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Tuesday, 18 November 2025
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Written by Anna White
Nonprofits play a pivotal role in Cumberland County. From championing the arts, education and history, to fighting for crime reduction, food security and healthy pets, the categories are as varied as they are inspiring. Some nonprofits pour directly into the community, others, like the Cumberland Community Foundation, pour into other nonprofits.
Towards the end of the year, nonprofits often experience a push to the finish; programs and services accelerate instead of dwindling. Often, these are holiday-related programs and services. Always, they are programs and services that enhance community life.
Honestly, who doesn’t feel the strain when the holidays roll around? For nonprofits, the strain is doubled as they accelerate programs and services, while also participating in many end-of-year fundraising opportunities that will ensure their services remain in the new year. One of those fundraising opportunities is Giving Tuesday.
Known as a day set aside for showing generosity, Giving Tuesday is a prime time for nonprofits to solicit donations from community members who share their mission. With significant time and effort going towards Giving Tuesday marketing and donation processing, it is a vital part of any nonprofit’s annual fundraising efforts, but yet another ball to juggle as the year comes to a close.
Enter the Cumberland Community Foundation’s Giving Tuesday campaign. Think: everything it takes to run a successful Giving Tuesday—marketing, raising matching funds, and receiving and processing donations—but managed by CCF on behalf of participating nonprofits. While participating nonprofits focus on the programs and services they do best, CCF acts as their temporary fundraising arm.
“It’s really an honor to have this platform,” said Maddie Kellogg, Cumberland Community Foundation donor services manager. “We’re just managers of the process. The donors who give and the nonprofits who deliver the services are what make this successful.”
CCF’s Giving Tuesday preparations begin in June, when they invite nonprofits to participate. From there, the nonprofits undergo rigorous training on how the program works. They listen to classes and panels that share tips and tricks on how to get the most out of participation in Giving Tuesday. They undergo communication training, and they receive an extensive nonprofit toolkit that Kellogg says contains "anything and everything they need to be successful.”
Meanwhile, CCF raises $500,000 in matching funds. They compile and publish a Guide to Giving in collaboration with CityView, which lists all participating nonprofits and contains instructions on giving.
“We’ve had great feedback from community members about the Guide to Giving,” said Kellogg. “They love getting it every November and spend time flipping through and marking organizations for giving or volunteering.”
Many Guide to Giving readers find nonprofits they didn’t know existed.
Ways to give include credit card, check, donor-advised grant, stock gifts, and charitable IRA Rollovers. Since 2020, CCF’s Giving Tuesday has raised over $10.6 million on behalf of local nonprofits. Donations from community members are matched proportionally from the $500,000 matching funds. At the end of the campaign, which runs from Nov. 24 to Dec. 2, participating nonprofits each receive a single check.
“It alleviates the fundraising burden for them at the end of the year,” Kellogg shared. “They don’t have time to be processing all these donations.”
Last year, CCF processed 3,709 gifts during the giving window.
“We pay 100 percent of the gifts we receive to the nonprofits; they are not charged a fee,” she said.
Matching donors who contributed to the 2025 $500,000 matching fund include:
• Fayetteville New Car Dealers Association
• Holmes Security Systems
• Elizabeth “Beth” Keeney
• Ray and Daphne Manning
• Carol and Sammy Short
• Four Anonymous Donors
• Cumberland Community Foundation (Unrestricted Endowments)
“We have really generous individuals in Cumberland County that support our nonprofits,” Kellogg gushed. “This is the most uplifting place to work because we get to see the absolute best of Cumberland County—so many generous people and nonprofits who are making a difference.”
Two 2025 participating nonprofits, Cape Fear Botanical Garden and Armed Services YMCA Fort Bragg, expressed glowing praise for the campaign.
Cape Fear Botanical Garden Development and Membership Manager Meg Suraci said the campaign has introduced them to new donors who are making a difference through their support.
“This initiative is important, impactful, and inspiring to the garden and the community,” she shared. “These funds can be used for administrative and operational costs, such as utilities and salaries, and allocated where they are most needed.”
Because Giving Tuesday funds are unrestricted, unlike most grants, where funds are restricted, nonprofits can allocate the funds flexibly.
“When an individual donor gives an unrestricted gift, they show trust that the Garden will use the funds strategically and with transparency, which leads to a mutually stronger relationship,” Suraci explained.
She praised the foundation for their hands-on approach.
“Cumberland Community Foundation staff secures the matching funds to amplify donors’ gifts, produces the Guide to Giving, trains nonprofit staff and provides a Giving Tuesday Toolkit, communicates with donors, and documents hundreds of gifts—all during a very busy time of year.”
Jill Kiah-Saslav, development and community relations director for the Armed Services YMCA Fort Bragg, says their organization is seeing new needs that Giving Tuesday will help them meet.
“One in four military families is currently facing some form of food insecurity. Over the last month, we have seen that number surge. With the government shutdown, our ASYMCA food pantry requests in October increased by 55% from the previous month,” said Kiah-Saslav. “It has put an enormous strain on our pantry stock during our busiest period of the year. With support from the upcoming CCF Giving Tuesday campaign, we will be able to continue this vital program for our military families during this financially stressful time.”
The last quarter of the year is always their busiest, Kiah-Saslav explained. During that time, they provide programs and services for military families that include holiday services and support. “CCF does so much of the planning and implementing of Giving Tuesday each year and makes it very easy for the organizations participating in it,” she said.
Participants since 2020, Kiah-Saslav says they’ve surpassed their campaign fundraising goals each year, thanks to CCF.
“Our mission is giving together to enhance the quality and spirit of community life, and I think that’s exactly what our community is doing through Giving Tuesday,” concluded Kellogg. “Everyone who gives wants Cumberland County to be a better place and is taking steps to make that a reality.”
Find Guide to Giving 2025 here: https://issuu.com/cvnc/docs/guide_to_giving_2025-2026
(Top Photo: Maddie Kellogg, Donor Services Manager with the Cumberland County Foundation, left; Tara Martin, Program Coordinator; and Kendra Murray, Community Grants Manager, pose for a photograph during "Hand Off Day," where CCF will give the non profits in their guide checks. Bottom Photo: The Heritage Square Historical Society accepts a check during Hand Off Day, 2024. Photos courtesy of CCF)
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Tuesday, 18 November 2025
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Written by Staff Report
FTCC recognized as a Top 25 cybersecurity program in the nation
Fayetteville Technical Community College has been named as a Top 25 institution nationally to earn a cybersecurity associate degree.
The recognition comes from an independent research team at Cybersecurity Guide, which reviewed 199 associate degree programs in the United States.
FTCC ranks No. 23 on the list and is one of seven schools in North Carolina to be recognized. All N.C. colleges on the list are members of the Carolina Cyber Network, a 23-member collaborative co-founded by FTCC to help strengthen the state’s education-to-workforce pipeline in cybersecurity.
"We are proud to be named in the Cybersecurity Guide’s 2026 Top 25 Cybersecurity Associate Degree Programs, a direct result of our faculty, staff, and students’ outstanding dedication and hard work,” said FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells. “As a co-founder of the Carolina Cyber Network, a national cybersecurity workforce ecosystem model, we’re especially pleased that seven fellow CCN members also earned this recognition. Together, we’re strengthening the pipeline of skilled cyber professionals and assisting with hardening the security posture of our state and nation."
The Cybersecurity Guide’s Top 25 designees were evaluated based on academic quality, student-to-faculty ratios, graduation and retention rates, admission selectivity and in-state tuition affordability.
“FTCC is honored to be named one of Cybersecurity Guide’s 2026 Top 25 Cybersecurity Associate Degree Programs,” FTCC Dean of Computer Information Technology Dwayne Campbell said. “Our program combines hands-on training with industry certifications to ensure graduates are workforce-ready from day one. It further reflects the dedication and expertise of our faculty, as well as the drive and commitment of our students.”
FTCC is designated through 2028 as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
FTCC’s selection to the Top 25 list underscores its commitment to cybersecurity workforce development, supported by CCN’s statewide model that emphasizes affordability, practical skills, industry alignment and support for diverse learners, including military-connected students, career changers and rural communities.
The college is committed to skills-driven, industry-informed learning that prepares students for success in the workforce. A student in FTCC’s Cybersecurity program, a concentration offered by the Computer Information Technology department, will spend an average of 1,000 hours engaged in hands-on learning founded in the competencies of industry-recognized certification exams.
Additionally, through a partnership between the Carolina Cyber Network and the N.C. Department of Information Technology, FTCC students are eligible for competitive internships at NCDIT to enrich their classroom experience and jumpstart their entry into the workforce.
These opportunities and resources keep FTCC students workforce-ready through changes in the cyber landscape.
“As cybersecurity threats continue to evolve,” Campbell said, “FTCC remains committed to preparing skilled professionals who are ready to protect and support
our digital world.”
Fayetteville Technical Community College Welcomes Dr. Vikki Andrews to Board of Trustees
Fayetteville Technical Community College announces the appointment of Dr. Vikki Andrews to the College’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Andrews was officially sworn in on November 12 by the Honorable Judge Rosalyn Hood.
Appointed by the Cumberland County Commissioners, Dr. Andrews succeeds Esther Thompson and will serve a four-year term concluding on June 30, 2029.
A retired U.S. Army officer, Dr. Andrews brings a distinguished record of leadership and public service to FTCC. She currently serves as Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party Veterans & Military Families Caucus and previously led the Cumberland County Democratic Party for two terms. Beyond her political and civic engagement, Dr. Andrews has lent her expertise to numerous community and county boards, demonstrating a strong commitment to education, service, and advocacy.
“Dr. Andrews’ deep roots in community service and her experience as both a veteran and former community college student brings valuable insight to our mission,” said FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells. “We look forward to her contributions as we continue supporting our active-duty service members, veterans, and military families.”
FTCC celebrates Dr. Andrews’ appointment as yet another step forward in advancing its goal of connecting education, leadership, and community engagement for the greater good.
(Top Photo: FTCC student learns in an FTCC Cyber Class. Bottom Photo: Ms. Amanda Smith, Ms. Dianica Atkins, Commissioner Glenn Adams, Hon. Rosalyn Hood, Dr. Vikki Andrews, Ms. Edithe McLean, FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells and retired N.C. Supreme Court Associate Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson pose at the swearing-in ceremony for Dr. Vikki Andrews. Photos courtesy of FTCC)
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