Today, Mountain BizWorks released the 2024–2025 Impact Report for its WNC Strong: Helene Business Recovery Fund. It offers an in-depth look at how $59.6 million in rapid, flexible capital protected 7,069 jobs and reached 852 businesses across 29 Western North Carolina counties.
The WNC Strong: Helene Business Recovery Fund launched October 7, 2024, just 10 days after the storm, while many businesses were still without power, water, and internet. The Golden LEAF Foundation committed $7.5 million to seed the fund.
Within weeks, the funding pool was expanded to meet the extensive regional need with $50 million from the State of North Carolina (also via Golden LEAF Foundation), $3.5 million from Appalachian Regional Commission, and $125,000 in donor-advised funds from Abundance Capital. The ability for this program to swiftly meet the acute needs of WNC small businesses would not have been possible without the commitment from each of these partners.
“The impact of this effort reflects Mountain BizWorks’ ability to move quickly and meet small businesses where they are,” said Scott T. Hamilton, President, Chief Executive Officer of the Golden LEAF Foundation. “We’re grateful to the North Carolina General Assembly for making these resources available and to Mountain BizWorks for deploying them with urgency and care.”
Recovery, however, is far from over. The report also documents significant ongoing challenges facing WNC small businesses, including rising interest rates, a severe shortage of affordable commercial space in flood-impacted areas, and the closure of emergency capital relief programs that served as lifelines during the immediate recovery period.
“The Fund worked. It sustained businesses during the most critical period post-Helene,” said Matt Raker, Executive Director of Mountain BizWorks. “But recovery is still underway. Businesses need creative capital solutions for the next phase of recovery.”
The full report examines what worked, lessons learned, and regional needs going forward. Raker continued, “We hope this report serves as both a record of resilience and a road map for what locally driven disaster recovery can look like anywhere in the country.”
View the Report
