Audit calls for more oversight for Golden Leaf Foundation grants

A report released Monday questions whether hundreds of millions of dollars in state grants were wasted.

Since 2008, The Golden Leaf Foundation has given out $393 million in grants for economic development
 
The money comes from North Carolina’s share of a settlement with tobacco companies. In Monday’s report, state auditors criticized the foundation’s oversight of the grants. They said Golden Leaf needs to do more to verify how the grants are used and what results they produce.

“Ensuring that those dollars are being spent and used for the intended purposes is first and foremost,” said state auditor Beth Wood. “We expect and we recommended that they put in place, better monitoring tools.”

Golden Leaf’s president said the foundation knows where every dollar goes, but he said the foundation will take the audit’s advice and possibly tweak its procedures.