Month: April 2025

In this latest blog, we go behind the scenes with Cascale’s Senior Director of Manufacturer Membership, Alexandra Rieger, following her recent visit to Artistic Milliners and Diamond Fabrics – two manufacturers leading the way in sustainability and circularity – alongside Jeremy Lardeau, SVP of the Higg Index. Rieger shares insights on challenges facing manufacturers such as audit duplication to rising demands of environmental reporting but also highlights the opportunity and importance of engaging in constructive dialogue to tackle these challenges.

Read the full blog, titled: Travelogue: Listening and Learning in Pakistan with Artistic Milliners and Diamond Fabrics

It’s one of the biggest purchases that many will ever make and it’s not a stretch to say that these days, buying a home is tough. In fact, KeyBank’s 2025 Financial Mobility Survey found that many believe owning a home is not an attainable goal for themselves nor the average American. But survey respondents also said financial education can help them be more confident.

Meeting with a mortgage loan officer is something buyers can do to make the dream of homeownership more attainable. Among survey respondents who purchased a home in the past 12 months, 30% say that meeting with a mortgage loan officer to learn about programs that make buying more affordable influenced their decision, up from 19% last year.

KeyBank Mortgage Loan Officers are great resources and can help you navigate the homebuying process. They have information on home lending opportunities and programs to help you get started on the journey to homeownership. In addition, KeyBank’s Financial Wellness Center can help you understand your current financial standing and the next step of your financial and homebuying journey.

Also, KeyBank’s Mortgage Affordability Calculator can help you figure out a comfortable loan and payment amount. Don’t forget to consider all the parts of a mortgage loan – down payment, principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance and possible PMI.

Check out this video for more on findings from KeyBank’s 2025 Financial Mobility Survey:

• Would you rather have your mortgage paid for a year OR have no utility costs (electricity, water, etc.) for two years?

About the KeyBank 2025 Financial Mobility Survey: This survey was conducted online by Schmidt Market Research in September 2024, polling 1,000 Americans, ages 18 – 70, with sole or shared responsibility for household financial decisions, who own a checking or savings account. The survey sought to gain insight into financial resiliency and explored respondents’ spending and savings habits, levels of financial confidence and financial resiliency, economic sentiment, and impacts of societal trends and pressures over the prior year.

This is designed to provide general information only. All credit products are subject to collateral and/or credit approval, terms, conditions, availability and subject to change. ©2025 KeyCorp. All rights reserved. CFMA #250404-3134828

NOTICE: This is not a commitment to lend or extend credit. Conditions and restrictions may apply. All home lending products, including mortgage, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, are subject to credit and collateral approval. Not all home lending products are available in all states. Hazard insurance and, if applicable, flood insurance are required on collateral property. Actual rates, fees, and terms are based on those offered as of the date of application and are subject to change without notice.

NMLS #399797. Equal Housing Lender. Mortgage and Home Equity Lending products offered by KeyBank are not FDIC insured or guaranteed. KeyBank extends credit secured by residential real estate without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, or familial status.

Ancestry, the global leader in family history, today published its 2024 Impact Report. The report demonstrates how Ancestry is focused on enhancing its products and leveraging its resources to create a positive impact on people, communities and our planet.

“From reducing our carbon emissions to expanding our global reach through innovation and meaningful community partnerships, our 2024 Impact Report highlights Ancestry’s continued commitment to preserving the past and shaping a brighter future,” said Howard Hochhauser, President & CEO at Ancestry. “We are proud of the progress we’ve made and we remain focused on the work ahead to create more connected, resilient communities that will thrive for generations to come.”

The 2024 Impact Report highlights Ancestry’s progress toward preserving the past and helping build a better future. In 2024, Ancestry:

• Reduced carbon emissions by 8% across its scope 1, 2, and largest scope 3 contributors.
• Added 24 new DNA ancestral regions and 63 ethnic groups to AncestryDNA to serve more customers globally.
• Made available for free 1.1M culturally significant records at risk of being forgotten as part of the company’s $3M pledge through 2025, including new Japanese Incarceration records and the Articles of Enslavement collection.
• Provided 13M+ students access to historical records through AncestryClassroom at no cost, surpassing the 2025 target.

To read the full report, view Ancestry’s SASB metrics and UN Sustainable Development Goals, and learn more about the key initiatives within each impact area, visit https://www.ancestry.com/corporate/annual-impact-report.

About Ancestry
Ancestry, the global leader in family history, empowers journeys of personal discovery to enrich lives. With our unparalleled collection of more than 65 billion records, over 3 million subscribers and over 27 million people in our growing DNA network, customers can discover their family story and gain a new level of understanding about their lives. Over the past 40 years, we’ve built trusted relationships with millions of people who have chosen us as the platform for discovering, preserving and sharing the most important information about themselves and their families. 

Media Contact:
mediarelations@ancestry.com

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• Expansion project will increase regional water capacity by 12.5 million gallons a day to support regional growth and sustainable economic expansion
• Additional water supply builds on Veolia’s 25-year relationship with Tampa Bay Water

TAMPA, Fla., April 15, 2025 /3BL/ – Veolia North America, the leading environmental services company in the United States, has finalized an agreement with Tampa Bay Water (TBW) to lead the design, construction and operation of a major expansion of TBW’s capacity to deliver high-quality drinking water to more than 2.5 million customers along the Gulf Coast of Florida. The project marks a new chapter in Veolia’s nearly three-decade partnership with TBW, which has protected the region’s environment and provided superior quality water for the region’s booming population and thriving economy.

The $181 million expansion at TBW’s Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant in Tampa will increase its daily production of drinking water by as much as 12.5 million gallons, and has been identified as a priority project for the group to meet the demands of future regional growth. Tampa Bay Water approved Veolia’s proposal under a progressive design-build model, with both parties collaborating throughout the design process to ensure the final proposal meets the utility’s financial, technical and environmental expectations.

“Veolia is proud of its long-standing role supporting Tampa Bay Water’s transformative work to provide robust and reliable water supplies for a region that once was plagued by declining water tables and environmental risks,” said Karine Rougé, CEO of Municipal Water at Veolia North America. “Veolia’s unique combination of technology, expertise and experience helps communities develop long-term water solutions, and our work with Tampa Bay Water shows how we build true partnerships with communities to help them, their residents and their environment.”

New construction continues productive partnership 

Veolia North America, through a predecessor company, built the utility’s existing infrastructure and has been providing drinking water services to the region since Tampa Bay Water was founded in 2000. Tampa Bay Water approved a five-year extension to its operating contract with Veolia in 2023, and both parties finalized their agreement to move forward on the expansion project in March.

The additional infrastructure planned for Tampa Bay Water’s plant includes a fifth system of Veolia’s ACTIFLO and ozone treatment processes, supplementing the four already in operation; additional filtration; enhancements to the treated water disinfection, storage and transmissions systems; and improvements to the filter backwash and solids handling systems.

The expanded system is expected to provide a sustainable capacity of 110 million gallons per day, and a maximum rated capacity of between 140 million and 150 million gallons a day. The expansion project exemplifies the goals of Veolia’s global GreenUp strategy, which strives to lead the ecological transformation of the planet by accelerating water quality improvement, hazardous waste treatment and disposal, decarbonization and technological innovation.

ABOUT VEOLIA GROUP

Veolia Group aims to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with 215,000 employees, the Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for the management of water, waste and energy that are contributing to a radical turnaround of the current situation. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, to preserve available resources and to renew them. In 2024, the Veolia group provided 111 million inhabitants with drinking water and 98 million with sanitation, produced 42 million megawatt hours of energy and treated 65 million tons of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) achieved consolidated revenue of 44.7 billion euros in 2024.
www.veolia.com 

ABOUT VEOLIA NORTH AMERICA

A subsidiary of Veolia Group, Veolia North America (VNA) offers a full spectrum of water, waste and energy management services, including water and wastewater treatment, commercial and hazardous waste collection and disposal, energy consulting and resource recovery. VNA helps commercial, industrial, healthcare, higher education and municipality customers throughout North America. Headquartered in Boston, Mass., Veolia North America has more than 10,000 employees working at more than 350 locations across the continent.
www.veolianorthamerica.com 

CONTACT
VEOLIA NORTH AMERICA
David Heinzmann
Communications Manager
+1 708-209-8784
david.heinzmann@veolia.com

With the second edition of Imagine, Boehringer Ingelheim highlights its commitment and progress in enhancing health for people, animals, communities, and the planet through its ‘Sustainable Development for Generations’ strategy, driving sustainability initiatives worldwide.

• Leadership perspective: Maria Tereno, Chief Sustainability & Culture Officer and Felix Gutsche, Head of Corporate Strategy & Consulting, discuss advancing sustainability in healthcare through collaboration and innovative solutions.
• Story selection: Beyond improving millions of lives through its Angels Initiative and Stop Rabies program, Imagine features stories on how the company is advancing healthcare by delivering medical services via sailboat to remote Greek islands, digitizing patient records in rural Argentina, and reducing air freight emissions by investing in sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) for global Human Pharma logistics.
• Impact and recognition: An interactive world map invites users to explore global achievements, showcasing Boehringer’s ongoing commitment to driving sustainability forward.

Imagine a world, where innovation meets sustainability, and explore our sustainability story hub, here.

Why it matters

Boehringer’s sustainability strategy, ‘Sustainable Development for Generations’, takes an integrated holistic approach that is based on the three pillars MORE HEALTH, MORE POTENTIAL and MORE GREEN. It incorporates initiatives that the company has been implementing for many years, continuously evolving them in consideration of shifting sustainability challenges, and in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.

By 2030, Boehringer strives to expand access to healthcare for 50 million people and improving the lives of another 50 million by engaging employees, partners, and social entrepreneurs. Additionally, the aim is to be carbon neutral in operations (Scope 1 and 2), cut the resource footprint by half across the value chain and continue to create best practices in environmental stewardship.

“Sustainable Development for Generations is about how we can use our strengths as a healthcare company to create solutions which enable more health for humans and animals, for our people and communities and the planet. Innovation and collaboration are key to making a difference,” states Maria Tereno, Chief Sustainability & Culture Officer at Boehringer Ingelheim. “We are learning as we go, we believe that we can always do better. With these stories we want to share with you our commitment and how we are helping people and animals to live better lives, while doing our part to protect the environment. “

Mastercard

As Peruvian biologist Constantino Aucca Chutas sat chewing coca leaves with a local elder high in the Andes, his companion pointed to a peak known as Demon Mountain and shared how its rocky slopes were once snow-covered.

The elder explained how Pachamama, or Mother Earth, grew so annoyed with humans that she stopped sending snow. Planting trees was the only way to harness much-needed water for the farmers in the valleys below.

Looking across the pass to the bare mountain, Aucca began thinking of how he could combine his understanding of biodiversity with the knowledge of Indigenous communities to help reforest the mountains and repair vulnerable ecosystems.

“A thousand years ago we were once part of the magnificent Inca Empire, which also suffered climate change. They planted millions of trees to manage the weather,” says Cusco-based Aucca. “We did it then by working together for a common goal.”

Following their lead, Aucca vowed to unite his community together once more to plant millions of trees that would generate water for all. He and three colleagues founded the Peru-based Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN) in 2000 and began reviving the High Andean ecosystems of his homeland.

Determined to expand his work across the Andes, Aucca joined forces with three other conservation leaders to co-found Global Forest Generation (GFG) in 2018 and launch Acción Andina, an ambitious initiative to restore forests and secure water resources throughout the region. Shortly after, Florent Kaiser became the leader of GFG, helping to solidify Aucca’s vision.

Under this model, ECOAN would contribute its deep expertise in ecosystem restoration and unite grassroots conservation leaders already working to protect fragile High Andean landscapes. Global Forest Generation would provide the global partnerships, funding and technical support needed to scale these efforts, empowering local organizations to achieve more than they could alone.

Fast-forward to 2025 and Acción Andina has planted 12 million native Polylepis trees and wants to protect and restore a million hectares along the mountainous spine of South America, which extends from northern Venezuela, on the Caribbean Sea, to ice-glazed Patagonia in the south.

Last year, the Mastercard-led Priceless Planet Coalition, which aims to restore 100 million trees worldwide, expanded its planting sites to include nearly 1,000 acres in Peru and Ecuador, with a target of 1.1 million trees. By the end of 2024, 579,306 trees had been planted by five local partners representing 11 Acción Andina projects.

With the Andes having lost some 95% of its native forests and up to 50% of its glaciers, the project aims to build climate resilience using a community-based model that honors local knowledge. The broader goal is to adapt this model to other ecosystems around the world while respecting each geography’s unique local culture and developing conservation tools that meet community needs.

Through its work, involving 26 projects, some 40,000 people are now directly involved in Acción Andina’s efforts to plant native trees that absorb rain and glacial meltwater, helping to reduce the damaging cycle of floods and droughts.

“It’s not a conservation or a tree-planting project,” Kaiser says. “It is a massive, century-long effort to increase water security across the Andes by reviving these ecosystems.”

But initially, convincing local communities to get on board was challenging. It was a tough ask of farmers, who were already struggling to survive climate-induced droughts and wildfires, to throw their energy into conservation.

Tapping into the ancestral concepts of ayni and minka, which together mean “today for me, tomorrow for you,” Aucca reminded communities of their Inca heritage and how they fought for independence from the Spanish. Protecting the environment was their next battle, and they would fight by planting trees. Aucca organized the first of many tree-planting events. Heralded by musicians blasting trumpets and giant shells, hundreds of people trek up the mountains to plant tens of thousands of trees in a single day, interspersing the backbreaking work with music and dancing.

While native Polylepis trees are slow-growing, each hole people dig to plant them helps funnel water into the mountainside. At less than two feet tall, the saplings start to create mini ecosystems as their moss-covered branches absorb humidity and attract bugs and birds.

Engaging with local communities and supporting livelihoods remains a focus and priority of the project. The production of the seedlings, which cost about $1.50 each, are bought from local nurseries that use the income for community projects, such as repairing village schools or installing solar panels. With funding from the Coalition, Acción Andina has also held educational workshops to teach communities how to improve water catchment systems and built a drip irrigation system that will help hundreds of families in a village in Peru with more sustainable infrastructure.

Now recognized with the prestigious 2023 Earthshot Prize and as a U.N. World Restoration Flagship in 2024, Acción Andina is exploring how to combine traditional knowledge with artificial intelligence and high-tech imaging to identify the best locations for tree planting to protect vital watersheds, including those that sustain Lima and Quito.

The Priceless Planet Coalition’s work, in partnership with Conservation International and the World Resources Institute, is targeting these regions, with the aim of securing the future of these vital water sources and carbon sinks, creating jobs, building leadership capacity, preventing forest fires and protecting biodiversity. The High Andean forests provide key habitat for more than 40 species of conservation concern, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The coalition, whose partners contribute resources and run awareness campaigns that educate consumers on the importance of locally led tree restoration projects, is proving that the private sector has an essential role in supporting local communities as they take on ambitious cross-border projects.

Kaiser echoes this emphasis on collaboration, highlighting that partnerships across generations, nations and sectors have been key to Acción Andina’s success. “What makes Acción Andina so powerful is the deep sense of community that drives it,” he says. “The friendships and partnerships we have built over the years, including with the PPC, have allowed us to grow in ways we never imagined. Acción Andina is an inspiring symbol of what can happen when people come together under a shared purpose.”

Originally published by Mastercard

Follow along Mastercard’s journey to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere.

Client background

For more than 30 years, Northeast Technical Services (NTS), a full-service engineering firm, has provided environmental services to their clients. Today, 50 employees provide consulting, engineering and data management to industrial and governmental clients. To better understand and track the utilization of its employees, NTS implemented Baker Tilly’s Project Intelligence project profitability software to better analyze projects and employee performance as well as improve decision-making.

The business challenge

NTS struggled with a lack of accurate and customizable metrics for managing employee utilization and project profitability. More specifically, NTS’s metrics were being tracked and calculated in Excel because it wasn’t possible to calculate and report on them directly out of Sage Intacct. Because these metrics were kept in multiple Excel files with manual calculations, the company had no single source of truth, and employees would sometimes be working with different sets of numbers. This made it difficult to have effective conversations about performance and goal setting.

While NTS used an employee utilization dashboard, it only showed estimates because Sage Intacct couldn’t factor in certain utilization variables, such as expected employee hours per day and different utilization targets by employee. That caused even more work in Excel and more questions about accurate metrics. Staff saw employee utilization against a utilization target that wasn’t always accurate. This made it challenging to discuss performance with staff and led to a lot of time validating the numbers. If someone was trying to hit a target, it created a less than ideal situation when the data was called into question.

Overall, too much time was spent compiling metrics, doing calculations and trying to discover why employees were seeing different numbers in different places instead of spending that time making decisions based on accurate data.

Strategy and solution

With help from the Baker Tilly team, NTS implemented Baker Tilly’s Project Intelligence, a project profitability software. This provided NTS the reports they needed out of the box, and they no longer need to use the error-prone, out-of-date processes tied to Excel spreadsheets. By implementing Project Intelligence, NTS no longer needs to waste time figuring out who has the right numbers on which spreadsheet. NTS now has real-time, accurate information and has the entire team working with the same data. Not only are all processes taking place within Intacct sparing them the headache of jumping to different applications, NTS estimates Project Intelligence is saving them one to two days of preparation time each month.

Meetings at NTS are now about finding solutions instead of getting bogged down in data accuracy and calculations. In fact, the Project Intelligence dashboards have become integral to NTS’s monthly meetings with project managers and staff. By including Project Intelligence, there is better understanding across the team, as there’s no longer any guesswork about the accuracy of the data they’re using to set the next goal. Project Intelligence also gives NTS leadership the opportunity to be transparent and ensure everyone is on the same page. Project Intelligence has also allowed the team to have more deliberate goals and clear business objectives, and the use of the Project Intelligence dashboards have helped communicate that information to the staff.

Connect with a Baker Tilly specialist to learn more

SAN FRANCISCO, April 15, 2025 /3BL/ – Engage for Good, the leading company empowering corporate and nonprofit professionals to create mutually beneficial social impact partnerships, today announced that CPG company Mammoth Brands, formerly Harry’s Inc., and disaster relief organization Team Rubicon will be recognized as the Corporation of the Year and Nonprofit of the Year, respectively, at The 2025 Halo Awards.

As the first and most prestigious honor for excellence in corporate social impact, The Halo Awards recognize the most innovative and effective partnerships between companies and nonprofits. The Corporation of the Year award recognizes companies that exemplify long-term, strategic and authentic commitment to social good while also driving meaningful business success. As the 2025 Corporation of the Year, Mammoth Brands joins a distinguished list of previous recipients, including Google, CVS Health, REI, P&G and Levi Strauss & Co.

Mammoth Brands’ longstanding commitment to social impact has been central to the company’s DNA since the launch of its first brand, Harry’s, in 2013. To date, Mammoth Brands has donated over $20 million through a network of over 20 nonprofit organizations, including Stop Soldier Suicide, The Trevor Project and BEAM, and helped give over two million people access to quality mental health and wellness resources. Working hand-in-hand with its nonprofit partners, Mammoth Brands has created several first-of-their-kind initiatives, including Team: Changing Minds, one of the largest mental health training networks focused on reaching young men and boys in the U.S. In 2025, the company created Mammoth Good, an impact fund built with the goal of reaching 3.4 million people — 1% of the U.S. population — in the next 10 years.

“We’ve always believed that doing good in the world is good for business, which is why we’ve made social impact a core part of how we operate across our business, brands, and team,” said Andy Katz-Mayfield, co-founder and co-CEO of Mammoth Brands. “Receiving this recognition from Engage for Good is an honor and strengthens our commitment to scaling this work to reach millions more people with resources and programming that make a real impact.”

The Nonprofit of the Year highlights nonprofit organizations that demonstrate best-in-class practices for building successful mutually beneficial corporate partnerships that further its organizational mission and goals. As the 2025 Nonprofit of the Year, Team Rubicon joins notable past recipients, which include The Trevor Project, Save the Children and DonorsChoose.org.

Team Rubicon’s growth over the last five years has been fueled by a combination of cutting-edge technology, over 190,000 volunteers and embedded corporate partnerships. Its partnership with Microsoft enabled the nonprofit to enhance its operational efficiency through digital transformation with the enterprise-grade Volunteer Management System and the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service. In 2024 alone, Team Rubicon served 838 communities and reached more than three million people. Nearly 6,000 volunteers responded to disasters, including tornadoes in the Midwest, flooding in the Northeast, wildfires in the West and Hurricane Helene across Georgia and the Carolinas. Strategic collaborations with corporations such as The Home Depot, Under Armour and Ford Motor Company have further strengthened Team Rubicon’s capacity to respond effectively to disasters. Ford, in particular, has committed to supporting Team Rubicon for five years through vehicle donations, monetary investment and Ford Pro fleet services.

“At Team Rubicon, our mission has always been to serve communities in their greatest times of need — and we know we can’t do it alone,” said Art delaCruz at Team Rubicon. “This recognition as Nonprofit of the Year affirms the power of purpose-driven partnerships. We’re proud to work alongside corporate allies who share our commitment to impact, innovation and service. This honor belongs to every Greyshirt, staff member and corporate partner who stands beside us when disaster strikes.”

“Team Rubicon and Mammoth Brands are proof that excellence in social impact doesn’t come from playing it safe,” said Muneer Panjwani, CEO at Engage for Good. “Team Rubicon has built a volunteer-powered force that responds with military precision and unmatched compassion — and they’ve done it while raising the bar for what’s possible through corporate-nonprofit partnerships that are built on action, not optics. Mammoth Brands has embedded mental health into the DNA of its brand, reaching millions with honesty and care — and scaling that work through smart, sustained nonprofit collaborations that deepen its impact far beyond a campaign. These are bold moves, and exactly what this moment demands from our sector.”

The Halo Awards will take place during the annual Engage for Good Conference, which will be held April 22-24, 2025, at Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, CA. During the conference — sponsored by premier partners TikTok and fintech platform Adyen and silver level sponsors Public Interest Registry, DIRECTV for BUSINESS and Goodstack — attendees will gain practical skills, hear inspiring keynotes on cutting-edge ideas, explore emerging trends in CSR, ESG, corporate philanthropy and connect with forward-thinking leaders across corporate and nonprofit sectors who are shaping the future of collaborative impact.

Mammoth Brands and Team Rubicon will be recognized during The Halo Awards on Thurs., April 24, 2025, at 6:00 pm PST.

For more information or to attend the Engage for Good conference, please register at https://engageforgood.com/conference/.

About Engage for Good

Engage for Good is the leading community of corporate social impact professionals, equipping leaders with the connections, best practices, and support they need to build high-impact partnerships that drive both business and social value.

Our offerings include: (1) The Engage for Good Conference — the premier national event convening leaders from Fortune 100 companies and top nonprofits. (2) The Halo Awards — the first and most prestigious honor recognizing excellence in corporate social impact. (3) A thriving membership of 19,000+ professionals working across CSR, ESG, DEI, philanthropy, and purpose. (4) Consulting services for nonprofits seeking to build or grow successful corporate partnerships. (5) Partnerships to help you reach CSR decision makers with your products and services.

About Mammoth Brands

Mammoth Brands is the largest CPG company built in the last 20 years. Founded by co-CEOs Jeff Raider and Andy Katz-Mayfield in 2013, Mammoth Brands’ mission is to Create Things People Like More with its growing portfolio of category-leading brands: Harry’s, Flamingo, Lume, and Mando. With a proven playbook for scaling online brands into omnichannel leaders, Mammoth Brands is creating a new model—and home—for brands, founders, and talent looking to transform the status quo.

About Team Rubicon

Team Rubicon is a veteran-led humanitarian organization that serves global communities before, during, and after disasters and crises. Founded following the Haiti earthquake in 2010, the organization has grown to more than 190,000 volunteers across the United States and has launched over 1,200 operations domestically and internationally.

Media Contact
Brandy Patton-Miller

prforengageforgood@bospar.com

• Funding will support home rebuilding, debris removal, mental health services and other community needs
• Grants of $25,000 each awarded to 20 high-impact local nonprofits focused on long-term recovery

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 15, 2025 /3BL/ – As part of its commitment to supporting a full recovery in western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene, Duke Energy Foundation has announced $500,000 in new funding to 20 local nonprofits.

The organizations receiving funding are meeting expansive community needs, including completing structural repairs, building new homes and rebuilding damaged ones, removing storm debris, providing mental health services, rehabilitating waterways and more.

Making an impact

The Mountain Strong Yancey and Mitchell County Relief Team, which established a field hospital in the aftermath of the storm, is now meeting the community’s long-term needs, including repairing private access roads damaged by flooding.

“This support will have a direct and meaningful impact on our community, allowing us to repair critical access ways and back roads that serve multiple families and connect residents to essential locations including grocery stores, schools and medical clinics,” said Carol Tyler, who serves as the group’s president. “Reliable infrastructure is the backbone of a resilient community, and with this funding, we will be able to ensure safer, more dependable routes for those who rely on them daily.”

Asheville-based GreenWorks is helping property owners who do not qualify for traditional disaster assistance programs remove flood debris.

“Many property owners who still need help with flood debris removal do not have the resources needed to clean up their properties,” said Eric Bradford, director of operations. “Duke Energy’s support will help fill that gap and meet the needs of many residents who suffered damage from Hurricane Helene.”

The big picture

Six months after Hurricane Helene’s impact, Duke Energy continues working to rebuild infrastructure, protect grid reliability and assist customers and communities as they recover.

“In the face of Helene’s historic damage, we have been in awe of the resilience and teamwork of our mountain communities,” said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president. “As we work to restrengthen the electric grid in western North Carolina, we will continue joining together with nonprofit partners to help build back our communities piece by piece.”

A video update from Bowman on Duke Energy’s approach to grid restrengthening and long-term recovery in western North Carolina is available here.

Grant recipients

A list of all organizations receiving $25,000 grants can be found below.

• All Souls Counseling Center
   
• Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity
   
• Asheville Greenworks
   
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina
   
• Camp Grier
   
• Community Housing Coalition of Madison County
   
• Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina
   
• Friends of the Land of Sky Regional Council
   
• Haywood Waterways Association
   
• Henderson Housing Assistance Corporation
   
• Mountain Aid Project
   
• Mountain Housing Opportunities
   
• Mountain Strong Yancey & Mitchell County Relief Team
   
• Riverlink
   
• Rutherford Housing Partnership
   
• Transylvania Habitat for Humanity
   
• United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County
   
• United Way of Haywood County
   
• Western Carolina Rescue Ministries
   
• YMCA of Western North Carolina

Duke Energy Foundation

Duke Energy Foundation provides more than $30 million annually in philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The Foundation is funded by Duke Energy shareholders.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. The company’s electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious energy transition, keeping customer reliability and value at the forefront as it builds a smarter energy future. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including natural gas, nuclear, renewables and energy storage.

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.

Contact: Garrett Poorman
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DukeEnergyNC

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