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…

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 students and 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:…

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,…

Attend a virtual workshop to meet with federal agencies and state officials to learn about available resources and discuss potential pathways for regional economic revitalization. This session is tailored specifically to Kentucky, which is home to two of the top ten priority energy communities identified as most vulnerable to further coal-related job…