KENTUCKY TODAY

Ten local development districts in eight Appalachian states, including three in Kentucky, are each receiving $100,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission to expand staffing and capacity to help them find more federal funding sources.

The Barren River, Bluegrass Area and FIVCO Area Development Districts are the recipients of this latest round of ARC funding, designed to help local communities identify, access, and manage the unprecedented levels of federal funding currently available for economic and community development projects.    

Back in May, five other Kentucky LDDs received similar grants from the ARC, under the READY LDDs program, which are supported in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“ARC’s Local Development District partners are at the heart of the work we do in our Appalachian communities,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin.  “As they are the ones with their boots on the ground, ARC is proud to support our LDDs with the latest round of READY funding, which will allow them to further encourage economic growth and collaboration across the Appalachian region.”

“Kentucky’s Area Development Districts do amazing work for communities across the state,” said Gov. Andy Beshear, who is serving as the ARC 2023 States’ Co-Chair. “These funds will help them to continue providing resources and guidance to governments and organizations in Kentucky. The READY Appalachia initiative shows that good things happen when we work together on the federal, state, and local levels.”

Thus far, the program has provided nearly $4 million in funding to 41 LDDs in 11 Appalachian states. ARC says the plan to announce additional funding opportunities through another program known as READY Appalachia, by early next year.

The Appalachian Regional Commission is an economic development entity of the federal government and 13 state governments, including parts of Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, and all of West Virginia; focusing on 423 counties in the Appalachian Region.

ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the Region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.