Kids Making It awarded $900,000 from The Endowment to expand youth programs

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Kids Making It, a Wilmington-based nonprofit that teaches woodworking, vocational, entrepreneurial and life skills to disadvantaged youth, has been awarded a $900,000 grant from the New Hanover Community Endowment.

The organization said the three-year investment will support general operations, fund new staff positions focused on mental health and community outreach, and help advance its plans for expansion.

“This investment from The Endowment comes at a pivotal moment for Kids Making It,” Executive Director Kevin Blackburn said. Blackburn said the grant will provide stability as nonprofits face disruptions in fundraising, while also helping KMI continue serving youth in need.

Kids Making It said the funding will support its three core programs, which the organization said serve about 950 young people each year through outreach efforts, an after-school program for teens, and an apprenticeship program for young adults facing barriers to employment.

The nonprofit said grant funds will also allow Coastal Horizons to provide a part-time licensed therapist to work within the after-school program to support teens’ mental health.

In addition, Kids Making It said it plans to hire a full-time community health worker to build relationships with students and families in public housing, as well as a full-time outreach trades specialist to expand skilled trades components in its mobile “Woodshop on Wheels” program.

The organization said its after-school program has seen all participating students graduate high school and that 98% avoid juvenile justice involvement. Kids Making It also said it has demonstrated a 17-to-1 social return on investment.

The grant announcement follows the organization’s recognition as the 2025 Program of the Year by the North Carolina Gang Investigators Association, which cited its role in preventing gang involvement among at-risk youth.