Grant Details


Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC): Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) (Part A): Planning Grants (Appalachian Region) - FY 2023

Agency: US Other
Office: Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
Multipart Grant: Yes
Next Due: 06/30/2024 (Multiple)
Solicitation Date: 06/08/2023
   
Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: $80,000,000 (Confirmed)
Range: $10,000,000 (Max)
Award Range: $500,000 (Max)
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to foster creative collaboration across state lines to produce a more robust and sustainable regional economy. Other purposes of this program include creating economic mobility; addressing historic inequities for marginalized, underserved, and under-represented communities; and producing high-quality employment for workers who reside in the Appalachian Region, enabling them to remain and thrive in these communities. This program rests on the observation that significant economic opportunities often reach across state lines and that achieving the maximum economic impact from these can demand a multistate approach.

Program resources are intended to have a transformational impact on the Appalachian Region, and proposals must meet the following criteria:

  • Multistate focus: projects must have multistate partnerships with at least one partner from each state within the project area
  • Targeted to advance multistate economies: applicants must have assessed their assets and opportunities and have formulated a plan that significantly advances the economies of multiple states
  • Assessment and planning: each project receiving implementation funding should have a well-articulated analysis of how and why it will improve the current economy and communities of the region involved
  • Demonstrable collaboration among all partners: each multistate partnership must be demonstrable and equitable, with shared input, goals, accountability, and benefits for each partner
  • Leverage regional resources: projects should demonstrate multistate commitment to the proposed project by leveraging the funding agency's resources with monetary and non-monetary investments from strategic partners, including private and philanthropic organizations and government entities
  • Outcome-driven: projects should define specific output and outcome measures for each partner, demonstrate how the project is designed to achieve those outcomes, and commit to capturing and sharing those measures over the life of the investment

Projects must advance one or more of the following five strategic investment priorities of the funding agency's strategic plan:

  • Building Appalachian businesses
  • Building Appalachia's workforce ecosystem
  • Building Appalachia's infrastructure
  • Building regional culture and tourism
  • Building community leaders and capacity

Refer to pages 18-30 of the StrategicPlan file for additional information regarding these five strategic investment priorities.

Funding will be provided for the following program components:

  • (Part A): Planning Grants
  • (Part B): Implementation Grants

The purpose of the Planning Grants component is to provide time, resources, and support for the partnership building essential to projects that bridge to the Implementation Grants component. In order to yield a compelling implementation proposal, applicants are encouraged to apply for planning awards before applying to implementation awards. Upon the conclusion of planning awards and prior to applying for implementation awards, the funding agency will require a formal plan to be submitted. The formal plan must outline the roles of each partner, funding allocations, communication expectations, agreed-upon overall outcomes, timelines, and budgets.

The proposed scope of work must address the priority areas of advancing equity by engaging underserved communities and designing plans for future projects so that underserved communities enjoy equitable access to the benefits and opportunities of those projects; and/or addressing the climate crisis through resilient and energy-efficient project design.

Awards will allow flexibility for funding to include a neutral facilitator, if requested, who is not an active project participant with the other partners and does not have a stake in the project, other than the success of the project itself. Refer to page 6 of the NOFA file for additional information.

An optional pre-application workshop is scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for additional information.

Eligibility is limited to projects that serve and benefit at least two states within a portion of the Appalachian Region as defined by the Appalachian Regional Development Act (ARDA) of 1965, as amended. Refer to the Eligibility section for additional information.

Last Updated: October 04, 2024

Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants are:

  • Local development districts (LDDs)
  • Indian tribes or consortia of Indian tribes
  • States, counties, cities, or other political subdivisions of a state, including a special purpose unit of a state or local government engaged in economic or infrastructure development activities, or a consortium of political subdivisions
  • Institutions of higher education or a consortia of institutions of higher education
  • Public or private nonprofit organizations or associations

Projects must serve and benefit at least two states within a portion of the Appalachian Region as defined by the Appalachian Regional Development Act (ARDA) of 1965, as amended. The Appalachian Region includes certain counties in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, and all of West Virginia. If projects extend beyond the Appalachian Region as defined by the ARDA of 1965, only that portion that is within the region is eligible for funding. A map of the Appalachian Region can be found online at www.arc.gov/appalachian-counties-served-by-arc.

At least two eligible organizations must collaborate across more than one Appalachian Region state, and projects must have multistate partnerships with at least one partner from each state within the project area. The partnerships can have configurations of geography or programming.

Only one concept paper will be accepted for each project. The funding agency will only consider one application per application, either for a planning or an implementation award.

In order to yield a compelling implementation proposal, partners are encouraged to apply for a planning grant before an award is issued through this program's Implementation Grants component, known in eCivis Grants Network as US17621B. Planning grants, however, are not a prerequisite to applying for an implementation grant if the proposed project already has a plan completed.

Eligible Applicants:
Local Government
Academic Institutions
Consortia
Native American Tribe
Non Profits
State Government
Application Notes:

All applicants must submit mandatory project summaries prior to submitting concept papers.

Participants are encouraged to contact their state program managers, as listed online at www.arc.gov, to discuss projects prior to beginning the application process. Entities proposing a single project with multiple award recipients must contact the appropriate state program manager, or the program staff, using the information provided in the Contact section, prior to submitting applications.

Project summaries must include:

  • Project title
  • Applicant name
  • Project type
  • Construction component
  • Geographic scope
  • Fund request
  • List of partners
  • Project description (2 paragraphs max)

Projects summaries may not exceed one page.

An optional pre-application workshop for this program is scheduled as follows:

June 22, 2023
10:00 a.m. ET
Registration: www.airmeet.com

Upon receiving project summaries, state program managers will respond to applicants and may either request more information or acknowledge and confirm that the proposed project aligns with their applicable state's economic development priorities.

Mandatory concept papers must be received by one of the following due dates:

  • October 31, 2023
  • December 31, 2023
  • February 29, 2024
  • April 30, 2024
  • June 30, 2024

Concept papers must be emailed to the address provided in the Contact section.

Concept papers must include:

  • Contact information
  • Project summary
  • Partnerships
  • Project narrative

Concept papers may not exceed six pages, and must be submitted in Microsoft Word or .pdf format.

Applicants that submit successful concept proposals will be invited to submit full applications.

The following are required in order to submit a full application:

  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
  • SAM (System for Award Management) registration

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.

Refer to the NOFA, ProjectSummary, and ConceptPaper files for additional application information.

Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: $80,000,000 (Confirmed)
Range: $10,000,000 (Max)
Award Range: $500,000 (Max)
Match Notes:

Applicants must meet the match requirements for the proposed project, which will be determined according to the funding agency's classification of the county or counties served by each project. Different matching requirements apply to counties classified as distressed, at-risk, transitional, or competitive. Additional information regarding county classifications and resultant matching requirements can be found online at www.arc.gov.

Matching funds may come from nonfederal sources, other federal sources, or a combination of sources, and they may include matching contributions.

Applicants should demonstrate multistate commitment to the proposed project by leveraging the funding agency's resources with monetary and non-monetary investments from strategic partners, including private and philanthropic organizations and government entities, such as Appalachian communities that are part of the Rural Partners Network led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Funding Notes:

A total of $80 million is available for this program overall, with up to $10 million available to support awards of up to $500,000 through this component.

Funds may not be used for:

  • Supporting or opposing union organizing
  • Costs associated with the preparation of responses to this program

In September 2024, a total of $16.9 million was distributed via five awards ranging from $72,219 to $8 million through this program overall. In July 2024, a total of $1.5 million was distributed via four awards ranging from $196,200 to $500,000 through this program overall. In April 2024, a total of $17 million was distributed via two awards of $7.7 and $9.3 million through this program overall. Refer to the Award file for details.

Contacts:

Program Staff
ARISE@arc.gov

Agency Address
Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
1666 Connecticut Ave., NW
Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20009

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to the program staff using the information provided, or to the appropriate state program manager listed online at www.arc.gov.

Project summaries must be submitted to the appropriate state program manager.

Concept papers must be emailed to the address provided.

The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.

Files:
NOFA File: US17621A_NOFA_FY2023.pdf (301.2 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17621A_ProjectSummary_FY2023.docx (52.6 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17621A_ConceptPaper_FY2023.docx (123.7 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17621A_FAQ_FY2023.pdf (211.0 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17621A_StrategicPlan_FY2023.pdf (38.4 Mb)
Award File: US17621A_Award_FY2023.pdf (1.0 Mb)
File Notes:

The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The ProjectSummary file contains the required project summary form for submission. The ConceptPaper file contains the required concept paper form for submission. The FAQ file contains a list of answers to frequently asked questions regarding this program. The StrategicPlan file contains the funding agency's strategic plan. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients. Additional program resources can be found online at www.arc.gov.

October 4, 2024
Information regarding awards through this program has been released and appended to the Award file. A brief summary of the awards has been added to the Financial section.

July 29, 2024
Information regarding awards through this program has been released and appended to the Award file. A brief summary of the awards has been added to the Financial section.

May 22, 2024
Information regarding awards through this program has been released and appended to the Award file. A brief summary of the awards has been added to the Financial section.

October 27, 2023
Information regarding awards through this program has been released and appended to the Award file. A brief summary of the awards has been added to the Financial section.

July 18, 2023
Information regarding awards through this program has been released and attached as the Award file. A brief summary of the awards has been added to the Financial section.

Project: Accelerating Forest Farming in Central Appalachia: Strengthening Market Connections Collaboration for Long-Term Sector Impact and Sustainability (18.3 Mb)
Applicant: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to foster creative collaboration across state lines to produce a more robust and sustainable regional economy. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University requested $490,647 for a planning project that prepares for an implementation project that will accelerate technical assistance, value-added market and technology development, sector capacity and efficiency initiatives, as well as efforts to raise industry investments and consumer awareness. The goal of the project is to create implementation roadmaps for private and public partnerships that invest in the economic viability, social well-being, and resource sustainability of central Appalachian forest farming. The applicant will provide $327,093 to match the remainder of the project costs.

 
Grant Keywords
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Grant Categories
Economic Development
Training & Vocational Services
Human Services