We’re excited to announce that six JTF-supported projects recently won funding through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative! In this round of the POWER Initiative, ARC made 65 awards, investing $68.2 million in economic revitalization efforts in coal-impacted communities throughout Appalachia. Learn about the full slate of awarded projects here and read excerpts of the JTF-supported project descriptions below:
- Advantage Valley (Charleston, WV): $1,650,800 for the Expanding Markets Initiative, which will implement a business assistance program to support manufacturers, increasing the market potential and growth of the existing manufacturing and business services sectors
- Mon Forest Towns Partnership/Woodland Community Lenders (Elkins, WV): $1,897,137 to support long-term economic success for the 12 gateway towns in eight counties surrounding the Monongahela National Forest by advancing the local outdoor economy through technical assistance in the key areas of connectivity, communication, capital, and capacity
- PLACE Initiative (supporting four counties in Eastern Kentucky): $50,000 to test and refine a Community Assessment Tool, which aims to help four counties in Eastern Kentucky transition away from a coal-powered economy to a more sustainable, diverse economy
- Rural Up/Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky (Hazard, KY): $1,499,740 to identify localized career pathways for gainful careers, including healthcare, technology/cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship, and connect students to them with comprehensive and coordinated work-based learning programs and career training curriculum
- Screen Arts Institute (Shamokin, PA): $400,000 for the Broadcast Arts Initiative to fund a new training facility and incubator for visual, broadcast, and media arts, which will educate and train marginalized individuals to succeed in a media arts career or start their own media arts business
- Tablertown People of Color Museum (Stewart, OH): $40,427 to produce a plan for a Heritage Trail to connect tourists to places, artifacts, and activities in southeast Ohio that authentically represent the story of the Underground Railroad and related Black heritage
Through our Federal Access Center, the JTF provided matching funds and/or capacity grant funding to support these six partners in developing their applications. The FAC assists coal communities in overcoming a range of barriers to accessing federal funds – high matching requirements, time-intensive application processes, the need for professional grantwriters – to help them leverage historic amounts of federal funding now available to strengthen local economies.
If you are working in a transitioning coal community and need assistance applying for federal funds, please contact us by filling out this brief inquiry form.
Congratulations to our partners!
<< Back to news