02-04-2025
N.C. Commerce Secretary Lilley announces grants to support businesses impacted by Hurricane Helene
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCT) — On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, N.C. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley announced that the North Carolina Department of Commerce will be providing funds to minimize the damage of layoffs caused by Hurricane Helene.
The Hurricane Helene Business Edge Fund will offer $500,000 in grant funding for local workforce boards serving the Western North Carolina counties that were most impacted by the storm, which will help communities retain jobs and businesses.
'This innovative grant program is one of numerous tools we are using to support long-term economic recovery for western North Carolina,' N.C. Commerce Secretary Lilley said. 'It is essential that we help employers, particularly small businesses, to save jobs, adapt and rebuild.'
The Hurricane Helene Business Edge Fund is managed through the Governor's Rapid Response program at the North Carolina Department of Commerce's Division of Workforce Solutions (DWS). Business Edge hopes to engage with employers to lessen layoffs to help them through each stage of the business life cycle.
Once workforce development boards in the region apply to DWS for funding, they may provide grants of up to $10,000 each to eligible businesses and community-based organizations. There are certain counties that will be eligible to apply for their local workforce board, which are Ashe, Avery, Burke, Buncombe, Caldwell, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey.
Businesses must have been in operation for at least two years, be current on Unemployment Insurance (UI) taxes, and be in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service to apply. The application should voice a need for layoff aversion support and outline reasonable uses for the funds. Local workforce development boards may add their own application requirements.
Business cannot use the Business Edge Fund for products or services covered by insurance, hazard pay, rent, employee wages and benefits, certain support services for employees, and improvements, upgrades, or equipment that contribute to the capital assets of the business.
To apply for the Hurricane Helene Business Edge Fund, businesses should contact their local workforce development board or NC Works Career Center. Contact information for local workforce boards is available at
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
