BOONE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THIRD ROUND OF BUSINESS RESILIENCY DISASTER GRANTS

BOONE, NC – After awarding grants to over 160 businesses in its previous funding rounds, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation has reopened applications for its Hope for the High Country: Hurricane Helene Business Resiliency Disaster Grants. This program is available to disaster impacted small businesses in Watauga, Ashe, and Avery Counties.

 

Grant applications will be accepted through Friday, March 21st, at 12:00PM. Previous applicants and recipients may apply, but priority will be given to those businesses that have yet to receive funding through earlier rounds. To apply, please visit www.boonechamber.com/foundation.

 

Since late September, the Chamber Foundation has distributed over $664,000 in raised funds to local businesses. That includes $458,500 over two previous rounds of business resiliency disaster grants and $206,000 for October 2024 tuition payments made to local licensed early childhood development centers and in-home care providers in partnership with The Children’s Council of Watauga County.

 

"We are entering one of the most critical times of our region’s recovery from Hurricane Helene, and many businesses have still not achieved the financial stability they were hoping for," said David Jackson, President and CEO of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve long said the period between President’s Day weekend and Memorial Day would be an important period, as businesses will be navigating some of our slower months for tourism. We have been raising funds with this time in mind and hope these grants can provide assistance to those area businesses that are still impacted by lagging repair timelines, revenue disruption, and the countless other impacts that have made for challenging operations over the last several months.”

 

The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation remains focused on helping with community and business relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s impact on the High Country. The 501(c)(3) non-profit organization continues to fundraise for this round of disaster grant funding in order to distribute as much funding as possible to impacted businesses. For more information or to donate, please visit www.boonechamber.com/foundation or contact Ethan Dodson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Many High Country businesses have recently applied for the Western North Carolina Small Business Initiative II grants, made possible through the Dogwood Health Trust, Appalachian Community Capital, and the State of North Carolina. Applicants should be on the lookout for follow-up communication via email now that the application window is closed.

 

“The Western North Carolina Small Business Initiative II grants represent the first large scale grant funds to impact the entire region. We are grateful for Governor Josh Stein, the North Carolina General Assembly, and the Dogwood Health Trust for coming up with a creative solution to distribute over $40M in grants directly to businesses in Western North Carolina. That said, not all businesses met the funding criteria for this grant, particularly those in the restaurant, retail, and hospitality space. We feel that the Hope for the High Country grants can provide a complementary vehicle for funding at a critical time,” said Jackson.

 

The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Commission, Inc. (BACC EDC, Inc), also known as the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) organization created to solicit, manage, and distribute funds and resources to further the development and welfare of the Boone, NC and Watauga County, NC, area through activities which are exclusively charitable, educational, or scientific.