Our Work in Kentucky In partnership with the Kentucky Department for Local Government, ARC is supporting 79 projects in Kentucky totaling nearly $51.8 million in fiscal year 2022. These investments have been matched by nearly $69.1 million and are attracting an additional $28.7 million in leveraged private investments in Kentucky.

Governor Beshear is ARC's 2023 States' Co-Chair.

With a background in business development and state government, Department for Local Government Commissioner Dennis Keene is no stranger to improving Kentucky communities. Equipped with an entrepreneurial spirit, he started a business at 20 before becoming a top advisor at regional economic development group Southbank Partners. While there, Commissioner Keene…

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…

First round of new funding is made available through ARC’s READY LDDs [local development districts] initiative, with additional grantees to be announced in June of 2023. PINEVILLE, KY., May 11, 2023–Today, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) announced nearly $500,000 in new funding to the following Appalachian Kentucky area development districts…

Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation is hosting this forum for local government, nonprofits, and community partners working in these Appalachian Kentucky counties: Bell, Clay, Harlan, Knox, Leslie, Letcher, Perry, Whitley, and adjacent counties. The event will build collaboration, capacity, and relationships by connecting the Community…

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…