
Appalachian nonprofits are mission-driven organizations committed to meeting pressing community needs. However, these organizations often lack the capacity and resources to put ideas into action.
Through READY Nonprofits, ARC provides no-cost training to help participants strengthen operations, programming and fundraising to better fulfill their missions and sustain their organizations over time, so they can continue building out resources and services for Appalachians.
After successful completion of their training, participants can apply for up to $25,000 in funding (no match required) to implement internal capacity building projects that will help them better serve Appalachian communities.
ARC has awarded 69 Appalachian nonprofits spanning 12 states a total of over $1.7 million to date. Applications are now open for our second round of training and funding.

Get READY to Apply
Interested READY Nonprofits applicants should:
- Ensure you have two participants from your organization, one of which must be the executive director or equivalent.
- Confirm your ability to commit up to 20 hours over seven weeks for virtual training and assignments.
- Attend the pre-application webinar on February 11, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. ET, to learn about the opportunity and application process.
- Submit an application by February 28, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Build a Strong Foundation
READY Nonprofits participants will build connections through this cohort-based learning structure, and develop skills to build capacity in areas including:
- Fundraising
- Programs and Operations
- Financial Management
- Board Development
- Human Capital (Human Resources)
- Marketing and Communications
- Grant Writing and Management
- Strategic Planning
Application Resources

Pre-Application Webinar
On Tuesday, February 11, 2025, hundreds of attendees joined ARC’s READY team and training program administrator Strategic Consulting Partners to learn about the application process.
Increasing Access to Opportunities

Public or private nonprofit organizations or associations, including labor unions, serving communities in ARC’s geographic footprint are eligible to apply for READY Nonprofits.
Nonprofit organizations who meet any of the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:
- Serve economically distressed counties
- Lower-capacity nonprofit organizations
- Organizations located in remote areas of the region
- Organizations ARC has not worked with before
Contact Us
If you have questions about applications, please contact READY@yourstrategicconsultant.com