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$600,000 for basic needs support, including food insecurity
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$8.2 million in flexibility for nonprofits to use funds to offset rising expenses
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Over $8.8 million to Share the Light Fund to help low-income customers with bill-paying assistance
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Invested over $22.6 million in energy efficiency programs
CHARLOTTE, NC — As communities continue to struggle financially due to the rising cost of basic needs like food and transportation, Duke Energy and its Foundation are investing more than $40 million to support organizations nonprofits and other programs dedicated to helping those in need. The funding focuses on three areas: current and new Foundation grants, bill-paying assistance for low-income customers, and energy efficiency programs.
“Our communities have faced ongoing challenges in recent years, and we know many are still struggling. Our nonprofit partners have shared basic needs like food insecurity, transportation costs, medical assistance and housing are the top requests received from their customers,” said Katherine Neebe, President of Duke Energy Foundation. “We are responding to the direct needs of our local communities and will continue to look for ways to have an impact.”
Duke Energy Foundation
Duke Energy Foundation funding includes $600,000 in new Foundation grants and more than $8.2 million in flexibility for nonprofits that received grants of $20,000 or less from 2021-2022 since the beginning of the year. Recipients will have the ability to use programmatic funds to cover rising general operating expenses under inflationary pressure.
Passage Home in Raleigh, North Carolina, an organization that provides housing for veterans, has received a new $15,000 grant.
“Our clients constantly have to make difficult decisions with their limited resources. They often have to choose between daily necessities and make a difficult decision based on what is best for their family: gas or healthy food? One-time rent or utilities? A low-paying job or studies with a future potential for higher earnings? These are difficult choices that many of our customers experience on a daily basis. And the increase in rent, gas, groceries and childcare has only made those decisions harder,” said Seth Friedman, CEO of Passage Home. “Through this donation from Duke Energy, Passage Home will help move dozens of customers from a precarious situation to a stable foundation. Passage Home will use this support to remove some of these difficult decisions for our clients as they move towards self-sufficiency.
Share the Lumière Fund
In addition to the grant, the company also provides customer support through its Share the Light fund and energy efficiency programs.
This year, Duke Energy and its Foundation will invest more than $8.8 million in the Share the Light Fund, which provides low-income customers with assistance with paying utility bills, including connection/reconnection fees and deposits to more than 26,000 households. Duke Energy employees, customers and shareholders contribute to these funds. Clients wishing to access the funds can visit Share the Lumière Fund to learn more.
Help with energy efficiency
The company’s customers – from families to factories – rely on energy efficiency programs to save energy and money. In 2022, Duke Energy is investing more than $22.6 million in these programs, including our Neighborhood Energy Saver, Payment Plus, Refrigerator Replacement and Weatherization programs. To learn more about these programs, customers can visit income dependent services.
Duke Energy will continue to engage with communities to learn how the company can positively impact those it serves.
Duke Energy Foundation
The Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to meet the needs of the communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The foundation gives more than $30 million a year in charitable donations and is funded by dollars from Duke Energy shareholders. More information about the foundation can be found at duke-energy.com/foundation.
duke energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of the largest energy holding companies in the United States. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively possess 50,000 megawatts of power capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people.
Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to meet its goals of net methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least 50% carbon reduction from power generation by 2030 and net emissions carbon emissions by 2050. Zero goals also include Scope 2 emissions and some Scope 3 emissions. zero-emission power generation such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.
Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2022 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “America’s Top Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains press releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy lighting features stories about people, innovations, community issues and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, instagram and Facebook.
Contact Person: Shawna Berger
24 hours: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_ShawnaB
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