Last Updated January 24, 2005
Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
Offering grants to agencies and organizations in a 13 state area for projects that promote economic and social development
In 1965, Congress established the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to support economic and social development in the Appalachian Region. Each year, Congress appropriates funds, which ARC distributes among its member states. The Appalachian governors submit to ARC their priorities and spending plans for the year, including lists of projects they recommend for funding.
The spending plans are reviewed and approved at a meeting of the 14 Commission members, the governors of the 13 Appalachian states, and a federal co-chairman. Citizens participate as members of local development districts and multi-county agencies with boards made up of elected officials, businesspeople, and members of organizations.
ARC programs are divided into two areas: a highway program, which focuses on the construction of a 3,025-mile highway system; and a community and human development program, which seeks to create sustained local economic growth. An integral part of ARC's mission is to build partnerships and forge alliances for regional collaboration among the 410 counties that ARC serves.
Each year, ARC awards grants that address a variety of needs in the 13-state Appalachian Region, such as reducing school dropout rates, providing job training, building water and sewer systems, developing telecommunications networks, training emerging community leaders, helping start and expand new businesses, and making health and dental care more accessible.
Because each state sets its own priorities for use of ARC development funds, agriculture and forest projects must be on that state's agenda to warrant support from ARC. Although ARC has supported projects aimed at agriculture and forest production, such projects represent a small proportion of total projects funded.
At least 50 percent of ARC's grant funding goes to projects that benefit distressed counties and areas. Economically distressed counties account for about one-fourth of the 410 counties in the Appalachian Region. ARC also provides administrative support for 72 local development districts, which work with local citizens to determine local needs and priorities. In addition, ARC has launched a multi-year, $25 million entrepreneurship initiative to help start and expand more homegrown businesses in Appalachia .
Project Examples
Examples of projects funded by ARC include:
- Rural Johnson County High School in Tennessee received ARC and corporate grants to create an Aquacenter in the school's Alternative Farming Center. The $500,000 grant sought to offer an alternative to tobacco as a major cash crop for young producers in the region. Students learned to raise tilapia, striped bass, and crappie along with lettuce, tomatoes, and other produce in the school's greenhouse as part of the district's vocational education program.
- ARC granted $200,000 to Pennsylvania's Hardwood Development Council, a 21-member board dedicated to adding value to lumber products and increasing jobs in the state's forest industry. The grant funded workshops to help wood manufacturers: identify new markets for wood products; pay for a market analysis of the state's hardwood industry; analyze skills required for secondary processing jobs and the state's ability to provide training for those jobs; and develop a comprehensive listing of existing logger training programs.
- An ARC grant to the Kentucky International Trade Office was aimed at supporting a program to help small- and medium-sized businesses conduct international trade. The program sought to ensure that businesses have the information they need to take advantage of trade opportunities. Assistance included workshops, seminars, training, market identification and research, financing assistance, and development of industry consortia.
Eligibility, Uses, and Restrictions
ARC program funds
may be used only for projects to be carried out within the 410 counties
in the 13 states designated by Congress as part of the Appalachian Region.
The Appalachian Region encompasses 200,000 square miles along the spine of
the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern
Mississippi. The region includes all of West
Virginia and parts of twelve other states:
Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
All grant requests must originate from the states and are approved initially by a state's governor. ARC program grants can be awarded to state or local agencies and governmental bodies (such as economic development authorities), local governing boards (such as county councils), and nonprofit organizations (such as schools or non-governmental organizations). Program grants are not made to individuals or to private, for-profit corporations.
Because states originate all ARC program grants, a potential applicant must apply to the program manager in that state. Potential applicants should also contact the local development district serving their county for guidance on a project's eligibility for funding and for assistance in preparing a grant application. Applicants should note that a majority of ARC funding is dedicated to providing basic infrastructure for rural communities and settlements.
Contact
To start the application process, contact the
ARC program manager in your state. Also approach the local development district
serving your county for guidance on your project's eligibility
for funding. Program managers are listed on ARC's website at www.arc.gov.
Faye Kann, Director
National Program Office Program Operations Division
Appalachian Regional Commission
1666 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 700
Washington, DC 20235
Phone: (202) 884-7760; Fax: (202) 884-7682
E-mail: fkann@arc.gov
Internet
www.arc.gov/
