Our programs, and our service to the people of North Carolina, depend upon contributions from generous donors like you.
The Institute for Emerging Issues connects North Carolina to ideas and North Carolinians to each other. Our programs include the annual Emerging Issues Forum, which brings North Carolinians together to seek solutions to emerging challenges facing our state.
We serve the people of North Carolina in many other ways, from helping North Carolinians access the internet; to building their financial resilience; to developing our state’s future public policy leaders.
Our programs, and our service to the people of North Carolina, depend upon contributions from generous donors like you.
Attendees at the February 2020 Emerging Issues Forum, ReCONNECT to Technological Opportunity.
The annual Emerging Issues Forum, founded by North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., and then-NC State Chancellor Bruce Poulton in 1986, brings North Carolinians together to seek solutions to challenges facing our great state. The current Forum initiative is looking at promoting educational attainment and workforce participation in North Carolina. Our previous initiative, ReCONNECT NC, conducted from 2018-2021, reviewed ways to bring the people of North Carolina together across geographic, economic and social divisions. Gifts to the Emerging Issues Forum Fund support this critical, annual program.
Hunt Internship Program
The inaugural Hunt Intern, Shevani Mehta, was an NC State senior from Holly Springs, NC. Here, she meets with Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr.
Young leaders are our future, and the Institute for Emerging Issues fosters North Carolina’s future public policy leaders through its Hunt Internship Program. The program provides a paid, yearlong internship with the Institute to an NC State undergraduate interested in a public policy career. The program was founded by Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr., and his wife Carolyn. Many others have given gifts to the Hunt Internship Fund in honor of Gov. and Mrs. Hunt.
The inaugural Hunt Intern, Shevani Mehta, was an NC State senior from Holly Springs, NC. Hannah Braun, an NC State student majoring in political science, has been named as the second Hunt Intern.
Gifts to the Hunt Internship Fund make Hannah’s internship with the Institute for Emerging Issues possible.
I hope to help IEI make an impact and am so excited to work alongside some of North Carolina’s change makers.
Hannah Braun
2022-23 Hunt Intern
BAND-NC and Digital Equity
IEI’s Samantha Graham and Colin Fox presented on BAND-NC and digital inclusion at the High Country Council of Government in July 2022.
IEI is addressing the digital divide across North Carolina through a program called “Building a New Digital Economy in North Carolina” or BAND-NC. North Carolinians who don’t have access to the internet, don’t have a computer or laptop, or don’t know how to use them—for education, work, health or connection—are at an impossible disadvantage. BAND-NC promotes digital inclusion, meaning we are creating opportunities for all North Carolinians to access and be able to use affordable internet and devices. As recent events have proved, digital inclusion is more important than ever! Gifts to the BAND-NC Fund support this critical IEI initiative.
Over the last two years, we have all learned together why internet access and adoption is so critical. We can’t learn, work or shop from home without it, and we can’t access virtual health services without it. BAND-NC has already supported digital inclusion projects in 62 of North Carolina’s 100 counties.
Now, thanks to grants from the Dogwood Health Trust and the State Employees Credit Union Foundation, we are reaching out to counties in northeastern and northwestern North Carolina, the Sandhills, and the area in western North Carolina served by the Dogwood Health Trust. This expansion is a terrific opportunity for these communities to lead the way nationally in digital inclusion. Research shows that greater adoption of broadband in these communities will lead to better health outcomes, stronger economic development, and better educational opportunity.
Project Resilience
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a global economic collapse that affected households, communities, and the nation. The coronavirus pandemic created major challenges for all aspects of people’s lives – jobs, healthcare, housing, education, social networks, and overall well-being. Through Project Resilience, IEI will closely examine one critical issue families have faced during the pandemic and previous recessions: significant impacts on personal finances. According to a Robert Woods Johnson Foundation nationwide poll early in the pandemic, 46% of U.S. households reportedly faced major financial problems during the initial coronavirus surge. Respondents identified depleted household savings, and inability to pay debts and afford medical care as major contributors to their fiscal instability. North Carolinians’ financial reality mirrored national trends with 1 in 6 – or 17% – of adults reportedly in arrears on rent, and 28% citing difficulty with affording basic household expenses. Gifts to the Project Resilience Fund support this important IEI program.
Project Resilience is an exploratory effort—based on best practices research and community-engaged feedback—that is designed to promote greater financial preparedness and resilience for North Carolinians. Project Resilience was founded through a contribution by the Local Government Federal Credit Union.
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Online gifts are made by credit card.
Gift by Check: Make your check out to the NC State University Foundation and write IEI in the memo line of your check. Please mail to:
Institute for Emerging Issues North Carolina State University Campus Box 7406 Raleigh, NC 27695-7406
Other Ways of Giving: Other ways of giving to the Institute for Emerging Issues include wire transfers, gifts of stock, bank drafts, pledges and planned gifts.
For more information about making a gift to the Institute for Emerging Issues, contact Interim Director Sarah Langer Hall at smlanger@ncsu.edu or 919-513-2800.
