A Wayne County nonprofit has been awarded a grant through the Duke Energy’s Hometown Revitalization Grant program, which assists local communities and small businesses across the state continue their ongoing recovery from economic challenges initially triggered by the pandemic.

The Duke Energy Foundation distributed $500,000 in grants to 20 nonprofits across our state—each representing one North Carolina community. Each nonprofit will establish a small business support microgrant program and deploy the funding within their local community by January 2023. The microgrants may range from $500 to $2,500 per individual business.

This is the second year Duke Energy has provided targeted grants in support of downtowns throughout the state. The Hometown Revitalization grants were awarded to 20 community organizations including Mount Olive Community Development Corporation.