$55M in grants available to help small businesses in WNC

Local governments in western North Carolina are now eligible to apply for funding through a new $55 million state infrastructure program aimed at helping small businesses recover from the impacts of Hurricane Helene. 

The North Carolina Department of Commerce, through its Rural Economic Development Division, is administering the Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program. The program will provide grants of up to $1 million to local government to support infrastructure projects with a goal of supporting small businesses that employ 150 or fewer employees. 

“Western North Carolina’s economy is dependent on its vibrant downtowns and small businesses, and helping them recover is critically important,” said Gov. Josh Stein in a press statement. “This new grant program will reinvigorate the infrastructure that small businesses depend on, and I appreciate the General Assembly appropriating these funds.” 

The Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program (SmBIZ) will utilize state funds appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly in the Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 Part 1. The SmBIZ fund is not related to a separate, federal Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program which was recently approved by The US Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Grants awarded through this program must be used by local governments to address qualifying infrastructure needs resulting from the impact of Hurricane Helene. The Department of Commerce, will work with local governments and affected small businesses, to determine which needs qualify. Examples of eligible projects are, repairs or improvements to water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, high-speed broadband, electrical utilities, sidewalks, and curbs, as well as other repairs that remove barriers and restore or improve access to impacted small businesses. 

“Successful recovery from disasters of Helene’s magnitude requires everyone to pull together and marshal support from many different sources, both state and federal,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “I’m grateful that the North Carolina General Assembly has quickly provided funds for this vital new infrastructure recovery program.” 

An application portal and more information about the SmBIZ fund can be found here