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    HomeInvestments in Action

      	
				
	
	
	
	
	
	Investments in Action
  

Every year, ARC investments support hundreds of economic development projects benefiting Appalachia’s 423 counties. Projects align with one of five goals outlined in our current Strategic Plan. The resulting investments ultimately help Appalachian communities address economic disparity and advance prosperity.
Explore stories from ARC projects and partners across the Appalachian Region.States & Counties
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		Topics
			See AllClear all filtersKentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia    
    Central Appalachia: Increasing Capital Access in Coal Communities

          ARC’s POWER Initiative has invested millions in projects working to create jobs and new economic opportunities in coal-impacted communities. A barrier to the creation of opportunity, however, is capital access. Without the money and credit needed to start a business, the ideas of home-grown entrepreneurs cannot be put into...
    
    
    
          Coal-Impacted CommunitiesVirginia
			Montgomery    
    Appalachian Community Capital: Investing in the Investors

          With COVID-19 related funding from ARC, ACC was able to support the Parkway Theater’s renovation and survival through the pandemic. Access to capital is one of the biggest obstacles to small business and entrepreneurial growth in Appalachia. In 2013, with seed money from ARC and other partners, Appalachian Community...
    
    
    
          Asset-Based Development
          Distressed Counties Program
          Entrepreneurship and Business Development
          Opportunity ZonesGeorgia    
    Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs: Supporting Businesses of All Backgrounds

          For over 20 years, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE) has empowered entrepreneurship in Appalachian Georgia through small business loans to candidates who might otherwise be overlooked. ACE’s founder, Grace Fricks, is a former social worker, who made it the organization’s mission to target support to women, people of...
    
    
    
          Entrepreneurship and Business DevelopmentWest Virginia
			Boone, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Wayne, Wyoming    
    The Natural Capital Investment Fund: A Path To Success

          In 2016, the Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund) partnered with the Hatfield McCoy Trail Authority and Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College (Southern) to drive recreational tourism development in the coalfields of southern West Virginia. Through ARC POWER funding, the partners launched a revolving loan...
    
    
    
          Entrepreneurship and Business Development
          Tourism DevelopmentWest Virginia
			Ohio    
    Grow Ohio Valley: Empowering Food Access and Entrepreneurs

          What started as an after-school urban gardening program has since blossomed into Grow Ohio Valley (Grow OV), an operation with around 50 employees working toward a single mission: improve the health and economic future of Wheeling, West Virginia through local food.  It’s a great mission...Youngstown Business Incubator: Elevating Entrepreneurship

          In what was once an abandoned furniture store, the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) is operating an internationally recognized, high-impact program for Appalachian entrepreneurs. YBI was founded in 2001 and has since developed successful digital businesses, strengthened women and minority entrepreneurship, and furthered advanced manufacturing technologies in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley.Pennsylvania
			Cambria    
    Startup Alleghenies: Empowering the Cycle of Entrepreneurship

          Since 1974, JARI has supported the economic growth and diversification of Pennsylvania’s Southern Alleghenies region. Their service area in Greater Johnstown, Pennsylvania historically relied on the steel and coal industries, and like other Appalachian communities needed to diversify its local and regional economic bases to improve long-term vitality.  In order to best carry out its...
    
    
    
          Coal-Impacted Communities
          Entrepreneurship and Business DevelopmentNorth Carolina    
    EmPOWERing North Carolina’s Farmers and Small Businesses

          In October 2019, North Carolina State University (NCSU) received a $1.1 million grant from ARC’s POWER Initiative to launch EmPOWERing Mountain Food Systems. The project initially intended to strengthen a seven-county “foodshed” in Western North Carolina by helping current producers become more profitable and training new farmers to...
    
    
    
          COVID-19 Response
          Leadership Development and Capacity BuildingWest Virginia    
    Mountwest Community & Technical College: Constructing a Greener Future in WV

          ARC’s POWER Initiative has invested millions to connect Appalachia’s students and workers with careers in emerging, high-growth industries – one of which is construction. This sector is struggling to find qualified workers to keep up with increasing demand. Furthermore, Appalachian communities continue to be faced with the lack of...
    
    
    
          Coal-Impacted CommunitiesPennsylvania    
    Appalachian Pennsylvania: $17.3 Million Awarded for Coal Community Revitalization

          Since 2015, ARC’s POWER Initiative has invested millions in projects working to create jobs, fuel new industries, and prepare students and workers for new opportunities in coal-impacted communities. ARC’s largest single POWER funding package to date was awarded in October 2023, with one state receiving an...
    
    
    
          Coal-Impacted CommunitiesPennsylvania    
    Tri-County Workforce Investment Board: Creating PA’s Semi-Conductor Workforce

          Tri-County Workforce Investment Board is partnering with Steamfitters Local Union 449 (see video above) to offer free training for over 500 participants at its Technology Center in Harmony, PA. ARC’s POWER Initiative has invested millions to connect students and workers in coal-impacted communities with in-demand, high-growth industries. One such...
    
    
    
          Coal-Impacted Communities Appalachian Regional Commission

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