WASHINGTON, D.C., August 29, 2024 – Today, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) announced the 30 community foundations, serving communities in 10 Appalachian states, selected to participate in READY Community Foundations. One of four tailored tracks underARC’s capacity-building initiative, READY Appalachia, READY Community Foundations provides no-cost training and funding access to help Appalachia’s local philanthropic organizations improve their programming, operations, fundraising and financial impact.

The 30 organizations selected for READY Community Foundations will participate in six weeks of virtual, cohort-based courses designed to improve their skills in financial management, endowment management, community-rooted fundraising and grantmaking, mission and strategy development and more.

“ARC remains committed to providing our Appalachian communities with the resources they need to build toward a prosperous future, including training to strengthen community foundation capacity,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin. “Through the training provided by READY Community Foundations, Appalachia’s philanthropic organizations will be better able to respond to community needs and foster economic development in the areas they serve.” 

Following completion of the training program, participants will be eligible to apply for up to $25,000 in funding (no match required) to implement internal capacity-building projects that will help them better serve Appalachian Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

All of the READY Community Foundations participants serve at least one of the following:

• Distressed areas and census tracts 
• Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities priority communities 
• Rural Partners Network Community Networks communities 
• Historically underserved and marginalized populations

Supported with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, READY Community Foundations in the fourth and final track under our capacity-building initiative, READY Appalachia. Since the launch of READY Appalachia in July 2022, ARC has provided training and access to funding to 41 Local Development Districts (LDDs), 75 nonprofits, and 90 local government entities to help them build internal capacity and better serve their communities. To date, nearly $4 million has been awarded through READY Local Development Districts andmore than $1.6 million has been awarded through READY Nonprofits.

“Today’s READY Community Foundations announcement is yet another example of how the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is revitalizing the foundations of local communities across America – including energy communities that have historically been left behind in Appalachia,” said National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard.

To learn more about the 30 READY Community Foundations participants, visit https://www.arc.gov/ready/foundations.

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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 ARC community-capacity building initiative for nonprofit organizations, Local Development Districts (LDDs), local governments, and community foundations serving the Appalachian Region. Participants access no-cost training, cohort-based learning, and funding opportunities (no match required) to increase their ability to solve pressing issues and create lasting, positive change in communities.