County Of New Hanover

County Of New Hanover, a U.S. local government entity headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, operates as a prime recipient of federal grants (67% of recent awards) and as a prime contractor for specialized services, competing full-and-open without set-aside designation. The county delivers concrete services across infrastructure, public safety, environmental management, and emergency services: mosquito control and integrated pest management for Army installations, antenna site leases for the Secret Service, port security improvements for FEMA, forensic DNA technology for law enforcement, foster grandparent and senior volunteer programs for the Corporation for National and Community Service, and STEM exhibition development for the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Customer concentration is diffuse across 27 federal agencies, with the top five accounting for 35% of recent awards. By award count, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (11 awards), the Secret Service (9 awards), the Administration for Children and Families (9 awards), the Food and Nutrition Service (8 awards), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (8 awards) dominate volume. By potential value, the Secret Service leads with $310 thousand across 9 awards (antenna site leases), followed by the Army Corps of Engineers with $294 thousand across 3 awards and $220 thousand on 2 additional awards, the Drug Enforcement Administration with $102 thousand across 7 awards, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission with $66 thousand across 3 awards. Recent prime contract work includes a $95 thousand firm fixed-price purchase order from the Army for mosquito control services in Cape Fear effective January 2026 through December 2030, and a $69.8 thousand definitive contract with the Secret Service for antenna site lease option year one running through December 2029. Prime grant recipients include a $1.6 million Museums for America award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to develop the "Science Matters" STEM exhibition at Cape Fear Museum (completion September 2027), a $748.8 thousand AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program award from the Corporation for National and Community Service extending through June 2028, a $620.5 thousand Port Security Grant Program award from FEMA (completion August 2028), and a $180 thousand cooperative agreement from the National Resources Conservation Service for urban agriculture composting operations.

Activity has grown year over year from 8 awards in 2022 to 21 in 2025, with 3 awards recorded as of early 2026. Four awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. The county's sub-award footprint spans human services and public health programs, receiving sub-awards from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services for Title IV-E foster care and adoption assistance, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), child support services, immunization and public health emergency preparedness, and maternal and child health nutrition programs. Top capability categories by award count center on communications equipment leases (11 awards), legal support (7 awards), communications equipment rental and lease (7 awards), and pest control and exterminating services (5 awards); by NAICS, lessors of nonresidential buildings dominate (10 awards), reflecting the county's property and facility leasing portfolio. The county operates through a subsidiary, New Hanover County Airport Authority, a local government-owned airport authority. Combined potential value across all 127 awards totals $1.3 million, though combined dollars obligated ($33.8 million) substantially exceed this figure, indicating mature, multi-year grant programs with forward-funding mechanisms and renewal cycles.