THE APPALACHIAN REGION The Appalachian Region includes all of West Virginia and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Region is home to more than 25 million people and covers 420 counties and almost 205,000 square miles. |
APPALACHIAN STATESLearn about ARC's investments in each Appalachian state. |
 NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTSIn the Region This Week: August 15
In this issue: Through the ARC-sponsored Appalachian Gateway Community Initiative, Mercer County, WV developed the Peak of Bloom festival to capitalize on the area's natural & cultural assets; Main Street Alabama will use ARC support to help two towns continue revitalizing historic buildings and attracting new business. Read more and subscribe to ARC's weekly snapshot. In the Region This Week: August 8
In this issue: ARC support helps pave the way for business growth in Taylor, Pennsylvania, where a Local Access Road grant will help retain/create over 2,800 jobs in Stauffer Industrial Park; Base Camp Coding Academy will use ARC support to transform an abandoned factory into a multi-use training facility and tech incubator in Missississippi. Read more and subscribe to ARC's weekly snapshot. ARC Seeks Web Contractor
ARC seeks proposals from qualified contractors to provide Website Design, Development, and Content Migration services for arc.gov. Read the Request for Proposals. Proposal submission deadline: September 16, 2019. In the Region This Week: August 1
In this issue: ARC awards $215,000 to pilot ride-to-recovery program in Huntington, WV in an effort to bridge transportation gaps for people in long-term recovery; ARC's Appalachian Teaching Project Summer Fellow spearheads impact evaluation study of ARC investments and finds a majority of projects outperformed goals for job and business creation, worker training and more Read more and subscribe to ARC's weekly snapshot. In the Region This Week: July 25
In this issue: 62 students and 16 teachers from every Appalachian state spend summer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as part of ARC/ORAU Summer STEM Program; Innovation Readiness Training in Appalachian New York enables Department of Defense to meet training needs while helping Cortland and Chenango counties address medical needs. Read more and subscribe to ARC's weekly snapshot. ARC Seeks Recruiting Assistance to Select New Inspector General
ARC seeks proposals from qualified executive search firms, recruiters, consultants, agencies, and/or independent contractors to provide recruitment services to assist in selecting an Inspector General. Read the Request for Proposals. Proposal submission deadline: August 21, 2019. In the Region This Week: July 18
In this issue: A new report summarizes findings from six ARC hosted Recovery-to-Work listenings sessions and offers five key themes that will be used by ARC's Substance Abuse Advisory Council to make final recommendations later this year; ARC support will help Houston, Mississippi develop more warehouse space to expand furniture manufacturing sector. Read more and subscribe to ARC's weekly snapshot. ARC Seeks Proposals to Develop High School Summer Entrepreneurship Training Program
ARC is currently seeking proposals from eligible organizations to develop and produce a high school entrepreneurship summer program. The program, a new ARC initiative, will provide comprehensive entrepreneurial training and supportive services to selected high school students who will be seniors during the 2020-2021 academic year. Read the Request for Proposals. Proposal submission deadline: September 6, 2019. New Report Summarizes Findings from Six ARC Recovery-to-Work Listening Sessions
ARC has released a new synopsis report of the Recovery-to-Work listening sessions hosted by the Commission in six states (Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia) from December 2018–April 2019. The report summarizes the outcome of those community-based discussions and identifies five common themes that ARC should consider when addressing the economic issues stemming from substance abuse. ARC's Substance Abuse Advisory Council—a 24-member volunteer advisory group with members representing each of the 13 Appalachian states—will use this information when preparing their final recommendations for the Commission to review this September. Read the press release. In the Region This Week: July 11
In this issue: Registration is now open for Appalachia Strong, ARC's 2019 Annual Summit September 4-6 in Asheville, North Carolina; ARC support helps partners in Appalachian Kentucky transition dislocated workers into digital careers. Read more and subscribe to ARC's weekly snapshot. In the Region This Week: June 27
In this issue: ARC issues County Economic Status Designations for FY 2020, an annual report that helps determine ARC match requirements and overall investment strategies; ARC seeks partner to help conceptualize and conduct a high-school entrepreneurship summer program. Read more and subscribe to ARC's weekly snapshot. Appalachian County Economic Status Designations for Fiscal Year 2020 shows lowest number of designated distressed counties in over a decade.
ARC has released its County Economic Status Designations for Fiscal Year 2020, which annually ranks the economic status of each of the Region's 420 counties using a composite index formula drawing on national data. According to ARC's County Economic Status Designations for Fiscal Year 2020, 80 counties will be considered distressed, the lowest number of designated distressed counties since 2008. The County Economic Status Designations are primarily used to help the Region's 13 states develop economic investment strategies for the forthcoming year. Read the press release. Legislative Update On June 19, the U.S. House of Representative passed the FY20 Energy & Water Development Appropriations Act, which includes $170 million for ARC in the forthcoming fiscal year (the highest non-highway funding in ARC's history). This appropriation includes $50 million for POWER, $10 million to continue a program of broadband deployment in distressed counties in Central Appalachia, and $10 million for projects focused on workforce reentry strategies for Appalachians in long-term recovery from substance abuse disorder. The balance will fund ARC's regular programs. These are the same funding levels recommended by the House Appropriations Committee in May, 2019. Senate action remains pending.
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UPCOMING EVENTSFinance and the Arts Tourism and Agribusiness Webinar Series Appalachia Strong: An ARC Summit 2019 National HBCU Week Conference Federal Student Aid Partner Summit - Appalachian Region Entre-Ed Forum Alabama-Mississippi Rural Tourism Conference Appalachian Gateway Communities Regional Workshop |