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Spotlight: Ohio’s Appalachian Community Grant Program – A Blueprint for Appalachia

By May 16, 2023September 18th, 2023No Comments
Rike Rothenstein is a Research Associate for ReImagine Appalachia

By Rike Rothenstein

May 16, 2023

Last summer, in order to “revitalize communities and stimulate transformational change,” Governor DeWine allocated half a billion in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan to establish the Appalachian Community Grant Program. The program demonstrates just how much a public sector collaboration at the federal, state, and local level can positively impact the Appalachian region. These resources will also help position Ohio’s Appalachian communities to successfully secure additional federal climate infrastructure funds. Other Appalachian states would do well to follow Ohio’s lead.


Appalachian Community Grant Program

The Appalachian Community Grant Program invests a historic $500 million in the 32 counties of Appalachian Ohio, and is administered under the Governor’s Office of Appalachia, a division within Ohio’s Department of Development. With this grant program, the Ohio Department of Development tasks communities and their stakeholders to work together, think big, and envision projects that are “designed to bring about transformational change and be a catalyst for future development by providing generational investments in the Appalachian region.” The awardees for the first round of funding have been recently announced, and the second round of funding will open in November 2023. The grants of the program need to be expended by October 31, 2026

The Appalachian Community Grant Program is divided into two grants: (1) the Appalachian Planning Grant, which administers $30 million; and (2) the Appalachian Development Grant, which administers the remaining $470 million. To qualify for the grants, applicants must address at least one one of three funding priorities

  •  Infrastructure; such as the redevelopment of main street, downtown, the improvement of recreational outdoor spaces, as well as better access to telemedicine;
  • Workforce; such as public-private partnerships designed to build and coordinate technical, educational, clinical, and workforce infrastructure, and,
  • Healthcare; such as the expansion of healthcare services for children and/or people affected by the opioid epidemic.

Ideally, the projects cover all three priorities.


The Bigger the Better

The goal of the Appalachian Community Grant Program is to create projects with long-lasting impacts by connecting communities and encouraging partnerships. The projects need to be located within the 32 counties in Appalachian Ohio which are divided into four subdivisions of the Ohio Department of Development, called Local Development Districts (LDDs). LDDs play a vital role in the application process by encouraging different communities in the Appalachian region to collaborate and to bundle their needs into one big project application. That way, communities in the same region are less inclined to compete for the same funds. If a community needs funds for a single, small-scale project such as road improvements, this is not the grant program for them. Instead, as demonstrated by projects funded in the initial round, the lead applicant could propose the redevelopment of several downtown buildings in different communities along with the establishment of a connecting bike trail system. Also, the Ohio Department of Development views applications favorably that can leverage their project with additional funding streams such as funds through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) or other state or federal funding.  


Capacity Building

A common problem for many small Appalachian communities is the lack of resources for project planning and often onerous application processes. With the Appalachian Planning Grant, the Ohio government aims to address that. Through the four LDDs,  communities can request procured planners who can help with everything from project engineering, architecture, design, and surveying to grant writing. These planners are available at no cost, and not only is requesting their help highly encouraged, but doing so helps Appalachian Development Grant applications score favorably.   


Funded Projects

In its first round of funding, the Ohio Governor’s Office of Appalachia awarded $50 million to four development projects under the Appalachian Community Grant Program. 

  1. $2.36 million will fund a new building for a dropout recovery-and-retention school that provides a career-tech education for at-risk students. The new building allows the school to grow and improve workforce training access to residents in four Appalachian counties while also contributing to the revitalization of Main Street in downtown Salineville, Ohio.   
  2. $17.7 million will fund the rehabilitation of six historic buildings in four Appalachian Ohio counties. The renovated buildings will contribute to the revitalization of their respective downtowns through new rentable co-working space, business incubation centers, community gathering space for arts, culture, and technology programs, and the creation and expansion of mental health services.   
  3. $25.8 million will fund a mental health drop-in and advocacy trauma center, and expand four recovery villages. These facilities address health challenges while also offering workforce training, affordable housing, childcare, and case management. Like the other projects, the new recovery villages will be established in four Appalachian communities spanning three different counties.   
  4. $4.2 million will fund a tourism and development project that plans to complete trails and visitor facilities a for a trail system that will also integrating lodging and connectivity to neighboring communities. Additionally, the project provides workforce training for related professions such as emergency rescue first responders, land managers, and hospitality staff. The project will impact six Appalachian communities in three different counties. 


What Comes Next

The Ohio Governor’s Office of Appalachia is asking eligible applicants to submit their projects to Round 2 of the Appalachian Development Grant. All remaining funds will be allocated in this second round. Once again, communities and their partners are encouraged to dream big, work together, and use the planning resources provided by the State to develop collaborative plans. 

The Appalachian Community Grant Program is a model program that provides both the guidelines and the technical support to develop truly generational change for the Ohio Appalachian region. It’s a groundbreaking, model program that other Appalachian states should consider adopting to help move to an economically sustainable future that improves the social and economic well-being of all Appalachians.