This investment will support a readiness application to the land of sky regional council of governments to provide additional capacity to support recovery in hard-HIT communities of madison county,…

The Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration awarded Land-of-Sky Regional Council $600,000 in project grant funding on July 1, 2026, under the Economic Adjustment Assistance program (CFDA 11.307) to enhance recovery capacity in hard-hit communities affected by Hurricane Helene across Madison County, Buncombe County, and Henderson County, North Carolina.

The award supports a readiness application to provide additional organizational capacity for disaster recovery in the three-county region. The funded activities will enhance the recipient's ability to support recovery efforts in affected communities and generate necessary prioritization and identification of capital sources from federal, state, and philanthropic funding to facilitate sustained recovery efforts.

Work is performed in North Carolina with a period of performance extending from July 1, 2026 through November 1, 2028. The Economic Adjustment Assistance program provides technical, planning, and financial assistance to regions experiencing adverse economic changes, including those resulting from catastrophic natural disasters such as the September-October 2024 hurricanes that impacted western North Carolina.

Land-of-Sky Regional Council is a multi-county Council of Governments based in Asheville, North Carolina, serving Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania Counties. The organization operates as a federal local government entity and holds substantial federal grant portfolio activity centered on workforce development and economic development, with recent awards from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

This investment will support a readiness application to the land of sky regional council of governments to provide additional capacity to support recovery in hard-HIT communities of madison county, buncombe county, and henderson county. The proposed project will enhance capacity of hard-HIT helene communities to recover and to generate necessary prioritization and identification of capital sources to help work to secure in the identified communities from federal, state, and philanthropic funding to facilitate recovery.