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131 organizations across six states to receive grants supporting early childhood literacy and STEM programming

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Duke Energy announced today it is awarding $3.2 million in grants to support 131 innovative K-12 education programs across the communities served by the company.

“Bright futures begin in the classroom, and every child deserves a fair chance at academic success,” said Cari Boyce, president of the Duke Energy Foundation. “The grants we are making today are focused on providing equal opportunity for all students to have the strong educational basis that has proven to be a key determinant to future success.”

The 2019 Powerful Communities grants, from the Duke Energy Foundation with support from Piedmont Natural Gas, aim to close the achievement gap that often separates low-income students from their peers by funding programs that prevent summer reading loss and out-of-school programs.

“Funding provided by Duke Energy helps to support the YMCA Camp Readers Program,” states Joanna Castle, district vice president of the Citrus Memorial Health Foundation YMCA. “Our goal is to serve 500 children in Citrus County Y Summer Camps through Camp Readers, which provides a minimum of 30 minutes per day, five days a week of purposeful reading activities throughout the summer at camp.”

Grants also support energy, engineering and environmental education programs to equip students with the skills needed for successful careers in the energy sector.

“Florence 1 Schools is very excited to partner with Duke Energy to provide the Clean Energy curriculum to our students,” said Chris Rogers, Director of STEM Education for Florence District 1 in South Carolina. “This four-course curriculum will expose our students to real-world problem solving. Our students will work with Duke Energy engineers to develop a better understanding of the work they could possibly do if they decide to pursue that career path.”

The grants are part of Duke Energy’s new Powerful Communities philanthropic program, which award strategic charitable grants to nonprofit organizations working to build powerful communities by bolstering education, developing the future workforce of the energy sector and conserving and protecting our environment.

In 2018, Duke Energy Foundation invested more than $31 million to support communities throughout Duke Energy’s seven-state service area.

A complete list of the 131 grant recipients and summaries by state can be found here: