READY Grants to Grow is a $9 million funding opportunity that will award grants of up to $500,000 to organizations seeking to build individual, organizational and/or community capacity.

READY Community Foundations provides training to help organizations strengthen operations, programming and fundraising to boost local economies. Following successful completion of the training program, participating organizations will be eligible to apply for up to $25,000 in funding (no-match required) to implement internal projects and bolster their organizations as critical local…

READY Local Governments provides training to help local government officials better identify, secure, manage and implement federally funded economic development projects to maximize positive outcomes. Following successful completion of the training program, participating organizations are eligible to apply for up to $50,000 in funding (no-match required) to implement internal projects…

With support from ARC’s INSPIRE initiative, many Appalachian communities are addressing substance use disorder (SUD) by bolstering recovery-to-work programs and related support services. Portsmouth, Ohio, and the surrounding area — which includes both Southern Ohio and several counties in north central Appalachian Kentucky — is no…

Located in and around the ‘Magic City’ of Birmingham, Alabama, Jefferson State Community College (JSCC) campuses serve more than 15,000 students each year — over half of whom are first-generation college students. JSCC provides more than 33 certificates and training programs in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing,…

Like many coal communities in Appalachia, Eastern Kentucky is tackling economic transition by diversifying its economic bases and creating new opportunities. Emerging industries such as information technology (IT), computer science and engineering have shown promise, but a shortage of IT talent was keeping the region from reaching its full potential. …

In September 2021, Frostburg State University received the state of Maryland’s first-ever ARC POWER implementation grant. The $1,480,979 award helped continue the development of the Advanced Technology Center at Frostburg’s Innovation Park, which works to strengthen Western Maryland’s economy by creating new job opportunities…

EdVenture is driving educational change and empowering Appalachian students.

“About 80% of West Virginia businesses have 20 or less employees,” said Alyssa Keedy, the Advanced Career Education Coordinator at the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE). Why is that the case? One reason is a disconnect between West Virginia workers and the skills needed by local employers. With many…

The Communiversity at East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence 2.0, is a state-of-the-art workforce training center looking to produce trained workers for some of the world’s most technically advanced manufacturers. ARC has invested $10.7 million in the 135,000-square-foot facility that delivers training and education to support…

BRIGHT Kentucky is a free training program building developed by the Leadership Kentucky Foundation to expand capacity of next-generation economic development leaders in the state’s 54 Appalachian counties. Made possible through support from ARC, The Kentucky Department of Local Government, the Whitaker Foundation, Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), and others,…

The Appalachian Hatchery is an innovative advanced manufacturing incubator at Marshall University’s Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) in Huntington, West Virginia. Established in 2017 with a $1.5 million ARC POWER grant, along support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, the Hatchery supports manufacturing, entrepreneurship, and business development in West Virginia’s southern most 20 counties –…