seasons, providing guests a chance to reconnect with nature and to create lifelong memories.

The Garden offers a broad slate of programming to reach a diverse audience of more than 130,000 guests annually. On average 69% of the Garden's guests come from our three-county region; Gaston and Mecklenburg Counties in North Carolina and York County in South Carolina. As the Garden continues to grow, it has a positive impact on the economic and tourism development of the local community. We host adult continuing educational classes and traditional K-6 educational programs designed to align with North and South Carolina Essential Standards for Science that reach nearly 9,000 school children and adults each year.

Backpack Weekend Food Program

Mission - To provide nutritionally-balanced, non-perishable weekend meals to students in Gaston County Schools during the school year so they can come to school ready to learn.

Covenant Village

Mission – Covenant Village, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit corporation that operates a continuing care retirement community based on Judeo-Christian values. The mission is to provide a friendly, caring, and supportive environment where residents feel secure and live happy, meaningful lives. Residents will be treated with dignity and respect they deserve as children of God.

Crisis Assistance Ministry

Mission – Crisis Assistance Ministry is a cooperative ministry of the greater Gastonia faith community. By providing direct emergency assistance and through collaboration with other community resources, CAM assists those facing financial crisis or struggling with the burden of property.

Gaston County Health Department

Mission – Leading Gaston County in becoming a healthy community with healthy people living in a healthy environment.

Gaston Hospice

Mission – We are Gaston Hospice. We CARE. Compassion And Respect surrounding End of life.

Habitat for Humanity

Mission – Works in partnership with God and people everywhere, from all walks of life, to develop communities with people in need by building and renovating houses so that there are decent houses in decent communities in which every person can experience God’s love and can live and grow into all that God intended.

Heart Society of Gaston County

Mission - To increase awareness of heart disease, to promote heart healthy lifestyles, and provide services to local heart patients.

Holy Angels

Mission - In a positive environment of spiritual, physical, educational, social and emotional support, Holy Angels provides children and adults with dignified and empowering opportunities for living, with special emphasis on those individuals with varying degrees of intellectual developmental disabilities, many of whom are medically fragile.

The Salvation Army

Mission – The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

Alliance for Children & Youth

Mission - The mission of Communities In Schools is to surround students with a community of support empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Gaston

Mission - To inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.

The Boys & Girls Club uphold their mission through 5 core program areas:

  • character & leadership development
  • education & career development
  • sports, fitness & recreation
  • health and life skills
  • the arts

Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont

Mission – Girl Scouts builds girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.