Fayetteville Public Education Foundation receives $250,000 grant

Neal Pendergraft

Photo: Courtesy, Fayetteville Public Education Foundation

The future for students at Fayetteville Public Schools just got a little bit brighter.

That’s because The Fayetteville Public Education Foundation last week announced a $250,000 gift from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to add to its existing $3.5 million endowment, and to support a new Pendergraft Grant.

The grant, awarded from the Neal R. Pendergraft Endowment, will be distributed annually through the Fayetteville Public Education Foundation’s teacher grant process. In the last year, 44 teachers received $175,093 in grants that served over 12,000 students.

“The Pendergraft Grant will fund innovative projects that academically enrich education and improve student outcomes,” said Cambre Horne-Brooks, executive director of the foundation. “This investment in education guarantees that vital programs will remain in place for future generations of Fayetteville’s students.”

The gift, announced at a press conference on March 16, was given in honor of Pendergraft’s service on their foundation board of directors.

Neal and Gina Pendergraft are long time Fayetteville residents whose daughters both graduated from Fayetteville High School. Gina has also served on the foundation for the last eight years.