Duke Energy is putting its financial support behind Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

By way of Prnewswire.com, the energy giant gave a grant of $35,000 to the North Carolina organization The Institute to supports its new HBCU Leadership Exchange.

A non-profit that supports business diversity, The Institute will soon launch the HBCU Leadership Exchange to help support and forge relationships between corporations and students enrolled at HBCUs in North Carolina.

In short, The Institute’s new program will look to connect students at HBCUs with jobs in corporate America. It’s not a bad program to build as diversity within the corporate field–specifically technology–is always a hot button topic.

The Institute has a track record of aiding minority business development as the group offers services to assist the growth of small businesses. As The Institute has been around for more than three decades, the HBCU Leadership Exchange is starting off with strong backing.

Also–Duke Energy gives close to $30 million in grants each year in areas such as education, economic development, the environment, and much more.

But this new program has potential to serve a grand number of black students. While the grant from Duke Energy isn’t substantial, it at least gives The Institute a portion of the starting funds needed to help launch the program.

With no reason to believe that the exchange will not have success, Duke Energy will likely to continue to provide financial support that will only grow in the future.

As mentioned previously, the goal of this new exchange is to foster relationships between corporations and HBCU students.

Students who are looking for jobs in a specific area will likely be paired with mentors or given the opportunity to meet and greet leaders from certain industries.

With growth and limitless potential on the horizon, students at HBCUs in North Carolina should be excited about this new venture.