Duke Energy in Charlotte, North Carolina, has announced grants and other commitments totaling $40 million in support of nonprofits and other programs through three focus areas: Duke Energy Foundation grants, bill payment assistance for low-income customers, and energy efficiency programs. 

The Duke  Foundation has committed $600,000 in grants and more than $8.2 million in flexibility for nonprofits that have received grants of $20,000 or less from the foundation since 2021. Those grantees will be able to use programmatic funds to cover rising general operating expenses. Duke Energy and its foundation also announced an $8.8 million investment in the Share the Light Fund, which provides utility bill payment assistance to low-income customers, including connection/reconnection charges and deposits, to more than 26,000 households. 

“Our clients constantly need to make tough decisions with their limited resources. They often must choose between daily necessities and make a difficult decision based on what’s best for their family: Gas or healthy food? On-time rent or utilities? Low-wage work or education with future potential for higher earnings? These are difficult choices that many of our clients live with every day. And increased rent, gas, groceries, and child care have only made these decisions more difficult,” said Seth Friedman, CEO of Passage Home, a Duke Energy Foundation grantee. “With this donation from Duke Energy, Passage Home will help dozens of clients move from insecure footing to a stable foundation. Passage Home will use this support to remove some of these tough decisions for our clients who are moving toward self-sufficiency.” 

(Photo credit: Getty Images/olesiabilkei)