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Duke Energy Foundation funds $200,000 in crisis relief grants for small Indiana businesses

PLAINFIELD, Ind. – The Duke Energy Foundation is funding $200,000 in grants to Indiana economic development organizations offering crisis relief to small Indiana businesses. The businesses range from a city of Madison program offering its downtown businesses rent support to a Brownstown tool supplier that committed to retaining and paying its employees during the pandemic.

“These are challenging times, and the COVID-19 crisis has been particularly difficult for small companies,” said Duke Energy Indiana President Stan Pinegar. “These grants will support those businesses that are the backbone of the Hoosier communities we serve statewide.”

Indiana economic development groups and other entities such as municipalities will receive $5,000 grants and will then identify businesses in need of the funds.

“This grant will allow us to provide temporary rent reductions to a handful of companies in our high-tech business incubators,” said Paul Moses, director of business development for the Purdue Research Foundation. “We’re hoping it will help them power through the crisis, enabling them to keep moving their innovative products and services to market.”

The grants are in addition to $100,000 the Duke Energy Foundation awarded early in the crisis to help food banks and other community action groups across Indiana address hunger and other urgent needs. The Foundation also recently announced $382,000 in grants to support Indiana K-12 programs focused on summer reading programs, STEM and experiential learning. The Foundation is giving the schools and other groups receiving the grants flexibility to reallocate grant funds during the pandemic.

The following organizations are receiving grants, which they are distributing to Duke Energy business customers in their areas:

 

  • Aspire Johnson County
  • Bloomington Economic Development Corporation
  • Boone County Economic Development Corporation
  • City of Fishers
  • City of Madison Economic Development
  • City of Westfield
  • Crawford County Economic Development
  • Greensburg/Decatur County Economic Development Corporation
  • Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana
  • Economic Development Group of Connersville and Fayette County
  • Fulton Economic Development
  • Gibson County Economic Development Corporation
  • Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation & Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance
  • Greater Lafayette Commerce
  • Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center
  • Greene County Economic Development Corporation
  • Grow Wabash County
  • Hamilton County Economic Development Corporation
  • Harrison County Economic Development Corporation
  • Indy Chamber & Indy Partnership
  • Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation
  • Jennings County Economic Development Commission
  • Lawrence County Economic Growth Council
  • Martin County Alliance
  • New Castle Main Street & New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corporation
  • Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
  • One Dearborn
  • One Southern Indiana
  • Orange County Economic Development Partnership
  • Owen County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation
  • Pike County Economic Development Corporation
  • Purdue Research Foundation
  • Radius Indiana
  • Shelby County Development Corporation
  • Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation
  • Town of Brownsburg
  • Town of Plainfield
  • Union County Development Corporation
  • Washington County Economic Growth Partnership

     

Duke Energy Foundation

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

In Indiana, the Foundation provides approximately $2 million in charitable gifts to a wide variety of nonprofit groups.

More information about the Foundation and its Powerful Communities program can be found at duke-energy.com/foundation.

 

Duke Energy Indiana

Duke Energy Indiana, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, provides about 6,600 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 840,000 customers in a 23,000-square-mile service area, making it Indiana’s largest electric supplier.

 

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities, and 3,000 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.

 

Duke Energy is transforming its customers’ experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure unit’s regulated utilities serve approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million customers in five states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as well as energy storage and microgrid projects.

 

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2020 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list, and Forbes’ 2019 “America’s Best Employers” list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. 

 

 

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