Using BIL funds, the City of Hindman was able to overcome cost barriers to critical water system upgrades.

ARC’s POWER Initiative has invested millions in projects working to create jobs and new economic opportunities in coal-impacted communities. A barrier to the creation of opportunity, however, is capital access. Without the money and credit needed to start a business, the ideas of home-grown entrepreneurs cannot be put into…

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…

Building Appalachia’s infrastructure has been an ARC investment priority for 58 years, especially the development and maintenance of basic infrastructure systems for water, sewer, energy, and stormwater. ARC’s Area Development Program invested $66.8 million in water and sewer projects alone in Fiscal Year 2022.

Like many coal-impacted areas in Appalachia, Eastern Kentucky is tackling economic transition head-on by diversifying its economic bases and creating new opportunities in communities. 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…

In KY, PA, VA, and WV, ARC partners are building trails and tourism experiences.

Since 2015, ARC’s POWER Initiative has invested millions in projects working to create jobs, fuel new industries, and prepare workers and students for new opportunities in coal-impacted communities. The largest POWER funding package to date was awarded in October 2022, with particular momentum for one emerging sector: local food. …

In 1980, Fahe was founded to provide access to workforce training and financial resources for locally-rooted nonprofit organizations. Its founding members quickly learned they could “go further together,” and has since grown into a strong network of 50+ nonprofits from six states working toward a…

The Kentucky Wildlands is driving economic development and regional tourism across 14,000-square-miles of “largely untamed wilderness.”…

UK Landscape Architecture rendering of River Fog Park (Image courtesy of Why Whitley Facebook) In 2018 in Whitley County, Kentucky, a group of passionate citizens held a dinner to discuss ways to change the narrative surrounding the community. There were so many things to be proud of within the county,…

Through woodworking, men in recovery will learn skills and create for their communities.

This story is one of several “Stories of Change” highlighted in a new evaluation of ARC’s POWER Initiative.

In Kentucky, Community Farm Alliance has worked for 36 years to help Kentucky communities, farmers markets, and producers reap those important benefits.

At 39% participation, Eastern Kentucky has the lowest workforce participation rate among ages 18-24 in the nation. This area also finds itself at the epicenter of our nation’s substance abuse crisis, creating a unique challenge for both the health and economic capacity of communities. That’s why a number of organizations, like Kentucky River Community Care, Inc. (KRCC), work every day…

It’s been a full year since the nation’s first confirmed COVID-19 case. With federal plans to amp up vaccinations as soon as possible, it’s important to take a look at how Appalachian states are responding to, and in some cases leading, vaccination…