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Aligning to Rebuild Western North Carolina’s Economy

The Time is NOW.

Western North Carolina plays a critical role in our state’s economy. Home to many small businesses, the region requires serious consideration of the following policies. We must work together to restore and revitalize North Carolina’s economy, ensuring that businesses can rebuild and provide opportunities for people to earn a living.

State Policy Considerations

  • Prioritize forgivable loans in the next round of disaster funding. These should be zero-interest products designed for substantial lost revenue during the onset of the fall tourism season. One example is the Jobs Retention Grant program that was used during COVID and managed by the N.C. Department of Commerce. This program provided a forgivable loan to businesses who maintained their employee roster for a defined period. The money covered payroll and was a helpful tool to mitigate revenue loss.
  • Work with the NCDOT and Visit NC to coordinate messaging on travel in Western NC. Maps and roadside messages are confusing and contradictory in some places. Local communities can amplify messaging through official agencies and trusted sources like chambers of commerce, destination marketing organizations, and others.
  • Resource Visit NC for a “Shop Western North Carolina,” holiday messaging campaign. These could be directed regionally and help drive both in-person and online sales. Similar messaging could be used around the upcoming choose-and-cut tree season as well.
  • Prioritize critical infrastructure repair including roads, bridges, water/sewer, and work with community, statewide, and contracted partners to fully capture and utilize available FEMA mitigation funds. With the Blue Ridge Parkway out of service for the foreseeable future, primary and secondary roads in the region are being considerably overloaded.
  • Explore options to provide long-term business and employee recovery and resiliency through solutions, including a small business health insurance product, that improves small business access to value-driven health care in North Carolina to improve health outcomes and make costs more predictable and affordable.

Federal Policy Considerations

  • Reconvene Congress and fund SBA in similar fashion to what FEMA received in the last continuing resolution. Assure that loans will have the financial backing to be processed to encourage more applications and sustain small businesses.
  • Encourage forgivable loans in the next round of disaster funding. These should be zero-interest products designed for substantial lost revenue during the onset of the fall tourism season. A version of grants and/or forgivable loans for the Main Street and tourism-impacted economies would be the fastest way to rebound from extreme revenue loss.
  • Expedite repairs to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. With winter approaching, the time is now to mitigate the direct impact on all impacted communities.
  • Activate FEMA’s Community Disaster Loan Program so local governments are able to function and maintain employment with the impending, substantial loss in tax revenue.

Click here for a PDF of these policies, as well as a list of the 30+ organizations in support of them.

Together we are championing initiatives to restore and revitalize North Carolina’s economy, ensuring that businesses can rebuild and provide opportunities for people to earn a living. Join us.

      • Alleghany County Chamber of Commerce
      • Andrews Chamber of Commerce
      • Ashe County Chamber of Commerce
      • Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
      • Avery County Chamber of Commerce
      • Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce
      • Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce
      • Boone Area Chamber of Commerce
      • Brevard/Transylvania Chamber
      • Burke County Chamber of Commerce
      • Business High Point Chamber of Commerce
      • Cashiers Area Chamber
      • Catawba County Chamber of Commerce
      • Charlotte Regional Business Alliance
      • Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce
      • Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce
      • Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce
      • Greensboro Chamber of Commerce
      • Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce
      • Haywood Chamber of Commerce
      • Henderson County Chamber of Commerce
      • Highlands Area Chamber of Commerce / Visit Highlands, NC
      • Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
      • Jacksonville Onslow Chamber of Commerce
      • Madison County Chamber
      • Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce
      • McDowell Chamber of Commerce
      • Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce
      • Moore County Chamber of Commerce
      • National Institute of Minority Economic Development
      • NC Chamber
      • Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce
      • Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce
      • Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce
      • The Caldwell Chamber
      • The Chamber, Leading Business in Cabarrus
      • The Chamber of Catawba County
      • Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
      • Wilmington Chamber of Commerce
      • Winterville Chamber of Commerce
      • Yancey County Chamber of Commerce

Email us to be added to this growing list.