Message from the Director

Fiscal Year 24-25 was memorable, not only for the Institute for Emerging Issues, but also for the state of North Carolina. Our team is excited to present this annual impact report, which highlights our work and the many ways you came together for the betterment of our state’s future.

We stand at a critical juncture in North Carolina, driven by projected population growth to 14 million by 2050, coupled with lessons learned from recent significant events such as Hurricane Helene. This reality underscores the urgent need to connect and collaborate across perspectives to ensure a vibrant and resilient future for our state. 

If population projections are correct, what do they mean for the future of our energy, water, housing, broadband and other key infrastructure areas? How can we ensure our infrastructure is reliable and affordable for everyone in our state, regardless of where they live? As technologies change, how can we prepare our workforce for these infrastructure jobs? And what can we start doing today to prepare for the future, so we aren’t scrambling later? These are the questions we have been asking and addressing throughout Fiscal Year 24-25, and continue to do so in the coming years. 

Our focus has been multi-fold, as you will see in this report. We continued to make significant progress toward our goal of having a plan in place for digital opportunity in all 100 counties, and we launched our three-year Future Forward Infrastructure forum series, beginning with the 2025 Emerging Issues Forum: Future Forward Energy. Our team also partnered with the Workforce Leadership Institute to revamp the Strategic Workforce Leadership Initiative, equipping dozens of workforce and economic development leaders with the skills to build the workforce of the future. 

At IEI, we stand firm in our commitment to bringing people together across sectors, regions and perspectives to address issues critical for our economic competitiveness and quality of life. 

Thank you for all you have done to make the work shared in this report possible.

Sarah Hall
Director
Institute for Emerging Issues

Fiscal Year 25 Expenditures

IEI is a powerful catalyst for statewide economic and community growth. We strategically leverage various sources of funding—with nearly two-thirds of our FY25 expenditures sourced externally (e.g., grants, gifts, sponsorships, registrations)—to maximize our impact across North Carolina. Nearly 60% of these external funds were directly reinvested in local communities as grants, capacity-building and peer-learning resources.

This model ensures that every dollar invested with IEI is amplified to champion economic vibrancy and quality of life.

FY 24-25 Expenditures: $2.9 Million

Keep scrolling to see the impact of these dollars and resources throughout North Carolina Communities. You can also use the following buttons to jump to specific sections of this report.

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BAND-NC

Since 2020, the Building a New Digital Economy in North Carolina (BAND-NC) program has provided more than $3 million in direct funding to local and regional governments and nonprofits to support rapid responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, develop local-level digital inclusion plans and implement digital access programs.

Digital Opportunity Planning

• Provided nearly $550,000 in direct community funding
• Supported and presented at 16 local digital inclusion planning kick-off and steering committee meetings across Eastern NC, with 464 total attendees
• Facilitated four listening sessions in eight counties with partners from the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, MDC Inc., and regional governments in an effort to better understand and represent community needs in these plans
• Supported regional planners and digital opportunity practitioners via 55 direct technical assistance meetings
• Hosted 11 peer sharing network meetings for local and regional government planners to discuss digital inclusion planning and implementation, funding opportunities and resources  
• Helped 21 counties complete their digital inclusion planning process, moving us closer to the goal of all 100 counties having a plan in place
• Brought more than 220 people from 57 counties across NC together to discuss digital access and literacy at the Spring 2025 NC Digital Opportunity Gathering
• Held two public webinars reaching 300 people:
  • Connected for the Long Haul: Digital Access and Disaster
  • Local ISPs Bridging the Digital Divide

Continued Connections

• Deepened our relationship with NCSU’s Friday Institute for Educational Innovation through cross-grant partnerships and collaboration, including organizing statewide convenings and supporting the development of the NC Digital Literacy Standards
• Presented on digital opportunity and planning to more than 540 people at various events, meetings, and conferences

Faith & Community Initiative

The Faith & Community Initiative at IEI has existed in partnership with The Duke Endowment since 2015 to fold rural North Carolina faith leaders into local and statewide leadership on emerging issues. IEI invites rural faith leaders to the annual Emerging Issues Forum and the annual Faith & Community Conference. We provide technical assistance on community-congregation partnerships throughout the year.

• Provided targeted connections and peer network opportunities for rural Faith and Community leaders across the state, tackling a range of community challenges
  • Held nine Peer Network Group meetings this winter and spring, covering topics such as energy, community food ministries, aging, digital inclusion resources and more 
    • Approximately 70 faith and community leaders attended
• Held a gathering for faith leaders, advocates and community partners following the Emerging Issues Forum to further discuss and find solutions to issues surrounding energy in their communities
  • Approximately 30 leaders from faith communities and nonprofits serving rural North Carolina attended.

Strategic Workforce Leadership Initiative

Established in 2023 as part of the Talent First Economics Emerging Issues Forum, the Strategic Workforce Leadership Initiative (SWLI) develops strong, committed and capable leaders who understand the economic conditions of their community and state, and can leverage those strengths to capitalize on opportunities as they emerge. It prepares attendees to participate in and lead workforce development boards, engage with economic developers and create initiatives that will further benefit the entire community.

• Hosted the second SWLI class in partnership with the Workforce Leadership Institute in April 2025
  • Collaborated with NCSU’s Economic Development Partnership and Continuing and Lifelong Education, as well as other government, nonprofit and business partners, to refine the curriculum
  • Twenty-one workforce and economic development leaders graduated and earned the certification of Strategic Workforce Leader

“The program offered a well-rounded mix of hands-on sessions and thoughtful dialogue, all centered around preparing workforce leaders to respond to evolving economic challenges. I left with a deeper understanding of how to interpret labor market trends and apply that knowledge to strategic thinking—an essential component in aligning workforce solutions with employer needs.”
– Rosemary G. Wilmington, NC

Hurricane Helene Response

In the days and weeks following Hurricane Helene, staff from IEI’s BAND-NC and Faith & Community initiatives leveraged existing regional partnerships to connect Western North Carolina communities to the resources they needed.

• Disseminated information and surveyed faith communities willing to serve as telecommunications hubs
• Partnered with Land of Sky Regional Council and High Country Council of Governments to launch an interactive map of Wi-Fi hotspots and other resources for digital access
• Assisted local Councils of Government with sourcing and distributing devices in Western NC
• Partnered with the newly-formed Together WNC to focus on long-term and trauma-informed recovery support for Western NC Partners
  • Hosted a two-hour training, “Supporting our Partners After the Storm: Trauma-Informed Practices,” in March 2025 with Resources for Resilience and Together WNC

2024 Emerging Issues Forum: Weathering Financial Storms

• Released the Roadmap to Financial Resilience, a framework of strategies and tactics to boost the financial resilience of households in North Carolina
  • 640 online engagements
• Announced the Financial Resilience Community Cohort, a group of five nonprofit organizations working to increase household financial resilience locally, especially for communities with historically increased barriers to saving and debt management
  • Provided nearly $42,000 in direct community funding
  • Provided organizational assessments or ripple effect mapping for each of the cohort members
  • Provided technical assistance funding to help cohort organizations move forward with recommendations found in the organizational assessments and mapping

2025 Emerging Issues Forum: Future Forward Energy

IEI held the first of three Emerging Issues Forums in the 2025-2027 Future Forward Infrastructure series. Future Forward Energy took place on May 28, 2025, with activities to shape the forum on water beginning in spring 2025.

• Convened an Energy Infrastructure Advisory Council of 19 multi-sector leaders to identify a set of shared challenges and recommendations to help North Carolina communities navigate the evolving energy landscape
• Co-hosted three regional community meetings across the state, with a total of 48 participants, focused on understanding different issues related to how communities can prepare for a resilient and reliable energy future 
• 480 leaders across various sectors, geographies and perspectives registered to attend the forum
  • Sessions and speakers examined North Carolina’s energy landscape and infrastructure
  • Chancellor Howell and Governor Stein spoke for the first time in their respective new capacities
• Secured scholarships for attendees who otherwise would be unable to attend due to cost
  • 44 people from Eastern NC were able to attend thanks to the generous support of the Anonymous Trust
  • 8 teachers representing seven of North Carolina’s eight educational regions were able to attend thanks to the generous support of PCG Consulting Group 
  • 16 students from two- or four-year colleges or universities received scholarships to attend
• Provided NC State University graduate students the ability to present their work to local, state and industry leaders during forum breakout sessions

2026 Emerging Issues Forum: Future Forward Water

To officially launch planning for the 2026 Emerging Issues Forum on water, IEI held a leadership event in March attended by 19 leaders from the public and private sectors in North Carolina. Three NCSU faculty/staff participated, including NC State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Garey Fox, who provided a framing presentation on how water management can improve resilience in agriculture and the life sciences.

On Thursday, Oct. 24, past and present members of the IEI National Advisory Board, along with IEI directors, partners and guests, celebrated two decades of collaborative efforts to address the emerging issues impacting North Carolina. Long-time board member and board chair Jack Cecil was recognized with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine at the event.

• Launched video series, Tarik’s Takes, to highlight energy issues and topics in advance of the 2025 Emerging Issues Forum
• Launched season two of The Connector Podcast in both audio and video formats.
  • Average downloads per episode: 100
  • As a group project, four of IEI’s spring interns produced a special episode of The Connector Podcast, exploring the crucial role education and community engagement play in fostering sustainable urban living and how students can get involved. 

• Total number of all external news stories mentioning IEI: 85
• Cumulative reach of all external media stories mentioning IEI: 647 million

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