The regional nonprofit Mountain BizWorks has awarded nearly $3.69 million in grants to small businesses that experienced severe impacts from Hurricane Helene.
The money will go to 276 local businesses in Buncombe County.
Noah Wilson, director of sector development for Mountain BizWorks, said at Thursday’s Buncombe County briefing that the group had received 843 applications for the grant funding, requesting a total of $18 million.
“These are our friends and neighbors,” Wilson said. “Numbers can tell one story, but the reality is each of these is an individual, a family, a community of their own that needed funding, needs funding today.”
Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said in a statement that the numbers “reflect the urgent need for these grants and that additional federal and state resources will be needed to ensure that our local businesses have the support they need to recover and thrive.”
News of the grants comes as negotiations in Washington over $100 billion in Helene aid hit a roadblock. The aid plan was originally included in a bipartisan stopgap spending bill unveiled by congressional leaders on Tuesday. But House Republicans abandoned the deal after President-elect Trump and his advisers, including Elon Musk, sharply criticized it Wednesday.
Small businesses make up a significant part of Buncombe County’s economy, and many are struggling to survive in the aftermath of Helene.
Wilson cited Buncombe County’s unemployment rate, which soared from the lowest to the highest in the state after the storm.
“Companies seeking to retain and rehire local employees were prioritized in this program,” Wilson said. “And these funds will support 2,935 local positions, including helping to bring back 1,035 local jobs. Seventy-one percent of these awards were businesses with less than 10 employees.”
Demand for the Mountain BizWorks grants was more than five times the funding available, Wilson said. The organization hopes to make additional rounds of grants in the future once more funding comes in.
In addition to the grants announced Thursday, Mountain BizWorks has made almost $21 million in recovery lending to 351 Buncombe County businesses, Wilson said.
Also on Thursday, Dogwood Health Trust announced that it is making an additional $20 million in commitments to Helene relief. The amount includes $10 million in funding for the Western North Carolina Small Business Initiative, a small business relief fund, as well as funding for early childhood education, mental health services and rent relief.
