ARC’s READY Nonprofits awards $623,996 to 25 nonprofit organizations across the Appalachian region
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) this monthannounced $623,996 in awards through READY Nonprofits, one of four tailored tracks under ARC’s capacity-building initiative, READY Appalachia.
Funds will help 25 Appalachian nonprofits from nine Appalachian states build internal operating capacity, enabling them to solve pressing issues and create opportunities in their communities.
Ohio recipients include Economic Action Group, Inc. in Youngstown and Ohio Valley Health Center in Steubenville. For more information, go to: https://www.arc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/READY-Nonprofits-Award-S….
The award recipients represent nearly half of the READY Nonprofits’ Fall 2022 training program, during which a cohort of 75 organizations participated in 10 intensive weeks of courses covering board development, financial management, fundraising, employee recruitment and retention, marketing communications, and programs and operations. The cohort-based learning model allowed participants to develop skills, networks, and solutions to organizational challenges.
Now, flexible, match-free funding of up to $25,000 will allow participants to build organizational capacity, implement those solutions, and better fulfill their missions across Appalachia. Awards for the remainder of the cohort will be announced this fall.
“ARC’s nonprofit partners are at the heart of our work across the Appalachian region, and they are putting boots on the ground to serve their communities,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin. “This round of grants will increase the capacity of 25 nonprofits to help their Appalachian neighbors, creating a stronger region for us all.”
“We have so many amazing organizations in Eastern Kentucky and across the Appalachian region working to improve the lives of those who live there, and it gives me a lot of pride to see ARC support them,” said ARC 2023 States’ Co-Chair, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. “Through this investment, these dedicated leaders will build on their efforts and continue to move Appalachia forward. Together, we can create a brighter future for all of our Appalachian families.”
ARC will be accepting new applications for the next round of READY Nonprofits instruction in 2024. Across all learning tracks, special emphasis will be placed on serving Appalachia’s most underrepresented communities, including economically distressed areas, counties targeted by the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities, under-resourced organizations and historically marginalized populations.
READY Appalachia is also seeking contractors to support the READY Community Foundations learning track, as well as the development of a Long-Term Strategy for Community Capacity.
About the Appalachian Regional Commission: The Appalachian Regional Commission is an economic development entity of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the Region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.
About READY Appalachia: READY Appalachia is an Appalachian Regional Commission community-capacity building initiative offering free training and flexible funding for nonprofit organizations, community organizations, local governments and Local Development Districts (LDDs) in the Appalachian Region. Participants access cohort-based learning, skill-development and grant opportunities to increase their capacity to solve pressing issues and effect long-lasting economic change in their communities.