Developing Local Capacity to Address Complex Challenges
Our State, Our Future (OSOF) is the final program of Carolina Across 100 (CX100), a five year, pan-University effort at UNC-Chapel Hill that partners with communities across North Carolina to address complex, long-term challenges caused or exacerbated by COVID-19. CX100 is coordinated by the ncIMPACT Initiative at the UNC School of Government.
Since 2022, CX100 has worked with local leaders in 84 counties to promote economic prosperity through community-driven solutions on topics including youth workforce participation, mental health improvements, and housing affordability.
Limited local capacity is often the greatest barrier to launching and sustaining collaborative efforts. OSOF responds by helping communities build the relationships, skills, and structures that support effective collaboration, drawing on lessons from prior CX100 programs and adapting them to local contexts.
Who is This Program For?
OSOF is designed for community teams working across sectors and organizations to address a shared challenge. Teams apply as a group and commit to learning, planning, and executing together over the course of the year to make meaningful progress on the challenge selected.
Focus Areas
Teams will provide a ranked preference for their issue focus from the following options, which reflect CX100’s past programs:
- Opportunity Youth (education and workforce participation)
- Suicide Prevention (mental and behavioral health)
- Housing
Benefits of Participation
Carolina Across 100 will support teams with the following:
Resources and Tools
to strengthen existing programs and services, including data and evidence-informed strategies
Funding
to support local project management and travel costs for in-person forums
Structured Learning
through three in-person forums and regular webinars with campus, community, and research experts.
Peer Support
through structured connections to other participating teams from across the state.
Technical Assistance
on both issue-specific strategies and cross-sector collaboration from UNC faculty, staff, students, and other experts.
Target Counties
OSOF is prioritizing communities in the following counties to expand our reach across North Carolina. These counties have not been included in any Carolina Across 100 program.
Primary Target Counties: Avery, Davidson, Durham, Gaston, Hoke, Hyde, McDowell, Montgomery, Moore, Polk, Richmond, Rutherford, Scotland, Stanly, Wilkes, Yancey
Reaching All 100 Counties in North Carolina
Program 1
Our State, Our Work
Program 2
Our State, Our Wellbeing
Program 3
Tarheel Bus Tour Minigrants
Program 4
Rural Pharmacy Health Initiative
Program 5
Our State, Our Homes
Program 6
CARE4Youth
0
New Counties
Before Indicating Interest
Before submitting an interest form, teams should discuss and confirm the following items.
Ready to Sign Up?
To indicate interest, complete the OSOF Interest Form by February 13, 2026 at 5:00pm. Selected teams will be notified by February 20. Please direct additional questions to Michael Welker, ncIMPACT Director of Policy and Research Partnerships, at mwelker@sog.unc.edu.
Carolina Across 100 Programs
Our State Our Work
Our State, Our Work is the first program of Carolina Across 100. Through this two-year initiative, 13 teams representing 37 counties collaborated to connect young adults to living wage employment opportunities. Our State, Our Work held a Statewide Summit on Re-engaging Opportunity Youth on November 29, 2023. Teams served 15,848 Opportunity Youth by 2025, surpassing their original goal of 6,400. Teams continue to collaborate and deliver services locally. Read about the program outcomes here.
Our State, Our Wellbeing
Our State, Our Wellbeing is the second program of Carolina Across 100. Through this 12-month initiative, led in partnership with the UNC Suicide Prevention Institute, 15 teams from 24 counties partnered to identify and implement strategies to improve mental health and reduce the number of suicides in North Carolina. During the program, teams delivered more than 1,600 mental health services, distributed more than 5,000 gun locks, and held 661 trainings on mental health and suicide prevention reaching more than 19,000 people. The program culminated in a Statewide Summit on Suicide Prevention in June 2024.
Tar Heel Bus Tour Grants
The Tar Heel Bus Tour Grants program is the third program of Carolina Across 100, encouraging University participants to build and maintain connections across North Carolina by developing projects that address issues and needs in partnership with communities throughout the state. In 2023, Carolina Across 100 partnered with UNC Rural to offer $100,000 in funding, awarded to 14 campus-community partnerships. In 2024, an additional $20,000 in funding was awarded. Campus-community partnerships continue in 21 counties across the state.
Rural Pharmacy Health Initiative
The Rural Pharmacy Health Initiative is the fourth program of Carolina Across 100. Through grant funding to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Carolina Across 100 helped launch a rural pharmacy hub at the Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center in Ahoskie, North Carolina. The grant enabled the School to extend its reach to people in medically underserved communities across North Carolina in collaboration with community partners, as the School’s Rural Pharmacy Health Initiative reached 18 counties.
Our State, Our Homes
Our State, Our Homes is the fifth program of Carolina Across 100. Through this 18-month initiative, led in partnership with the Development Finance Initiative and other campus partners, 14 teams from 22 counties are partnering to develop capacity, analyze challenges, and implement strategies to address affordable housing and related issues in North Carolina. Carolina Across 100 is committed to sharing program resources and findings to help all North Carolina communities benefit from the work of this program.
