Duke Energy electrifies the North Carolina arts community through $566,000 in grants

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ten cultural and arts nonprofit organizations in North Carolina are receiving more than $566,000 in grants from the Duke Energy Foundation to support arts appreciation and educational programs that foster community vitality.

"Arts and cultural programs unite the diverse communities we serve," said David Fountain, Duke Energy North Carolina president. "We are proud to invest in programs expanding access to and fostering appreciation of arts and culture in our state."

The grants, from the Duke Energy Foundation, will help enhance arts, music, cultural and professional development programs, allowing the organizations to continue strengthening and expanding their work within our communities.

"Duke Energy is a true 'triple threat' arts partner through its support for our main stage and educational programming, engaged and proactive volunteers and professional development opportunities for our team," said Lisa Barrie, president and CEO, NC Theatre. "The board and staff of North Carolina Theatre are deeply grateful for the support of Duke Energy, and Raleigh is a stronger community because of its engagement."

The following organizations are receiving grants to strengthen arts and cultural initiatives in North Carolina.

Carolina Ballet – $175,000 for the 2016-17 season and Arts Access Initiative, which allows the ballet company to offer affordable performances and continue providing complimentary and discounted tickets to people who wouldn't otherwise be able to attend performances.

Durham Arts Council – $15,000 for the Creating Community through the Arts initiative, which supports classes, artist residencies and exhibits. The program serves more than 900,000 participants, provides more than 1,000 jobs and has a collective economic impact exceeding $125 million annually.

Jazz Arts Initiative – $10,000 for the Jazz in Schools program, which provides interactive educational assembly programs to Title I Schools with economically disadvantaged K-12 students.

Blumenthal Performing Arts Center – $26,150 for the Duke Energy Ticket Scholarship Fund, which provides 390 tickets to underserved youth and families in partnership with area nonprofit organizations.

North Carolina Opera – $60,000 to support the upcoming season and the Opera In Schools programs, including Opera 101 and Poetry in Song.

North Carolina Symphony – $175,000 for the Statewide Music Education Sustainer, which provides music education to 60,000 school children annually in 31 counties, many of which are rural and under-resourced areas with limited access to the arts.

North Carolina Theatre – $40,000 for Program Excellence and Project Support, which impacts 5,000 young people throughout Wake County with a combination of training, performances and education/outreach activities, including Theatre4Change, a classroom-based peer-to-peer conflict resolution workshop series for underprivileged youth.

PineCone, The Piedmont Council of Traditional Music – $15,000 to support programs for the 2016-17 year. PineCone programs include concerts, festivals, youth music camps and more. More than 90 percent of the programs are offered to the public at no cost.

United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County – $25,000 for the Artists in Schools Program and Development Capacity Growth for Wake Nonprofit Arts Groups. This project helps maintain and increase cultural access for more than 6,000 Wake K-5 students from low-income households. In addition, this project provides first-year participation fees for 10 Wake County arts organizations in a cloud-based software service.

Winston-Salem Arts Council – $25,000 for the Duke Energy Regional Artist Project, which awards seed capital grants to local creative entrepreneurs in addition to connecting startups with a wealth of membership and publicity assets.

Duke Energy Foundation

The Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to address the needs of the communities where its customers live and work. In 2015, the foundation provided more than $30 million in charitable gifts. The foundation's education focus spans kindergarten to career, particularly science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), early childhood literacy and workforce development. It also supports the environment and community impact initiatives, including arts and culture.

Duke Energy employees and retirees actively contribute to their communities as volunteers and leaders at a wide variety of nonprofit organizations. Duke Energy is committed to building on its legacy of community service. For more information, visit http://www.duke-energy.com/foundation.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is an S&P 100 Stock Index company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at http://duke-energy.com. 

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Contact: Meredith Archie 
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