Piedmont Natural Gas Announces $500,000 Gift in Support of THRIVE Campaign to Help Sustain Cultural Sector in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont Natural Gas PNY today announced a major gift to the THRIVE Campaign, a donor-led initiative managed through a partnership with Foundation for the Carolinas, in support of the arts and cultural sector of Charlotte.  The Company's gift of $500,000 will help the THRIVE Campaign establish a sustainable platform for long-term funding and growth of the arts and culture industry in Charlotte. Funding of the arts in recent years has faced significant challenges due to declines in workplace giving, reductions in government support for the arts community, and funding models that have not evolved with Charlotte's changing economy and population growth.

Commenting on today's announcement was Thomas E. Skains, Chairman, President, and CEO of Piedmont Natural Gas, "We are excited to announce our gift today in support of the THRIVE Campaign to sustain the arts and cultural sector in Charlotte.  Today's gift is in addition to Piedmont's ongoing annual support of the Arts and Science Council, which we believe is essential to a thriving arts community in Charlotte. That community has been dramatically impacted by economic challenges and changes in donor behavior in recent years so we view our gift today as a strategic investment in Charlotte and in the richness and diversity that a vibrant arts community brings to us all."

Hugh McColl, former Chairman and CEO of Bank of America and chairman of the THRIVE Campaign, also commented on the arts and cultural sector in Charlotte and on the Company's gift, "A great arts community is important to having a great city. Like everything important it requires our joint support.  Piedmont's generous support of the THRIVE Campaign is wonderful news for Charlotte.  Piedmont has been an extraordinary supporter of Charlotte's most important charitable needs and we thank them for continuing this extraordinary level of support for the Arts by supporting THRIVE."

About Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than one million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation customers in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including customers served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, regulated interstate natural gas transportation and storage, and regulated intrastate natural gas transportation businesses. More information about Piedmont Natural Gas is available on the Internet at http://www.piedmontng.com/.

SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas