New grant supports Blue Ridge Rising initiative in 11 Blue Ridge Parkway counties in North Carolina
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has secured a three-year, $750,000 grant from the Dogwood Health Trust to support regional strategies to advance tourism and related economic development. The grant activities will benefit workers and businesses in numerous gateway communities along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.
An American Conservation Experience crew clears overgrown vegetation from a trail at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. The Dogwood Health Trust grant will support the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s Blue Ridge Rising initiative, including conservation corps teams and other workforce education projects. (Photo courtesy of Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation)
The Dogwood Health Trust grant will help implement economic development strategies outlined in the Blue Ridge Rising Action Plan, created with the input of hundreds of community leaders in the counties that neighbor the national park.
Blue Ridge Rising marks the first time in the national park’s history that these counties are working together to implement travel, tourism, and related economic development strategies that will have wide-ranging benefits throughout the Parkway corridor. The initiative earned the Public Lands Alliance’s 2025 Outstanding Public Engagement Award.
“While the Blue Ridge Rising Action Plan was developed before Hurricane Helene arrived, these tourism and workforce development strategies are even more crucial now,” said Carolyn Ward, chief executive officer of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. “We are very grateful that Dogwood Health Trust is investing in these efforts to strengthen the Parkway’s economic ecosystem.”
The Dogwood Health Trust grant will also help provide a portion of the nearly $4.3 million in matching funds required for a related $5.13 million grant to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is the nonprofit fundraising partner of the Blue Ridge Parkway, helping to ensure cultural and historical preservation, natural resource protection, educational outreach, and visitor enjoyment now and for future generations. Since 1997, the Foundation has provided more than $24 million in support for one of the country’s most visited national parks. To learn more, visit BRPFoundation.org. To learn more about Blue Ridge Rising, visit BlueRidgeRising.com.
Dogwood Health Trust is a private foundation based in Asheville, North Carolina, with the sole purpose of dramatically improving the health and wellbeing of all people and communities of 18 counties and the Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina. Dogwood Health Trust focuses on innovative and equitable ways to address the many factors that contribute to overall health and wellbeing. With a focus on housing, education, economic opportunity and health and wellness, Dogwood Health Trust works to create a Western North Carolina where every generation can live, learn, earn and thrive, with dignity and opportunity for all, no exceptions. To learn more, visit www.dht.org.
– Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation release
