The Duke Energy Foundation will award $45,000 to two charitable organizations in Florida — one of which is the Gainesville-based Consortium of Florida Education Foundations, which will receive $25,000.
“We focus our education giving on STEM-related projects such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” said Duke Energy Foundation spokesman Sterling Ivey.
Duke Energy is a nonprofit funded annually by shareholder funds and governed by a board of trustees, according to the company’s website. The Consortium of Florida Education Foundations helps more than 2.6 million students throughout Florida, according to the organization’s website.
“We’re the organization that supports Florida’s K-12 local education foundation movement development,” said Mary Chance, president of the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations, which provides workshops for foundations throughout Duke Energy’s territory.
Ivey said the association will use the Duke Energy grant to encourage other businesses to support local education foundations and offer assessments for planning and building a budget. It plans to work on increasing the visibility of education foundations throughout the state so people know it’s an organization worthy of donation.
“Duke Energy has always been believers in local education foundations and helped us really reach out and develop education foundations,” Chance said.
