RALEIGH — Before the end of the 2024 legislative short session, former state Sen. Deanna Ballard was appointed to the board of NCInnovation.
Established in 2020, NCInnovation (NCI) is a nonprofit with a mission of “accelerating commercialized innovation” of the state’s public university research and development projects.
Ballard’s appointment was among the scores of others made by Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) under Session Law 2024-12.
“I’m honored by this appointment and look forward to working alongside NCInnovation to transform research breakthroughs into successful businesses across our state,” Ballard wrote in a post on X about her appointment.
Ballard’s term on that board will expire Sept. 30, 2025.
NCI received $500 million in nonrecurring funding over two years as part of the 2022-23 budget. The organization can use $50 million of the NCInnovation Reserve Fund endowment as investment income in the 2023-24 fiscal year and $90 million in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Public money is not the only source of funding for NCI. In April of this year, NCI announced it had surpassed its $25 million goal for private fundraising commitments. The group also recently announced $5.2 million in funding for eight research projects at seven of the state’s public universities as part of the first round of pilot program grants.
