September 2017 1 

 Appalachian Regional Commission 

POWER Award Summaries by State

As of September 2017

The Appalachian Regional Commission has invested $94 million specifically to diversify the economy in

the Region’s coal-impacted communities through the POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and

Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative. These 114 investments will create or retain almost 

8,800 jobs, leverage an additional $210 million into the Region, and prepare thousands of workers and 

students for jobs in technology, manufacturing, entrepreneurship, agriculture, and other sectors

creating a strong economic future for Appalachia.

ALABAMA (6 awards)

$1,920,000 ARC grant to Bevill State Community College in Jasper, AL, for the Bevill State Community 

College POWER 2016 Initiative. The project will create a new Rapid Training Center at Bevill State’s

Jasper campus that will serve as a regional workforce training and job placement hub in northwest

Alabama—an area that has been adversely affected by the recent retirement of coal-fired power 

generation facilities and the closure of multiple coal mines. The Rapid Training Center will offer 

accelerated workforce training programs that provide industry-recognized credentials in six growing

regional industries: welding, commercial trucking, rigging, hydraulics/pneumatics, healthcare, and print

reading. Through a partnership with the Alabama Department of Labor, individuals directly impacted by

the decline in coal production will be offered up to $1,000 in scholarships and stipends to move them

through the Center’s retraining programming in the most efficient manner possible. In addition, Bevill

State is partnering with the AARP to tailor a portion of the retraining and placement support for 

individuals who are 50+ years old. The project will train 4,000 trainees over the life of the award, and

will improve 40 existing businesses in the region.

$1,500,810 ARC grant to West Alabama Works (WAW) - Region 3 Workforce Development Council in

Tuscaloosa, AL, for the WAW 2020 Initiative. The project will deliver job training services to fill critical

regional workforce needs in the rapidly growing automotive and advanced manufacturing industries in

western Alabama—an area that has been adversely affected by the changing economics of the regional 

coal economy. WAW has partnered with Mercedes Benz to develop a specific recruitment and training

plan for positions in mechatronics and industrial maintenance at their facilities in the area. In addition,

the project will create a “pop-up” Community Resource Center in Brookwood, AL, to serve as a hub for

community engagement; renovate the Brookwood Technical High School and Training Center to offer

credentialing services to students at four regional high schools for employment in hospitality and

culinary arts, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing; and, through a partnership with Energy Alabama 

and the Alabama Automotive Manufacturer’s Association, develop business-specific plans that will 

speed the adoption of sustainable energy in Alabama’s automotive industry. The project will train 1,000

dislocated workers and credential 500 students over the life of the award.

$1,200,000 ARC grant to the Southern Research Institute (SRI) in Birmingham, AL, to establish The

Prosperity Fund to foster entrepreneurial activity in a four-county area in Alabama that has been

significantly impacted by the decline in the coal industry. With this ARC investment, The Prosperity Fund

will connect entrepreneurs with seasoned private-sector business leaders and key representatives from

state economic development agencies to provide the tools necessary to build high-growth companies
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and create wealth in Walker, Jefferson, Fayette, and Tuscaloosa Counties. SRI will focus on five business 

sectors that have significant potential in those counties: automotive, agriculture, primary materials, 

forestry products, and chemicals. The Prosperity Fund team will also provide entrepreneurs in the area 

with access to resources to raise capital, create and administer customer discovery and marketing 

programs, and obtain other training and support opportunities. This implementation grant builds on an 

earlier POWER technical assistance grant to SRI. The project is expected to create 80 jobs and leverage 

$6.2 million in private investment. 

$997,150 ARC grant to the Shoals Entrepreneurial Center in Florence, AL, for the Shoals Shift project. 

The funds will be used to offer a wide range of entrepreneurial programming, including improved access 

to capital and credit and development of strategies to increase the profitability of the region’s start-ups 

and existing businesses through more efficient use of broadband technologies. The programming 

includes training and activities for community members and student entrepreneurs from middle schools 

all the way to the university level. Activities will take place in a nine-county region covering parts of 

northwest Alabama, northeast Mississippi, and south central Tennessee. The project is expected to help 

create or retain 110 jobs, start 20 new businesses, and leverage $10,000,000 in private investment.

$77,680 ARC grant to the Alabama Center for Sustainable Energy (ALCSE) d/b/a Energy Alabama in 

Madison, AL, for technical assistance for a study of strategies to develop an advanced energy economy, 

with an emphasis on coal-impacted communities. It will identify the advanced energy industry of the 

coal-impacted areas, the available jobs within that industry, the resources of community colleges to 

support workforce training, and the career centers that can facilitate placement in the advanced energy 

industry of unemployed workers. The project will also support stakeholder engagement to explore and 

harness additional careers in sectors such as aerospace, advanced manufacturing, entrepreneurship, 

healthcare and information technology. Local sources will provide an additional $79,857 to fund the 

project.

$60,202 ARC grant to the Southern Research Institute in Birmingham, AL, for the development of a 

strategic plan focusing on entrepreneurship in coal-impacted counties in the Appalachian part of 

Alabama. Innovation and increasing business startup activity will be the primary focus.

KENTUCKY (20 awards)

$7,474,100 total (a $4,974,100 EDA grant and a $2,500,000 ARC grant) to the University of Pikeville in 

Pikeville, KY, for the Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) project. POWER funds will be used to 

purchase equipment, instructional supplies, and other materials to help launch a new College of 

Optometry. The college will both grow the healthcare workforce and improve access to vision care in 

Central Appalachia. KYCO will be only the second optometry college in the Appalachian Region, and will 

primarily serve Eastern Kentucky, Southern West Virginia, and Southwestern Virginia. Within the first 

three years of the award, KYCO will graduate 60 optometrists, provide care to 12,000 patients, and bring 

$26,000,000 in direct economic impact to the regional economy.

$3,500,000 ARC grant to Big Sandy Community and Technical College in Prestonsburg, KY, for the 

Eastern Kentucky Coal County Transformation project. The ARC award will enable three easternKentucky education institutions—Big Sandy, Hazard Community and Technical College, and Southeast 

Kentucky Community and Technical College—to launch a comprehensive, employer-driven workforce 

development program focused on building the digital economy and strengthening digital innovation and 

entrepreneurship across a 16-county region in eastern Kentucky. The consortium—in partnership with 
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Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) and the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program 

(EKCEP)—will establish educational programs that develop workforce skills in emerging regional career 

clusters such as cybersecurity, medical coding, and advanced manufacturing. The program will 

specifically engage dislocated workers from the coal industry through targeted advertisements, and will 

provide adult basic education as needed to ensure that these individuals can participate in the training 

courses. In addition, to support the development of a technology-driven economy beyond classroom 

training, the program will identify and promote a number of digital innovation hubs, providing facilities 

and resources to encourage entrepreneurial activities. Success coaches will be available to instill critical 

21st century skills and provide support to nascent technology workers, and a regional committee will be 

established to monitor industry trends and best practices. The project will serve 300 trainees and 

improve the operations of 30 existing businesses in the first two years of the award, and will lay the 

groundwork for the development of a vibrant and lasting digital economy in eastern Kentucky.

$2,750,000 ARC grant to the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) in Hazard, 

KY, for the TechHire Eastern Kentucky (TEKY) Initiative: Developing a Technology-Driven

Workforce project. The project will serve young adults aged 17-29 who are out of school, and older 

adults who are unemployed, laid-off, or underemployed by offering several avenues to industry-led 

accelerated technology training, paid work-based internships, and employment opportunities in IT 

careers. This comprehensive workforce development initiative will train 200 new workers, create 160 

jobs, and serve to bolster existing and emerging sectors that rely on a skilled information technology 

workforce in 23 Eastern Kentucky counties. The initiative will provide the trained workers necessary for 

a private technology company to expand its operations into Eastern Kentucky.

$2,022,133 ARC grant to the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED) in 

Berea, KY, for the Economic Transition for Eastern Kentucky (ETEK) Initiative. The ARC award will expand 

fast-track retraining and entrepreneurial technical assistance services targeted to dislocated coal 

workers; establish an intern program aimed at placing former coal workers in the energy efficiency 

sector; and increase access to capital through a $1,000,000 venture capital loan fund. The project will 

create 200 new jobs and 100 new enterprises, serve 500 existing businesses, and bring $12,000,000 in 

leveraged financing to a 54-county region in Eastern Kentucky.

$1,800,000 ARC grant to the Appalachian Wildlife Foundation Inc. in Corbin, KY, for the Appalachian

Wildlife Center Infrastructure project. ARC funds will be used to install water infrastructure at the future 

site of the Appalachian Wildlife Center, a conservation education and research facility. The Wildlife 

Center facility—located on 19 miles of reclaimed mine land—will feature the largest elk restoration and 

viewing effort in the United States. The facility will be modeled on the successful Elk Country Visitor 

Center in Benezette, Pennsylvania. The project will position a 10-county region in the tri-state area of 

southeastern Kentucky, northeastern Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia as a national tourist 

attraction, and will create 86 new jobs.

$1,500,000 ARC grant to Hazard Community and Technical College (HCTC) in Hazard, KY, for the 

Intergenerational Training Center. ARC funds will be used to construct a 14,700 square foot facility at 

HCTC’s Lees College Campus in Jackson, KY that will deliver job training and credentialing courses 

focused around four emerging regional career clusters: information technology, telemedicine and health 

sciences, mechatronics, and eco-tourism/small business development. The project will leverage the 

capacity of the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Inc. (EKCEP) and the Kentucky Career 

Center to promote and market the program to out-of-school youth and displaced and underemployed 

workers impacted by the decline in the coal industry. The project will serve a seven-county area in 
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southeastern Kentucky, and will train 295 dislocated workers and credential 228 students over the life of 

the award.

$1,464,251 ARC grant to the University of Kentucky Research Foundation in Lexington, KY, for 

the Downtown Revitalization in the Promise Zone project. This project—partnering with the Community 

and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky, the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, the 

Kentucky Promise Zone, Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), and the Kentucky Mainstreet 

Program—will help revitalize the downtowns of 8 distressed towns in the Southeastern Kentucky 

Promise Zone. The project will provide each community with tailored economic studies that identify 

economic opportunities, support strategic planning sessions to capitalize on those opportunities, 

provide financial support for key steps to implement those strategies, and build local leadership and 

business capacity. The project will create 24 new downtown businesses, 72 new jobs, and leverage 

$800,000 in private investment.

$1,290,000 ARC grant to Maysville Community and Technical College (MCTC) in Maysville, KY, for the KYWV Regional Drone Technology Workforce Project. MCTC will partner with Southern West Virginia 

Community and Technical College to deliver comprehensive training courses in small-air drone 

operation to a seven-county area in southern West Virginia and a 13-county area in northeastern 

Kentucky. Specific training activities will enable graduates to operate drones and drone sensors to 

provide in-demand commercial services -- such as the close-up inspection of fixed structures like power 

lines, utility poles, and cell phone towers. The project will serve 100 trainees over the two-year life of 

the award, will leverage $14,000,000 in private investment, and will, in conjunction with a previous ARC 

POWER award, further strengthen the emerging drone industry cluster in the West Virginia-KentuckyVirginia tri-state area.

$1,250,000 ARC grant to the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation in London, KY, for the 

Kentucky Highlands Employment and Financial Training Program. The ARC award will capitalize a loan 

fund to enable Kentucky Highlands to invest in local entrepreneurs at both the start-up and expansion 

stages of companies located across 21 southeastern Kentucky counties. In addition, ARC’s award will 

engage the Appalachian Community Federal Credit Union (ACFCU) to expand their portfolio of financial 

literacy services to the project’s service territory. Specifically, ACFCU programs will increase financial 

knowledge, security, and wellness through the provision of credit builder loans, debt consolidation 

loans, payday alternative loans, affordable non-prime auto loans, and 80/20 mortgage loans. The project 

will create or retain 200 jobs and leverage $2,250,000 in private investment.

$1,000,000 ARC grant to Community Ventures Corporation in Lexington, KY, for the Build Appalachia 

Loan Fund project. The Build Appalachia Loan Fund will provide affordable capital to educational 

institutions in Appalachian Kentucky and West Virginia that will own, operate, and manage facilities that 

are eligible for New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC). The loan fund will provide gap financing for major 

projects and will attract primary and leveraged financing for the construction or renovation of college 

facilities. A strategic partner in the Build Appalachia Loan Fund is the Appalachian College Association, a 

group of 4-year private educational institutions that seek new sources of investment capital. The fund’s 

focus will be in healthcare-related higher education, given that much of the region is medically 

underserved and there is strong demand for qualified health professionals. Additional financial support 

for the fund is being provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Mary Reynolds Babcock 

Foundation, and the Opportunity Finance Network. The Build Appalachia Loan Fund will leverage $50 

million in private investment in 5 projects, creating 500 new jobs in healthcare-related activities. 
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$1,000,000 ARC grant to the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises, Inc., (FAHE) in Berea, KY, 

for the Appalachian HEAT Squad project. ARC’s investment will be utilized to improve the energy

efficiency of low-income homes in coal-impacted communities across a nine-county region in eastern

Kentucky—while also creating entrepreneurial and skills-based training opportunities in the area. The

project will partner with Hazard Community and Technical College and the Mountain Association for

Community Economic Development (MACED) to deliver the entrepreneurial education and construction

training component, and with two other training organizations to increase the skill-base for private

housing contractors operating in the region. The project will create or retain 119 jobs, increase the

quality, affordability, and performance of over 270 homes, and leverage $525,000 in private investment.

$1,000,000 ARC grant to the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises (FAHE) in Berea, KY, for the 

UPLIFT Appalachia Recovery project. The ARC award will be used to finance three community recovery

facilities that will support residents’ recovery from addiction, provide needed health services, and create

job opportunities in coal-impacted communities. These facilities will primarily serve three eastern

Kentucky counties—each of which is located within the federally designated USDA Strike Force Zone.

Specifically, the award will facilitate the development of a housing facility in Louisa, KY, that works with

patients for 2-3 years and focuses on transitioning them from the center’s care directly into an

internship or job; assist in the creation of a 100-bed facility in Somerset, KY, that employs a peer-based

care model in which patients in different stages of recovery work together to get and remain sober; and

enable an existing facility in Jackson, KY to expand their services to an additional 990 people, to build a

dental clinic, and to partner with the University of Pikeville for optometry care. The award will serve

5,060 patients, create or retain 63 jobs, and will leverage investment from USDA’s Uplift America

program and private investors.

$596,250 ARC grant to the Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College (SKCTC) in 

Cumberland, KY, for the Southeast Kentucky Revitalization project. SKCTC is working with strategic 

partners to develop an innovative series of training programs to develop and retrain the workforce and 

create economic sustainability. The goal of these programs is to prepare individuals for opportunities in 

emerging sectors and develop social and physical infrastructure better suited to take advantage of these 

developing economic opportunities. The first phase of the project will involve community engagement 

and other planning activities that will be used to refine the final training programs in the second phase. 

Training areas will initially include hospitality and customer service training, design and digital literacy, 

and training for next-generation contractors and builders. The project is expected to improve 29 

businesses, create or retain 80 jobs, and train 165 people. 

$500,000 ARC grant to the City of Whitesburg, KY, for the Whitesburg Daniel Boone Hotel Stabilization

project. ARC funds will be utilized to make immediate and urgent repairs to stabilize the historic, brick

Daniel Boone Hotel—which represents the city’s rise after the arrival of railroads and the opening of the

region’s coalfields. The hotel is a central component of Whitesburg’s economic development future and

revitalization plans. After the structure is stabilized and renovated, it will be a regional destination and

economic driver. The project will create 23 jobs, leverage $2,000,000 in private investment, and will

attract 9,900 additional visitors annually to the area.

$497,305 ARC grant to Morehead State University in Morehead, KY, for the next phase of Shaping Our

Appalachian Region Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (SOAR STEM) project. The 

project’s goal is to develop a highly skilled STEM workforce that can foster job growth and business

expansion in an area that has experienced major job losses because of the decline in coal. It has four 

main areas of focus: upskilling teachers so that they receive National Board Certification; training high
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school teachers across 27 counties of eastern Kentucky to implement curriculum developed by Project 

Lead The Way, a nationally recognized developer of K–12 STEM education curricula and professional 

development; supporting the development of Mentoring Centers—partnerships between industry and 

local school districts that provide paid internships and mentoring for high school students and connect 

the future workforce with local employers; and support for maker spaces, entrepreneur hubs, and a 

Navy Seals coding boot camp that provide hands-on skill training and experience. The program will train 

over 80 teachers and impact 20,000 students over the first three years of implementation. 

$300,000 ARC grant to Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College (SEKCTC) in Cumberland, 

KY, for the Selling to the World Initiative. SEKCTC, along with Eastern Kentucky Concentrated 

Employment Program (EKCEP) and the Discover Downtown Middlesboro Main Street Association, 

piloted an initiative in 2015 targeting eastern Kentucky artisans and craftspeople whose products are 

the type and quality that could support internet-based businesses for world-wide marketing and sales. 

The initiative seeks to boost the region's economy—which has been adversely affected major job losses 

in the coal industry—by growing local businesses, strengthening the entrepreneurial support system, 

helping “brand” products from the region, and promoting exports. The two-year launch phase of the 

initiative was privately funded by the New York Community Trust. The ARC investment will continue this 

activity, concentrating on artisan businesses from four coal-impacted eastern Kentucky counties, one 

county from northeast Tennessee, and one county from southwest Virginia. The program for artists and 

craft makers is expected to help create 30 new jobs and leverage $297,000 in private investment. 

$80,000 ARC technical assistance grant for Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Inc., in Somerset, KY, for the 

Restoring PRIDE in Kentucky's Appalachia project. PRIDE, along with The Foundation for Appalachian 

Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, and Union College, will develop a tourism-based strategic plan 

for 41 counties in eastern Kentucky, an area impacted by the downturn in the coal industry. By the end 

of the 12-month technical assistance, the partners will decide upon a branding plan to attract public and 

private investment for increased economic activity via joint marketing initiatives, new branding, and 

heritage tourism activities.

$75,000 ARC grant to the Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development in Elizabethtown, KY,

for Local Food Supply Chain Development in Eastern Kentucky project. EDA is also awarding $468,635 to 

this project. Entrepreneurs using the Jackson County Regional Food Center in Tyner, KY, will receive 

technical assistance in areas such as business planning and marketing to help them reach targeted 

markets for their products.

$75,000 ARC grant to Saving Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) in Pikeville, KY, for Unleashing the Power of

the I-Way! EDA is awarding $1,000,000 and ETA is awarding $2,000,000 to the Commonwealth of 

Kentucky as part of this project. The Kentucky Institute for Economic Development will offer annual 

training in professional development and economic development best practices to professionals 

recruited by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) and other partners.

$75,000 ARC grant to Appalshop, Inc., in Whitesburg, KY, for Mines to Minds: Southeast Kentucky HighTech Workforce Training. EDA is also awarding $200,000 to this project. ARC funds will be used to 

purchase digital multi-media supplies and equipment and to fund the creation of a technology and 

digital workforce development training curriculum in collaboration with area educators and regional 

employers.
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MARYLAND (1 award)

$48,000 ARC grant to Tri-County Council for Western Maryland, Inc. in Frostburg, MD, for technical 

assistance to develop an economic development plan for the I-68 region in Maryland and West Virginia. 

The I-68 Regional Economic Partnership project will include the development of a regional asset map, 

regional labor shed analysis, a target industry list, as well as county and regional lists of 

recommendations. The data and maps developed through the project will serve as resources for 

companies looking to build, hire, or expand in the region. Workforce training and job creation are two 

anticipated outcomes of the project. Local sources will match the $48,000 in project funding provided by 

ARC.

NEW YORK (1 award)

$1,500,000 ARC grant to Alfred State College (ASC) in Alfred, NY, for the Biorefinery Development and 

Commercialization Center (BDCC) project. The project will help private and public partners leverage 

natural resources (wood) to create sustainable businesses using advanced manufacturing processes. It 

will strengthen a regional economy that has experienced the closure of a coal-fired power plant and job 

losses in coal supply-chain companies. The BDCC is a prototype facility that will develop and 

commercialize a process that extracts valuable chemical assets from wood and uses them to 

manufacture basic commodities and advanced technology materials, energy, and biofuels. The facility 

will spur additional investment, including business start-ups and full-scale biorefineries. It will be used 

by ASC, the State University of New York (SUNY), universities from other ARC states, and private-sector 

bioenergy and biochemical companies. The college and its network will also provide training and 

technical services to coal-impacted companies as they seek to enter new markets, diversify their 

manufacturing base, and adapt their workforce. The facility will contribute to the creation of 15 new 

business and help 125 workers gain skills and retain or gain employment. 

OHIO (10 awards)

$2,000,000 ARC grant to Ohio University in Athens, OH, for the Leveraging Innovation Gateways and

Hubs Toward Sustainability (LIGHTS) project. The ARC award will strengthen Southern Ohio’s 

entrepreneurial ecosystem by leveraging the capacity of four strategically located “Innovation Hubs”—

which provide facilities, equipment and design/engineering expertise to entrepreneurs—and five 

regional “Gateway Centers” that link local entrepreneurs to a broad array of support services 

throughout the ecosystem. The project will build on the successful TechGROWTH Ohio model, create 

360 new jobs, 50 new small businesses, and bring $5,000,000 in leveraged private investment to the 

area.

$1,422,965 ARC grant to Hocking College in Nelsonville, OH, for the Appalachia RISES (Revitalizing an

Industry-ready Skilling Ecosystem for Sustainability) Initiative. The project will leverage the expertise of 

regional education, business, and government entities to deliver comprehensive workforce training 

services in employment fields that meet current and anticipated industry needs in North Central 

Appalachia—including advanced energy, automotive technology, petroleum technology, welding, and 

commercial driver's license (CDL). The project will train 306 workers over the life of the award, and 

primarily serve a 17-county region covering southeastern Ohio and central West Virginia.

$1,200,000 ARC grant to Buckeye Hills Regional Council in Marietta, OH, for the Innovation Gateway 

Network of Appalachian Ohio project. The Gateway Network will provide an innovative program of 
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learning, makerspace activities, and entrepreneurship development in three multi-use facilities, located 

in Somerset, Nelsonville, and Marietta, Ohio. Each center will be designed to reflect the specific needs of 

its local community, with access to commercial-grade broadband, a range of immediate job 

opportunities from employer-paid training to entry-level work, a technology hub, and flexible classroom 

and small group workspaces. The Innovation Gateway Network programming aims to boost 

employment and income; strengthen and diversify local economies; and grow, retain, and attract talent 

to the region through alternative learning and career pathways. In developing its offerings, each of the 

three sites will rely on the expertise of Ohio University’s Innovation Center, a collaborating partner in 

the project. During the three-year project period, this project will help at least 205 adults obtain jobs, 55 

students obtain a high school diploma, and 75 students make progress towards an associate’s degree. 

The project will also help 130 participants earn additional income and/or complete an industry 

credential. 

$1,000,000 ARC grant to Youngstown State University (YSU) in Youngstown, OH, for the Excellence 

Training Center project. The grant will allow YSU to renovate a facility to house the Excellence Training 

Center, an advanced manufacturing education and workforce training facility that will benefit a 14-

county, three-state region (OH, PA, WV). The center will be developed as a 24/7 access, shared-use 

facility with a manufacturing training lab and group project and workroom space supporting displaced 

workers, students, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs. Regional partners for the project include Eastern 

Gateway Community College, Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition, Youngstown Business 

Incubator, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, and regional workforce development boards. 

The center will help address regional employment problems caused by the downturn of the coal 

industry by providing requisite hands-on training for high-demand advanced manufacturing skills, 

creating a pipeline of knowledgeable and trained workers. It is expected the project will train 200 

workers and create or retain 188 jobs. Funding from the State of Ohio is matching the ARC grant. 

$450,000 ARC grant for Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth (APEG) in Nelsonville, OH, to 

establish an Appalachian Ohio Community Development Financial Institution (AO CDFI) to provide 

business loan products that are currently unavailable in southeast Ohio. In crafting and delivering these 

products, APEG will partner with regional entities like local development districts and private lenders. 

The Appalachian Ohio CDFI will provide gap financing for capital equipment and facility purchases, as 

well as longer-term capital financing. The loan products will support business growth that would not 

otherwise occur, thereby enabling new employment opportunities for dislocated coal economy workers. 

A number of national and regional banks that serve southeast Ohio have committed funds to support 

the creation of the CDFI. APEG projects that 54 loans will be originated in the grant period, leading to 

the creation or retention of 227 jobs and leveraging $2.75 million in private investment.

$300,000 ARC grant to Ohio University in Athens, OH, for the Social Enterprise Ecosystem (SEE 

Appalachia) project. Ohio University and its partners will work to strengthen entrepreneurial 

ecosystems that support the start-up and/or expansion, funding, growth, and sustainability of social 

enterprises in Ohio and West Virginia. Social enterprises combine the social mission of a nonprofit with 

the market-driven approach of a business to solve complex social and environmental problems in a 

financially sustainable and scalable way. SEE Appalachia will assist social enterprises that focus on health 

and wellness, education, and the environment. The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio and the 

Parkersburg Area Community Foundation will provide regional outreach and identify potential social 

enterprise clients, assist in building capacity for social enterprise work, and advise on venture 

investment decisions. The project is expected to assist at least 12 social enterprises to gain investment 
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sufficient for start-up and launch, create 20 well-paying jobs, and leverage $1.18 million in private 

investment in the first year.

$119,460 ARC grant to Rural Action in The Plains, OH, to develop a strategic plan and feasibility study for 

the Appalachian Ohio Solar Supply-Chain Initiative. This regional planning effort will focus on building a 

stakeholder partnership that will develop a regional solar manufacturing supply-chain in response to a 

major utility’s plan to deploy new solar resources in Ohio.

$68,700 ARC grant to Rural Action, Inc., in The Plains, OH, for Emerging Social Enterprise Development. 

SBA is also awarding up to $2.5 million to the Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth as part of 

this project. The project will expand social enterprise development in sustainable forestry and other 

emerging sectors by providing technical assistance and support to non-profits and private enterprises in 

idea generation, market assessment, and business modeling.

$41,065 ARC grant to the Workforce Initiative Association in Canton, OH, for the Coal Business United 

Resource Network (Coal BURN) Real-Time Insights for Real-Time Actions project. The project will 

implement a formal multi-state planning process to obtain a better understanding of current and future 

workforce opportunities (“real-time” data) in coal-impacted communities in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, 

and West Virginia. The new multi-county, multi-state consortium will draw on data and actions that 

currently exist while obtaining information and data on specific skills needed in the workplace, helping 

the workforce system to more effectively enable dislocated workers to meet the needs of local 

businesses. The primary goal of the Resource Network in Ohio will be to connect workforce 

development, economic development, and education in a collaborative, seamless, and customerfocused partnership structure to deliver effective and efficient business services. Through the planning 

process, the model will be expanded into Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

$22,758 ARC grant to Youngstown State University in Youngstown, OH, to analyze and develop a project 

plan for the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation and Commercialization Center. The project is expected 

to serve 14 counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

PENNSYLVANIA (13 awards)

$1,750,000 ARC grant to Fayette County Community Action Agency, Inc. in Uniontown, PA, for the 

Southwestern PA Development of a Local Food Shed project. The project will develop a robust local food 

shed that provides new and diverse economic opportunities to communities in 38 counties impacted by 

the decline of the coal industry across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland. ARC’s investment will 

support the cultivation of four of southwestern Pennsylvania’s existing agricultural industry clusters: 

sheep, lamb, and goats; poultry; specialty crops; and value-added processing. A diverse group of 

partners will establish a Regional Agriculture Advisory Council to steer the project’s goals and objectives 

and sustain the local food shed efforts in the long-term. Major project activities will include 

comprehensive asset mapping to identify new products, technologies, and emerging markets; and 

diverse training and technical assistance to farmers and food entrepreneurs to assist them with 

increasing production, business skills, and marketing. Partners include the Pennsylvania Department of 

Agriculture and a regional Community Development Financial Institution. It is anticipated that the 

project will serve 50 existing businesses, create 10 new businesses and 100 jobs, and leverage $3.5 

million in private investment. 
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$1,489,945 ARC grant to Washington Greene County Job Training Agency, Inc., in Washington, PA, for 

the Appalachian Region Code (ARCODE) Initiative. The ARCODE Initiative will teach high-demand skills in 

software engineering and development to displaced workers from the coal sector in southwest 

Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It harnesses and combines the software training expertise of Mined 

Minds, a proven software development training organization, and CentralApp, an international software 

solutions developer. The two will work together to provide courses and certifications needed to qualify 

for high-demand technology jobs, enabling participants to work locally for companies that can be 

located anywhere in the world. Mined Minds will provide a supply of certified tech talent that program 

partners and others will be able to hire locally or contract for short-term, labor-intensive projects. 

CentralApp trainees who obtain certifications will have access to CentralApp Talent Exchange and will 

obtain work from its customer base of thousands of active Salesforce customers, systems integrators, 

and consultancies. The project will train and place 71 workers in computer tech jobs at seven or more 

companies.

$1,213,868 ARC grant to the Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission (SAPDC) in 

Altoona, PA, for the Southern Alleghenies Entrepreneurial Ecosystem project. The project will strengthen 

the entrepreneurial ecosystem of a three-county region in southwestern Pennsylvania through the 

provision of a wide array of diverse, wrap-around business support services, facilitated via business 

coaches and mentors. In addition, the award will renovate several existing entrepreneurial spaces in the 

region where much of the programmatic activity will take place. The project will create 125 new jobs 

and 25 new businesses, and will leverage $3,750,000 in private investment. 

$1,200,000 ARC grant to the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Career Centers Inc. in Prosperity, 

PA, for the New Start Retraining Initiative for Displaced Coal Industry Workers project. The ARC award 

will deliver workforce training and job placement services to unemployed coal mine workers in eight 

southwest Pennsylvania counties and two southern West Virginia counties. UMWA will partner with the 

Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, the Allegany College of Maryland, and Pennsylvania Highlands 

Community College to design and implement training programs in strategic regional career sectors 

including commercial trucking, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing. Training will be 

complemented by job placement and other wraparound support to ensure that each trainee has 

maximum potential for securing employment. The project will serve 400 trainees over the life of the 

award.

$948,673 ARC grant to Somerset County, PA, for the Somerset County Fiber Extension Project. ARC funds 

will be used to install 22 miles of fiber optic cable on existing pole lines that will allow a variety of 

business, residential, medical, and educational customers in Somerset County access to broadband 

services. The area does not currently have cable broadband available and DSL service is not offered 

ubiquitously. The project will serve 1,094 businesses and 3,962 households, and will act as an economic 

and tourism driver in the county. 

$662,567 ARC grant to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Corporation in Pittsburgh, PA, for the Southwest

Pennsylvania Economic Gardening Initiative. ARC funds will diversify the business operations of supply 

chain industries in a 10-county region in southwestern Pennsylvania. Working with Catalyst Connection 

(the regional Manufacturing Extension Partnership), the project will focus on small manufacturing 

establishments (SMEs) in the coal supply chain by providing mini-grants to targeted firms that enable 

the most impactful business development strategies to move forward quickly and efficiently—with a 

specific emphasis on increasing access to advanced manufacturing technologies. In addition, the project 

will target freight and logistics firms operating along the waterways of southwest Pennsylvania to 
September 2017 11

increase their competitiveness by identifying and prioritizing new markets and opportunities. The 

project will create or retain 330 jobs, serve 55 supply chain businesses, and leverage $25,000,000 in 

private funds.

$653,400 ARC grant to the Washington Greene County Job Training Agency Inc. in Washington, PA, for 

the Transitioning from Black to Blue: Training Former Coal Workers for Natural Gas Utility and Pipeline 

Careers in Appalachia project. The ARC award will provide a targeted retraining program for displaced 

coal workers that enables them to pursue local employment in the natural gas utility and pipeline 

industry. The training courses will be offered at three regional education institutions—Butler County 

Community College, Westmoreland County Community College, and Washington State Community 

College. The curriculum includes input from the Gas Technology Institute to ensure that participants’ 

knowledge and skill development is industry-standard and best positions them to find stable 

employment in an expedited manner. The project will primarily serve a 23-county area in southeast 

Ohio and southwest Pennsylvania, and will serve 100 trainees.

$500,000 ARC grant to Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., in Russell, PA, for 

the Nature Tourism Cluster Development in the PA Wilds project. The ARC award will be used to create a 

coordinated regional cluster development system to capitalize on Pennsylvania’s numerous naturetourism assets that spread across 2,000,000 acres in 12 counties. This strategy will drive attendance to 

these natural attractions, and will be leveraged by $500,000 in match investments to develop a network 

of small businesses to support the increased demand for products and services in the area.

$500,000 ARC grant to Innovation Works, Inc., in Pittsburgh, PA, for the Revitalization of Southwestern

Pennsylvania Coal-Impacted Communities through Innovation and Entrepreneurship project. ARC funds 

will be used to implement five different but complimentary programs designed to deliver a variety of 

benefits to entrepreneurs and small businesses in a nine-county region in southwestern Pennsylvania—

including the provision of human resource services to early-stage, high-growth companies, and training 

services for existing small businesses. Programs will target entrepreneurs who were formerly employed 

in the coal industry, coal-fired power plants, and suppliers to those industries. The project will create 65 

new jobs and 7 new businesses, leverage $1,100,000 in additional investment, and retain 30 existing 

jobs.

$471,843 ARC grant to the SEDA-Council of Governments in Lewisburg, PA, for the Central PA Asset 

Based Economy—Adaptive Reuse of Coal-Impacted Land and Outdoor Recreation as an Economic Engine

project. ARC funds will be used to position reclaimed mine land in five central Pennsylvania counties as a 

regional outdoor tourism destination. Specifically, the project will construct an EMS/cell tower to 

provide 911 and cellular communications and broadband services to the Anthracite Outdoor Adventure 

Area (AOAA); design and construct 15 miles of new multi-use trails; develop and construct in-facility 

campground infrastructure; provide support for a coordinated marketing campaign focused on the 

region’s tourism options; and provide entrepreneurial assistance activities to build-out the service 

industry around the increased tourism activity in the area. The project will drive 12,000 new visitors 

annually to the area, generate over $18,000,000 in non-export revenue, and create 26 jobs.

$100,000 ARC grant to the Northwest PA Regional Planning and Development Commission in Oil City, 

PA, for technical assistance to develop a feasibility study for broadband access in the Northwest 

Pennsylvania region. The Northwest PA Broadband Assessment project will include capacity building 

among regional partners, identify gaps in high-speed internet infrastructure, and recommend solutions 
September 2017 12

to improve internet connectivity among residents and local business. State sources will provide an 

additional $86,047 to support the project. 

$50,000 ARC grant to the Armstrong County Industrial Development Council in Freeport, PA, to develop 

an Economic Development strategy for the county. The Armstrong County 2017 POWER Technical 

Assistance project will, in cooperation with local partners, build a road map for shaping the delivery 

system of economic development services and programs in Armstrong County. The plan will look at new 

and existing services, programs and initiatives. Local sources will provide an additional $60,820 for the 

project.

$14,214 ARC grant to the United Mine Workers Association Career Centers, Inc. in Prosperity, PA, to 

provide grant writing assistance to raise funds for the development of a training program at their 

Greene County, PA, training facility. The program will emphasize high demand occupations such as 

commercial driver’s license, and heavy equipment and diesel mechanics.

TENNESSEE (4 awards)

$1,501,499 ARC grant to Marion County, TN, for the Marion County Regional Center for Higher

Education Phase II & III project. ARC funds will be utilized to construct a 30,000-square-foot educational 

facility that will house new technology and industrial training programs. The project will also conduct 

outreach to displaced workers from the Widows Creek Power Plant—a coal-fired facility in the area that 

was recently retired. The project will train 109 people for careers in advanced manufacturing and 

information technology, and will improve 20 existing businesses in the region.

$500,000 ARC grant to LaunchTN in Knoxville, TN, for the Entrepreneurial Education and Workforce 

Development project. LaunchTN is working with partner organizations to provide high-impact 

entrepreneurial support services to innovators, entrepreneurs, and early-stage companies. The 

programs help increase availability of and access to resources, grow and diversify the entrepreneurial 

ecosystem, and create sustainable financial roadmaps for organizations and companies. Activities will 

focus on expanding rural youth innovation and idea generation programs, increasing access to 

technology and business support that result in customer acquisition and strategic partnerships, building 

out a roadmap to the marketplace for entrepreneurs from east Tennessee colleges and universities; and 

elevating opportunities for independent makers and local craft manufacturers. The programs will 

primarily target the coal-impacted counties of Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Cumberland, Fentress, 

Grundy, Marion, Morgan, Scott, and Sequatchie. The project is expected to result in 31 new businesses 

and 60 new jobs created, as well as roughly $154,000 in leveraged private investment. 

$400,000 ARC grant to Erwin Utilities in Erwin, TN, for the Temple Hill & Bumpus Cove

Broadband project. ARC funds will be used to install 35 miles of fiber optic cable on existing pole lines—

allowing business and residential subscribers in Temple Hill and Bumpus Cove access to broadband 

services. The area does not currently have cable broadband available, and DSL service is not offered 

ubiquitously. Tourism expansion is a major economic driver in the area and increased bandwidth will 

help expand the tourism industry and revenue base. The project will serve 680 households and 30 

businesses, and will act as an economic driver in a three county area in northeast Tennessee, which has 

been adversely affected by the closure of a major rail yard as a result of the decline in coal shipments.

$353,086 ARC grant to the Town of Unicoi, TN, for the Mountain Harvest Kitchen Incubator and

Entrepreneurial Training Program. ARC funds will purchase equipment for a shared-use, commercial 
September 2017 13

kitchen where value-added processing of locally-harvested products will take place. Entrepreneurial 

training will be offered by partner organizations including AccelNow, the Appalachian Resource 

Conservation and Development Council, and the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension for startups and established businesses in the agricultural sector. The program will serve a nine-county region in 

northeast Tennessee and northwest North Carolina, create 30 new businesses and 60 new jobs, serve 91 

trainees, and leverage $1,200,000 in private investment. 

VIRGINIA (13 awards)

$3,000,000 ARC grant to Friends of Southwest Virginia in Abingdon, VA, for the Building Appalachian

Spring: Growing the Economy of Southwest Virginia project. This comprehensive project will significantly 

enhance the outdoor recreation industry as an economic driver in a four-county region in southwestern 

Virginia. ARC funds will be used to develop four access points to the New River that strategically link the 

river to nearby communities’ hospitality and tourism services; construct a 4,000-square-foot Gateway 

Center to the High Knob Recreation Area—providing visitors with more centralized access to numerous 

nearby recreation assets; build an Appalachian Trail Center in downtown Damascus; and create a 30-

mile, multi-use trail connecting Breaks Interstate Park directly to downtown Haysi’s business 

district. The project will increase travel expenditures in project locations by $30 million over the next 

five years, create 60 new businesses and 200 new jobs, and is supported by funding from the Virginia 

Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission.

$2,220,000 ARC grant to the Industrial Development Authority in Wise, VA, for the Virginia Emerging

Drone Industry Cluster Project. ARC funds will be used to position five counties in southwestern Virginia 

as a national destination for the development of a drone-operator workforce to support the emerging 

drone industry in the United States. The award will enable Mountain Empire Community College to offer 

courses that train students, including former coal industry workers, to operate drones and drone 

sensors to provide commercial and government services—including geospatial surveys, close-up 

inspections of fixed structures, and mapping. The award will train 64 new workers, leverage $15,000,000 

in additional investment, and enable a private aerospace company in the region to perform work on a 

major contract—thereby creating 210 new direct and indirect jobs.

$1,500,000 ARC grant to Appalachian Sustainable Development in Abington, VA, for the Central

Appalachian Food Enterprise Corridor. This 5-state, 43-county project will develop a coordinated local 

foods distribution network throughout Central Appalachia, and will connect established and emerging 

producers in Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and Eastern Kentucky to wholesale 

distribution markets. The ARC award will support planning, partner convening, and capacity building, as 

well as production and processing equipment, supplies, and labor costs, and will be supported by 

funding from the Just Transition Fund. The strengthened food corridor will act as regional economic 

driver–creating 120 jobs, retaining 250 jobs, and ultimately creating 95 new businesses.

$1,420,219 ARC grant to Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC) in Cedar Bluff, VA, for 

the Southwest Virginia Regional Cybersecurity Initiative. The initiative brings together three colleges in 

southwestern Virginia—SWCC, Mountain Empire Community College (MECC), and University of 

Virginia’s College at Wise (UVa-Wise)—and aims to position this seven county southwestern Virginia 

area as a regional hub for the cybersecurity industry. Specific activities will include creating a 

certification/credential program aligned with industry needs and National Security Agency guidelines; 

providing support services to cybersecurity start-up companies that locate to the region; and expanding 

UVa-Wise’s existing bachelor’s degree program in cybersecurity through an accelerator space in which 
September 2017 14

cybersecurity companies can co-locate research and development activities. Additional funding for the 

project is being provided by the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. The project will 

train 161 new workers, and retain 110 jobs.

$1,417,375 ARC grant to Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC) in Cedar Bluff, VA, for 

the Retraining Energy Displaced Individuals (REDI) Center for Dislocated Coal Miners program. The REDI 

program will provide fast-track reemployment services directly to displaced coal miners—equipping 

them with the necessary skills to get back to work in a high-demand field, earning comparable wages to 

their previous employment. Through an intensive, accelerated program of coursework, workers can 

obtain credentialed skills in as little as four months, rather than the more traditional training periods of 

a year or more. Training will be focused on three sectors with local employment opportunities: 

advanced manufacturing, construction, and health technology. The program will certify 165 new 

trainees over the life of the award, and will be supported by funding from the Thompson Charitable 

Fund and the Virginia Tobacco Commission.

$1,307,650 ARC grant to the Southwest Virginia Alliance for Manufacturing, Inc., in Abingdon, VA, for 

The Heart of Appalachia Economic Transition Project. The project will align the grantee—a non-profit 

industry association of manufacturers from southwest Virginia—local workforce development boards, 

and the Virginia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Center to deliver business technical 

assistance to coal supply chain manufacturers in an effort to return them to profitability. The project will 

conduct outreach to prospective companies in the 16-county southwest Virginia service territory, and 

perform network analysis that will allow for participating companies to retool their manufacturing 

efforts in the most feasible, cost-effective manner possible. In addition, the project will increase the 

number of young adults pursuing careers in manufacturing by redefining the image and value of 

manufacturing among young people, their parents, their educators, and policy makers. The award will 

create 300 jobs and retain 200 existing jobs, and will positively impact the operations of 58 existing 

businesses. 

$950,000 ARC grant to Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) in Big Stone Gap, VA, for the Power 

Linemen Career Education program. MECC will partner with regional power industry employers to 

develop and implement a training curriculum that equips participants across a four-county area in 

southwest Virginia for entry-level employment as apprentice utility line workers and positions them for 

a career as journeyman-level power lineman. The project will also partner with the Flatwoods Job Corps 

Center’s in order to utilize their outdoor instructional facilities. The project will serve 362 trainees over 

the life of the award.

$800,000 ARC grant to Virginia Community Capital in Christiansburg, VA, for the New Economy Loan 

Fund project. The project—which will leverage the capacity of a variety of regional governments, 

education institutions, and business incubators—will provide needed capital and targeted technical 

assistance to small business owners in coal-impacted communities across nine counties in southwest 

Virginia. Specifically, ARC funds will assist in capitalizing a loan fund that will support small business 

development in the service area, and will enable a full-time technical assistance provider to deliver 

business assistance directly to entrepreneurs to build the knowledge and skills for continued profitability 

and sustainability. The project will create or retain 55 jobs, enable 17 businesses to receive loans and 30 

businesses to receive technical assistance, and leverage $4,800,000 in private capital. 

$99,670 ARC grant to Appalachian Voices in Norton, VA, for the Southwest Virginia Renewable Energy 

and Economy Project. The project will conduct a feasibility study, develop a strategic plan, and provide 
September 2017 15

capacity building assistance to determine the viability of a renewable energy plan for the Southwest 

Virginia region. The project’s activities will include a structured process for engaging local officials and 

organizations that are interested in renewable energy as part of the region’s economic diversification 

strategy. 

$75,000 ARC grant to Friends of Southwest Virginia in Abingdon, Virginia, for RESOURCE-FULL: A

Consortium Approach to Workforce and Economic Development in Southwest Virginia. EDA is also 

awarding $275,000 to this project. The ARC award will be used to brand the southwest Virginia region as 

an international outdoor recreation destination and will include the development of tools and materials 

to be used for business and employee recruitment.

$61,603 ARC grant to the Virginia Coalfield Coalition, Inc., for technical assistance to conduct a 

comprehensive assessment of Southwest Virginia’s telecommunication needs, which include identifying 

current levels of service, any gaps in that service, and the affordability of various broadband solutions. 

The Virginia Coalfields Telecommunications Planning Grant will develop a road map to address the 

specific deficiencies in each community and assess building capacity amongst regional partners. Local 

sources will provide an additional $37,757 for the project. 

$34,750 ARC grant to Grayson Land Care, Inc., in Fries, VA, to develop a feasibility study for the 

development of an abattoir, or slaughter house, in the I-81 and I-77 corridor, a region that includes parts 

of Virginia and West Virginia. The Blue Ridge Plateau Abattoir project will, in cooperation with local 

partners, directly support the development and planning tasks needed to launch the facility and 

implement a workforce training program. The proposed abattoir would strengthen the local food system 

and help diversify the regional economy.

$11,108 ARC grant to Round the Mountain: Southwest Virginia’s Artisan Network in Abingdon, VA, to 

provide grant writing assistance to raise funds for the creation of a regional craft beverage cluster that 

will strengthen Virginia’s agriculture industry and tourism in the region. The project will build off the 

extensive network cultivated by the Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Foundation.

WEST VIRGINIA (34 awards)

$2,500,000 total (a $1,500,000 ARC grant and a $1,000,000 EDA grant) to the Bluewell Public Service 

District in Bluefield, WV, for the Mercer County Regional Airport Development and Diversification

Initiative. POWER funds will be used to extend public water service along Route 52 and Airport Road to 

the Mercer County Regional Airport. In addition to providing essential infrastructure to the regional 

airport, the project will create 38 new jobs, and will capitalize on an existing regional asset by providing 

funding for a strategic plan that will position the airport and its adjoining 200 acres of flat, developable 

land as an economic driver for four counties in Southern West Virginia and Southwestern Virginia.

$2,196,450 ARC grant to the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education in Charleston, WV, for 

the EntreEd K-14: Every Student, Every Year project. The EntreEd program enables K–12 teachers to 

integrate entrepreneurial content and context into delivery of required standards in any subject or 

grade level. The project will educate the next generation of Appalachia’s workforce to create their own 

businesses to drive the local economy. ARC funds will expand the footprint of the proven EntreEd 

program into five additional counties in West Virginia, eleven counties in Kentucky, three counties in 

Ohio, one county in Tennessee, and two counties in Virginia. The program will be supported by expertise 

from the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), project management 
September 2017 16

from the EdVenture Group, and funding from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. The 

EntreEd program will serve 15,000 K–12 Appalachian students in 50 individual schools and 7 community 

colleges over the life of the award.

$1,870,000 ARC grant to the Coalfield Development Corporation in Wayne, WV, for the Appalachian

Social Entrepreneurship Investment Strategy. ARC funds will be used to incubate job-creating social 

enterprises; scale-up Coalfield Development Corporation’s innovate 33-6-3 on-the-job 

training/education/life skills workforce development model; and expand Coalfield Development 

Corporation’s service territory to other coal-impacted areas in Southern West Virginia. The award will 

create 85 new jobs and equip 60 trainees to pursue quality jobs in high-demand industries in the 

Appalachian Region, and will be supported by funding from the Claude Worthington Benedum 

Foundation.

$1,822,500 total (a $1,200,000 EDA grant and a $622,500 ARC grant) to the Randolph County 

Development Authority in Elkins, WV, for the Hardwood Cluster Manufacturing Expansion Project. 

POWER funds will be utilized to expand a major cabinet manufacturer’s operation by enabling the 

doubling of its current production rate due to a new national contract—thereby creating 45 new jobs 

and adding $2,500,000 in annual wages to the regional economy. In addition, the award will strengthen 

the Hardwood Alliance Zone—a nine-county region in Central West Virginia containing a cluster of 

hardwood businesses.

$1,502,938 ARC grant to Marshall University Research Corporation in Huntington, WV, for the Sprouting

Farms project. The project will facilitate the development of a vibrant agricultural industry in a ninecounty area in southern West Virginia by educating new farmers, launching farm businesses, and jumpstarting wholesale market channels, all while encouraging business and farm sustainability. ARC funds 

will be used to implement workforce and farm business accelerator training programs; secure and 

upgrade the project site and facilities; and provide direct business support and employment to new 

agricultural businesses and program graduates. The project will create 20 new businesses and 33 new 

jobs, and leverage $961,475 in additional investment. Additional funding is being provided by the Claude 

Worthington Benedum Foundation.

$1,500,000 ARC grant to Bluefield State College (BSC) in Bluefield, WV, for equipment and program 

support for the Center of Excellence in Manufacturing Engineering (CEME). The leading-edge training 

and lab equipment will prepare existing workers and new students, including displaced coal industry 

workers, to meet the demands of new manufacturing technology and processes. In response to 

changing industry needs and emerging markets, BSC recently updated its degree and workforce training 

programs to offer the new Manufacturing Engineering Technology program of study. This project will 

build the capacity and equip that program so that it may train new students, displaced coal miners, and 

other workers impacted by the decline of the coal industry. The center will provide consultation, 

assessments, and other technical assistance to mining equipment and service companies to help them 

innovate, develop new product lines, and streamline existing services. The center will focus on 

collaborative robotics and offer services and training related to 3D printing, design for 

manufacturability, and adaptive manufacturing methods. These activities collectively will create a strong 

manufacturing sector in an area that has been heavily dependent on coal. The center will serve 15 

businesses and 210 students and lead to the creation of approximately 100 jobs. 

$1,500,000 ARC grant to the Marshall University Research Corporation in Huntington, WV, for the 

Appalachian Hatchery project. The program, operated through the Robert C. Byrd Institute, will assist 
September 2017 17

specific businesses affected by the decline in coal production return to profitability through the 

adoption and deployment of emerging advanced manufacturing technologies—primarily 3D printing and 

additive manufacturing. In addition, the program will provide other business assistance services, 

including shared equipment options, modern workforce development strategies, and the establishment 

of better linkages between large and small manufacturers. The program will serve a 20-county region—

including 13 Distressed or At-Risk counties—in southern West Virginia, will create or retain 375 jobs, and 

will leverage $750,000 in private investment. Additional funding is being provided by the Claude 

Worthington Benedum Foundation.

$1,499,400 ARC grant to the Canaan Valley Institute in Davis, WV, for the Sustainable Jobs Initiative. The 

project will create an economic diversification and entrepreneur training program to grow the 

apiculture (honey and bee products) and native plant industries across 14 coal-impacted counties in 

southern West Virginia, with a focus on using reclaimed mine land. Activities include training for 

displaced and underemployed workers and veterans to gain the business and technical skills necessary 

to become successful entrepreneurs in these sectors. A Beekeeping Collective will enable residents of 

Central Appalachia to take advantage of the robust, growing market for honey and other bee products, 

while a Native Plant Horticulture Program will train workers to collect, grow, and market high-demand 

local varietals of native plants, a growing niche market in the eastern United States. Key partners include 

Appalachian Headwaters, Green Forests Work, the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, and New 

River Technical and Community College. The project will serve over 2,600 workers, generate $2.4 million 

of revenue over three years, and attract $4.6 million of leveraged private investment. 

$1,372,275 ARC grant to the Hatfield McCoy Regional Recreation Authority in Man, WV, for 

the Southern Coalfields Sustainable Tourism & Entrepreneurship Program. ARC funds will develop and 

implement a comprehensive program to expand tourism-related employment and businesses in 

southern West Virginia, and will foster Hatfield McCoy Trail expansion in Kentucky and Virginia. In 

addition, the award provides for the deployment of a coordinated marketing effort, which will increase 

the region-wide economic impact of the Trails by $13,000,000 per year. The project will create 225 jobs 

and 50 new businesses along the Trails, and will be supported by funding from the Claude Worthington 

Benedum Foundation.

$1,325,655 ARC grant to the Marshall University Research Corporation in Huntington, WV, for the 

Sustainable Employment for Community Health Workers in Coal-Impacted Counties project. The ARC 

award will create permanent jobs for at least 26 Community Health Workers (CHWs)—who will provide 

healthcare coordination services directly to high-risk patients in coal-impacted communities across 10 

counties in southeastern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, and central West Virginia. CHWs will be a critical 

component of the local care team, supervised by a Registered Nurse and Nurse Practitioner or other 

clinician. Their inclusion in the regional healthcare workforce will streamline the provision of healthcare 

services; increase health outcomes for patients suffering from diabetes, congestive heart failure, and 

COPD—diseases that are disproportionately common in Appalachia; and ultimately drive down the 

overall cost of healthcare in the service territory. In addition to the 26 permanent jobs created, the 

project will serve 625 patients and leverage $780,000 over the life of the award. Additional funding is 

being provided by the Sisters Health Foundation and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

$1,250,000 ARC grant to the Natural Capital Investment Fund, Inc. in Shepherdstown, WV, for 

the Growing Triple Bottom Line Small Businesses in Coal Impacted Communities in Central

Appalachia project. These funds will be used to expand coal-impacted communities’ access to capital in 

Southern West Virginia by capitalizing a $4,000,000 tourism-related revolving loan fund and developing 
September 2017 18

a West Virginia New Markets Tax Credit Fund. The project will create 200 new jobs and 20 new 

businesses, bring $5,000,000 of leveraged private investment into the region, and will be supported by 

funding from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

$1,073,304 ARC grant to the West Virginia Regional Technology Park Corporation in South Charleston, 

WV, for the Green Mining Model Business Program. The project brings 17 public and private partners 

together to operate a system of linked activities designed to use reclaimed soils on inactive surface 

mining land to grow value-added crops; extract high-value products from these crops and market/sell 

them; and leverage land reclamation, crop cultivation, and chemical extraction and processing activities 

to provide displaced coal and energy industry workers across 13 West Virginia counties with training, 

employment, and entrepreneurial opportunities. The project will focus primarily on training these 

displaced workers to farm and cultivate lavender—during a demonstration of the project, it was 

discovered that cultivation of 2.5 acres of lavender supported the direct and indirect employment of 25 

individuals. The WV National Guard and coal company partners will donate free or reduced-cost land 

and land preparation assistance to the project, and the West Virginia Regional Technology Park will 

provide access to its multi-million dollar chemical manufacturing facilities. The project will create 250 

direct and indirect jobs, leverage $459,987 private investment, and create six new businesses. 

Additional funding for will be provided by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

$1,017,308 ARC grant to Pierpont Community and Technical College in Fairmont, WV, for Powering Up 

the Aerospace Workforce in Coal-Impacted Communities of West Virginia project. The ARC grant will 

help increase the number of former coal miners who graduate from workforce training and two-year 

degree programs at the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center (NAEC) in Bridgeport, WV, 

a joint venture of Pierpont Community and Technical College and Fairmont State University. NAEC 

provides the state’s only FAA-certified aerospace training, degrees, and certifications. The project will 

maintain and build existing components of the NAEC program, including the Aircraft Structures training 

program, the Aviation Technician associate’s degree program, and the Airframe and Powerplant 

certificate program. The project will also provide funding for the development of a new 12-month 

Avionics certificate program. The project rests on a strong partnership with private-sector aerospace 

companies. It is expected that 130 students will enroll in these programs, and 89 students will complete 

the various training programs over a two-year period. 

$999,963 ARC grant to Region 4 Planning and Development Council in Summersville, WV, for the Linking 

Trails and Communities to Spawn Economic Growth: The Southern WV Bike Trail Network project. The 

investment will create a regionally connected bike trail system and build on the region’s strengths and 

potential for outdoor recreation and increased tourism. The trail system will be located in Fayette, 

Nicholas, and Greenbrier Counties—areas hit hard by job losses in the coal industry—and will traverse 

sections of the Monongahela National Forest, the New River Gorge National River, the Babcock State 

Park, and other key recreational areas. The project will focus on building new segments and improving 

existing ones that will provide the greatest economic impact by facilitating access to towns, businesses, 

and other tourism anchors. Major activities will include trail construction and mapping, developing a 

trail maintenance program, and facilitating partnerships with local business incubators and regional 

development organizations to support business creation. The project is expected to attract $3 million in 

new revenue through increased visitors to the area. 

$967,500 ARC grant to the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority in Beckley, WV, for 

the New River Gorge Region – Developing an Entrepreneurial Economy project. ARC funds will be used to 

establish a technical assistance support program—which will assist start-up businesses with hands-on 
September 2017 19

technical aspects of their operations—and to hire social enterprise and region-wide business coaches. 

The project will yield 15 new businesses, improve 294 existing businesses, and create 225 new smallbusiness jobs.

$899,791 ARC grant to PRIDE Community Services in Logan, WV, for the BuildJobs Initiative project. In an 

effort to develop a pool of construction trade professionals for the region, the BuildJobs Initiative will 

provide training programs with career pathways and re-employment opportunities in construction 

trades for displaced coal economy workers. It will also provide entrepreneurial support for participants 

who wish to create new businesses in the construction sector. PRIDE will implement the project in 

partnership with EnAct Community Action, MountainHeart Community Services, Southern Community 

Action Council, Coalfield Community Action Partnership, and Southern West Virginia Technical College. 

The BuildJobs Initiative will focus on five ARC counties in southern West Virginia that have been 

adversely affected by the decline in the coal industry sector: Boone, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, and 

Wyoming. Within three years of the start of the project, 84 displaced workers will be retrained and find 

employment, and 15 new businesses will be created.

$856,050 ARC grant to the West Virginia Healthy Kids and Family Coalition (HKFC) in Charleston, WV, for 

the Growing Social Enterprise and Healthy Communities project. HKFC will expand the successful Try This 

WV economic and community development program to 15 local communities in the service territory—

which will enable them to phase-in second stage development activities designed to improve 

community vitality and health. Simultaneously, Strong Mountain Communities, a southern West Virginia 

economic development organization, will build a pre-market social enterprise development program 

and create an Investors’ Circle; combined, these two activities will deliver technical assistance directly to 

social entrepreneurs, and will raise capital to invest in the creation and expansion of local social 

enterprises. The project will serve 23 counties in southern West Virginia, create 100 jobs, leverage 

$1,200,000 in private and community financing, and will provide for 200 entrepreneurs and community 

leaders to receive in-depth technical assistance. 

$750,000 ARC grant to the Huntington Municipal Development Authority in Huntington, WV, for the 

Polymer Technology Center of Huntington ("P-TeCH"). Part of a larger plan for creating jobs and 

businesses in the regional polymer industry, the project will convert a 27-acre abandoned brownfield in 

downtown Huntington (a former coal barge rail docking facility) into a multi-purpose resource for West 

Virginia’s growing polymer manufacturing sector. A Product Development Center will assist 

manufacturing and technology firms with product development and design, testing, validation, and 

other commercialization services. A Light Manufacturing Center will provide business incubation and 

scale-up manufacturing space for polymer industry start-ups. P-TeCH will also be a job skills and 

workforce development center for a pipeline of interns, manufacturing workers, and entrepreneurs in 

the region. The project will partner with a leading private-sector polymer manufacturing company, 

leverage $2 million in private investment, and improve the competitiveness of 24 businesses.

$400,000 ARC grant to the West Virginia University Research Corporation in Morgantown, WV, for the 

Manufacturing Value Stream for Shale project. The project will transition companies and suppliers 

affected by the downturn in the coal economy toward the emerging shale-manufacturing sector by

providing direct economic diversification and investment assistance. The applicant—partnering with the 

Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio—will 

identify specific companies in the tri-state service area with shale-manufacturing assets and 

opportunities; assess participating companies’ prospective entry points into the shale-manufacturing 

value stream; and deliver direct guidance to SMEs on value chain opportunities. The award will create 
September 2017 20

400 new jobs and 12 new businesses. Additional funding is being provided the by Claude Worthington 

Benedum Foundation.

$362,989 ARC grant to the Center for Rural Health Development, Inc., in Hurricane, WV, for the WV

Rural Health Infrastructure Loan Fund project. ARC funds will assist in capitalizing a revolving loan fund 

designed to strengthen the health care industry in a 25-county region in central West Virginia. In 

addition, the award will provide technical and business development assistance to existing health care 

providers with business-related needs. The project will create or retain 65 jobs, yield $1,000,000 of 

financing for health care businesses, and provide 216 organizations with technical assistance.

$300,000 ARC grant to Woodlands Community Lenders (WCL) in Elkins, WV, for the Financing 

Entrepreneurship in Randolph, Barbour, and Tucker Counties project. The ARC award will expand WCL’s 

proven, comprehensive set of services to the tri-county area of Randolph, Barbour, and Tucker Counties 

in northeast West Virginia. Specifically, the project will deliver program participants services focused 

around small business development, real estate and downtown redevelopment, innovative financing of 

entrepreneurs, and finance packaging. WCL will work closely with local small business development 

center business coaches, and with Main Street/OnTRAC staff to provide technical assistance to 

borrowers. The project will create 100 jobs and 25 businesses, and will leverage $1,100,000 in additional 

private investment.

$200,000 ARC grant to the West Virginia Development Office for the Hobet Strategic Plan. West Virginia 

will receive technical assistance to develop a detailed economic assessment and strategic plan for the 

best use of the Hobet Surface Mine Site in Boone and Lincoln Counties, previously the largest surface 

mining operation in the state.

$150,000 ARC grant to Reconnecting McDowell, Inc., in Charleston, WV, to develop an economic 

development and diversification strategy for the City of Welch and McDowell County centered on the 

Renaissance Village Apartments, a housing project that will develop rental housing in downtown Welch 

for teachers and young professionals employed in the area. Renaissance Village will serve as an anchor 

for redevelopment efforts in the downtown area and provide affordable housing. The planning project 

will assist with an entrepreneurship and small business initiative, along with financial and operations 

modeling for Renaissance Village.

$140,000 ARC grant to the West Virginia Connecting Communities Inc. in Charleston, WV, in partnership 

with the New River Gorge Trail Association for the development of an economic feasibility study for a 

regionally-connected bike trail system in Fayette and Nicholas Counties. The focus of the study will be 

the viability of linking over 500 miles of bike trails and the impact to small communities throughout the 

region.

$123,488 ARC grant to the Region 4 Planning and Development Council in Summersville, WV, to develop 

a strategic plan for the Upper Kanawha Valley. In partnership with the Center for Rural 

Entrepreneurship, the plan will include prioritizing economic strategies, building regional collaboration 

across counties, and assisting communities to create greater economic diversification that fosters 

sustainability.

$105,000 ARC grant to Williamson Health and Wellness Center in Williamson, WV, to provide grant 

writing assistance, and develop a feasibility study, a strategic plan, and preliminary architectural design 

work for a vacant building in Williamson’s downtown, a former “pill mill.” If deemed viable, the building 
September 2017 21 

will be rebuilt as a one-stop facility that would provide workforce training, opioid addiction and

substance abuse treatment services to assist individuals in recovery to become employment ready. The

service area will include counties in both Kentucky and West Virginia. 

$101,981 ARC grant to the Southern Appalachian Labor School in Kincaid, WV, for technical assistance to 

develop a strategic planning and feasibility study for the establishment of the Entrepreneur Coalfield 

Alternative Opportunity (ECAO) project. ECAO will be a social enterprise that will train and employ 

individuals to deconstruct old coal camp houses and replace them with modular units. The feasibility 

study will focus on establishing market demand for the start-up, documenting the financial ability to 

maintain positive cash flow, and building a management operational plan and staffing plan. The ultimate 

goal is a business enterprise that can provide workforce training and improve the local housing stock in 

Central Appalachia. 

$93,495 ARC grant to the West Virginia Community Development Hub in Fairmont, WV, which, in

partnership with the International Economic Development Council, will provide technical assistance to

five coal-impacted counties (Boone, Greenbrier, Lincoln, McDowell, and Wyoming) through economic

development mentoring for local community teams. As a result of this investment, community teams

will develop local economic diversification strategies.

$90,000 ARC grant to Randolph County Development Authority in Elkins, WV, to develop a strategic plan

focused on the promotion and expansion of the hardwood industry cluster. In partnership with the

Hardwood Alliance Zone, the strategic plan will assist in strengthening the economy of the nine-county

region. The project will build on the recent EDA and ARC POWER grants that are enabling a local wood

products manufacturer to expand its operations.

$75,000 to the Williamson Health and Wellness Center in Williamson, WV, for the Health Innovation and

Food Hub. EDA is also awarding $600,000 to the Coalfield Development Corporation as part of this

project. The ARC award will support consulting fees and startup equipment necessary to launch the

Health Innovation and Food Hub, which will play a key role in facilitating regional collaborative

networks, providing technical assistance and training opportunities, facilitating access to capital, and

linking the local food systems infrastructure to supply markets.

$60,000 ARC grant to Webster County Economic Development Authority in Webster Springs, WV, to

conduct a feasibility study for the development of a multi-county All-Terrain Vehicle trail system in five

counties. This grant will assist in developing a major tourism asset for the region and create

opportunities for local small businesses. The project will work in partnership with the Hatfield McCoy

Trail Authority.

$36,700 ARC grant to Unlimited Future, Inc. in Huntington, WV, for capacity building and development

of a feasibility study for expansion of local food systems. The Beefing Up the Local Food Economy project 

will support the planning process for a value-added meat processing facility in a local, vacant plant. The

project will also look at workforce training programs serving the meat business and at expanding market

opportunities for producers across the region, which includes Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. Local 

sources will contribute an additional $20,000 to the project.

$20,800 ARC technical assistance grant to KVC Health Systems, Inc., in Charleston, WV, for the KVC

Health Systems College project. The technical assistance will help KVC Health Systems develop a

feasibility study for the KVC College concept, which envisions repurposing the former campus of the
September 2017 22 

West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Fayette County into a specialized, accredited college

with a focus on young adults emerging from foster care. The feasibility study will evaluate the site for

redevelopment and determine the appropriate workforce and life skills programming that will benefit

the region. The downturn in the regional coal economy and the closure of the WVU Tech branch campus

provide an opportunity to recruit and create a skilled workforce and make non-residential educational

programming available. Once the feasibility study and workforce plans are completed, KVC Health

Systems will explore various funding opportunities to implement the full concept.

$10,000 ARC grant to The EdVenture Group in Morgantown, WV, for the Creating Opportunities,

Diversifying Economy for displaced coal miners (CODE) project to develop a sustainable plan for 

economic diversification. The project being developed is expected to serve 12 counties in West Virginia.

POWER SPECIAL REGIONAL PROJECT SUMMARIES (12 awards)

$1,747,806 ARC grant to the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship in Chapel Hill, NC, for the Building

Entrepreneurial Communities: The Foundation of an Economic Transition for Appalachia project. The 

project will build and strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in an 18-county region covering 

southeastern Ohio, southern West Virginia, and southeastern Kentucky. Project activities include 

establishing a support system that can identify and develop new entrepreneurs; assisting new and

expanding businesses with skill development; and connecting entrepreneurs with existing capacitybuilding resources in the region. The project will create 72 new businesses and 250 new jobs. 

$1,200,000 ARC grant to the Natural Capital Investment Fund, Inc., in Shepherdstown, WV, on behalf of 

the Central Appalachian Network (CAN) for the Growing Food System Capacity and Scaling Economic 

Impact project. ARC's investment will support the members and partners in CAN to build upon five years 

of collective local food systems development work across Central Appalachia. Building a strong local 

food economy will help diversify and strengthen the regional economy. The project will target 

production capacity, one of the primary leverage points holding back the Region's food system. This will 

be achieved by providing small and medium-sized farms, farm workers, value-added processors, and 

food businesses with technical assistance, training, capacity building, capital improvements of 

equipment and facilities, market development, supply chain intermediation, and peer learning.

Members of CAN include the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks, Appalachian Sustainable

Development, the Coalfield Development Corporation, the Community Farm Alliance, and Rural Action.

It is anticipated that the project will serve and improve 37 existing businesses, create 26 new businesses,

create 100 jobs, and leverage $4 million in additional private investment across 58 counties in 5 states

(Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia). 

$750,000 to continue a collaborative effort with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the 

National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal partners to research opioid abuse and related 

problems of HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) in Appalachia's coal communities.

$499,480 ARC grant to RAIN Source Capital, Inc., for the Appalachia Angel Investor Network project. ARC

funds will enable the awardee to work with existing and new angel investment funds to enhance the 

capability of coal-impacted communities across 9 Appalachian states to make investments in start-up,

early stage, and growth companies. Specifically, the project will create at least four new angel funds in

target communities, and will provide tools, training, and support services to existing angel funds and

networks already operating in Appalachia. The project will result in the creation of 20 new businesses

and 100 new jobs, and will leverage $4,000,000 in private investment from 100 investors.
September 2017 23

$497,000 ARC grant to the Region 1 – Planning and Development Council in Princeton, WV, for 

the Coalfields Cluster Mapping Initiative research project. ARC funds will be used to map the extent of 

the coal industry supply chain across the tri-state region of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. The 

resulting detailed information on the supply chain will complement ongoing work undertaken by other 

ARC-funded projects, examining the extent of the decline in the coal economy and providing business 

technical assistance to aid the impacted supply chain firms in their return to growth and profitability.

$400,000 for a partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand the Cool & Connected Initiative to help 10 Appalachian

coal-impacted communities use broadband service to revitalize small-town main streets and promote 

economic development. Participating communities will receive technical assistance for strategic 

planning, as well as initial implementation support for the first steps of their plans. The communities are 

located in Alabama, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

$352,000 to provide training, technical support, and expanded market opportunities to Appalachianbased coal supply chain companies through partnerships developed at MineExpo 2016, the world’s 

largest and most comprehensive exposition dedicated to mining equipment, products, and services. This 

trade show is part of the 2016 U.S. Commercial Service International Buyer Program schedule, which 

connects U.S. exhibitors with foreign buyer delegations at the show. ARC funds will be used to ensure 

the participation of companies from Appalachia and enable them to get international trade support 

tailored to the specific needs of the individual companies. Southern Alleghenies Planning and 

Development Commission in Altoona, Pennsylvania, is coordinating the ARC assistance.

$349,999 ARC grant to West Virginia University Research Corporation in Morgantown, WV, for 

the Economic Analysis of Coal Industry Ecosystem in Appalachia project. This study will examine the full 

ecosystem of the coal industry in Appalachia through in-depth quantitative analysis. Specifically, this 

research will identify, quantify, and map data on all relevant coal industry activity throughout the 

Appalachian Region. The three tasks of this research project are to: 1) identify all components of the 

coal ecosystem and estimate the supply chain impacts in Appalachia; 2) examine the implications of the 

coal industry downturn on freight rail, barge, and truck transportation in Appalachia; and 3) develop a 

typology of regional economies that surround the coal-fired plants in the Region using both econometric 

and input-output techniques.

$175,000 ARC grant to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in Washington, DC, for 

the Industry-Informed Infrastructure in Appalachian Colleges (“I3”) project. I3 will start as a two-state 

pilot effort over one year to expand the industry connections and technical training capacities of 

community colleges serving coal-impacted communities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, along with 

adjacent areas of neighboring states. The activities in Pennsylvania will focus on the oil and gas industry, 

while those in West Virginia will highlight management and leadership in the hospitality industry. 

Additional components of the project will link participating community colleges with industry leaders in 

other high-demand sectors identified by the colleges. The initiative is founded on the concept that 

Appalachian community colleges deserve the highest-caliber industry infusion of resources to create 

critical talent pipelines for the Region’s workforce. AACC will identify national industry partners and 

trade associations that can be leveraged to provide reduced-price services or partnerships that can build 

the capacity of the colleges, communities, and students. At least 12 colleges are expected to benefit 

from the project. 
September 2017 24

$149,998 ARC grant to Downstream Strategies in Morgantown, WV, for the Strengthening Economic

Resilience in Appalachian Communities project. This research will explore and document strategies and 

policies local leaders can use to enhance the future economic prospects of coal-impacted communities 

throughout the Appalachian Region. There are four key components to this research project: 1) develop 

a comprehensive, quantitative framework to explore economic resilience; 2) identify a series of bestpractice strategies for strengthening local economic resilience; 3) conduct up to 10 in-depth case 

studies; and 4) produce a concise guidebook that interprets and integrates findings of the research, 

written specifically for local economic development practitioners.

$100,000 ARC grant to Jobs for the Future (JFF) in Boston, MA, for the Career Online High School: A 

Leapfrog Strategy for Appalachian Communities project. JFF will partner with Cengage Learning to 

eliminate high school completion barriers for individuals in Appalachian states and help them progress 

along learning and career paths. Key to the project's success will be the integration of a cutting edge 

high school diploma completion model with educational and career pathway strategies and supports to 

ensure long term workforce and economic opportunity for students. Through a competitive process, JFF 

will work with coal-impacted communities from Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia to help 

students complete high school and secure in-demand jobs. The project will train 40 students and expose 

1,000 participants to the high school completion program.

$60,000 for a partnership with the National Association of Counties Research Foundation to provide 

additional technical assistance to 11 teams from Appalachian coal communities that participated in the 

EDA-funded Innovation Challenge for Coal-Reliant Communities Program. This support includes grant 

writing, feasibility studies, strategic plan development or updates and capacity building to facilitate 

strategic and sustainable investments. Community teams are located in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, 

Virginia, and West Virginia.