Blue Ridge Energy Foundation Grants Awarded in Caldwell County

Grants awarded by the Blue Ridge Energy Members Foundation will support local community projects focused on economic and community development, health and wellness, education and youth programs, and other initiatives that enhance quality of life throughout our communities.

In Caldwell County, citizens will benefit from eight grants worth $24,500 awarded recently for the 2026 grant cycle.

The grants are examples of why Blue Ridge Energy established the Members Foundation in 2007 to support the work of community organizations providing services vital to the quality of life for the cooperative’s members. Since then, the Foundation has awarded over $2.1 million in community grants.

Local Caldwell County agencies receiving grant awards include:

• Big House Family Ministry - a $1,000 grant will be used to develop new Care Communities and provide training for foster, adoptive, and kinship families to equip them to handle the challenges faced by children who have experienced trauma.
• Communities In Schools of Caldwell County - a $1,300 grant will be used to support the CISCC Shark Tank program, a 12-week entrepreneurship and career readiness initiative for 8th-grade students transitioning to high school. Through team-based business development and a live pitch competition, students gain essential skills in public speaking, financial literacy, teamwork, and critical thinking, with a focus on empowering underserved youth for future success.
• Helping Hands Clinic - a $5,000 grant will be used to support the medical interpreter program, which provides language access services. . Grant funds will help cover interpreter staffing and tele-interpretation costs, ensuring patients can effectively communicate with healthcare providers and receive equitable, high-quality care regardless of language barriers.
• James C. Harper School of Performing Arts - a $2,000 grant will be used to support daily operations, grow scholarship support for individual and group lessons and to increase enrollments in private lessons, summer offerings and community outreach programs.
• The Mitford Museum - a $5,000 grant will be used to fund a Summer Reading Program, which will engage elementary-age students through guided reading, literacy activities, and hands-on Seed to Table experiences that connect gardening, nutrition, and learning. In partnership with the Caldwell County Schools Summer Meals Program, students will receive books and educational resources while participating in workshops led by museum staff and community volunteers.
• Wig Bank of Caldwell County - a $2,500 grant will be used to fund exterior paint and repairs of The Wig Bank House.
• Yadkin Valley Volunteer Fire-Rescue Department, Inc. - a $7,500 grant will be used to support critical parking lot and access improvements at the fire station, including replacement of deteriorated asphalt and preventive repairs to existing paved areas.
• Caldwell Heritage Museum - a $200 grant will be used for a year-long eighth-grade civics project focused on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution during America’s 250th anniversary celebration. Through interactive lessons, research, guest speakers, and educational field trips, students will explore the origins, impact, and relevance of these founding documents.

A grand total of $120,000 was awarded to 27 organizations across the Blue Ridge Energy service area for the 2026 grant cycle. In 2026, the Foundation also provided crisis energy bill assistance to over 760 Blue Ridge Energy members and customers who needed emergency help paying their electric and fuel bills.

Funding for Foundation grants and crisis assistance comes from members participating in Blue Ridge Energy’s Operation Round Up^® and Operation Round Up Plus^® programs and an annual contribution from profits of the cooperative’s subsidiaries, Blue Ridge Energy, LLC, and RidgeLink, LLC. Over 23,500 members are either rounding up their monthly electric bill with Operation Round Up or adding a dollar or more with Operation Round Up Plus. Members also contribute by donating some or all of their annual capital credits.

Anyone with questions about the Foundation or agencies interested in applying for grants may contact Tasha Rountree, director of community relations and economic development, at 828-759-8994 or trountree@blueridgeenergy.com.

Blue Ridge Energy is a member-owned electric cooperative serving some 80,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany counties and parts of Wilkes, Avery, and Alexander counties. It also includes a propane heating fuels subsidiary and a business-to-business telecommunications subsidiary. Learn more at www.BlueRidgeEnergy.com.

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