Story By Donna Thornton
The Appalachian Regional Commission last week awarded $2.8 million to 59 local governments and selected 75 nonprofits for training to help participants to address economic needs.
The DeKalb County Economic Development Authority has been selected to participate. DCEDA Director Brett Johnson said that means the authority’s personnel will receive seven weeks of training in one of eight course options and will be allowed to apply for a $25,000 grant to implement internal capacity-building -- Organizational and leadership development -- projects.
One of the eight course options is strategic planning, and Johnson said that’s DCEDA’s goal. “Our intention would be to use that funding for a strategic economic development plan for the county,” he said.
Such a plan would look at the county, at economic trends, properties and more to focus on the kind of businesses and industries the DCECA should go for.
Recently, he said, the authority’s been focused on expanding existing businesses, which is a great benefit to the county. With all the changes of the last five years and what’s coming in the next 10, he said, an established plan is needed.
The authority already has some proposals for developing that plan; with the grant money, it would be able to move forward to working with community stakeholders to develop it.
The authority has good support locally, he said, but is looking at external funding from sources such as this grant.
Johnson said he believes a stragetic plan could be developed by the end of 2025 or early 2026.
The funding and training are made possible through ARC’s READY Local Governments and READY Nonprofits, two tailored tracks under
ARC’s capacity-building initiative, READY Appalachia. All READY programming is designed to help Appalachians build individual, organizational and community capacity to envision and enact positive economic change.
The more than $2.8 million awarded through READY Local Governments will help 59 local governments representing 12 Appalachian states to implement internal capacity-building projects to better address their communities’ economic development needs.
Prior to receiving their awards, recipients completed a nine-week virtual course to improve skills in project identification and planning, community engagement in projects, federal grant application development, federal grant regulations and compliance, and more.
The no-cost, virtual training offered through READY Nonprofits will help 75 nonprofit organizations representing 12 Appalachian states build internal capacity to better fulfill their missions and strengthen services to help Appalachian economies thrive.
Participants will train for seven weeks on one of eight course options: board development, financial management, fundraising, human capital, marketing and communications, programs and operations, grant writing and management, and strategic planning.
Upon successful completion, participating nonprofits will be eligible to apply for up to $25,000 in funding (no match required) to implement internal capacity-building projects. To date, ARC has awarded over $1.7 million to 69 Appalachian nonprofits through READY Nonprofits.
Nonprofits in Alabama are: • DeKalb County Economic Development Authority • Linden Bridges Ministries • Mickens Family Life Center Inc. • Rod Lemon Foundation • The Place of Grace, Inc. • The Willie and Betty Farrior Family Foundation
“ARC’s local partners have always been integral to our on-the-ground economic development work across the Appalachian region,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin. “ARC remains committed to these partnerships through our READY initiative, which is continuing to provide our Appalachian communities with the resources and support they need to build a prosperous future.”
