Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC): Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) (Part A): Planning Grants (Appalachian Region) - FY 2025
| Agency: | US Other |
|---|---|
| Office: | Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) |
| Multipart Grant: | Yes |
| Next Due: | 12/05/2025 (Multiple) |
|---|---|
| Solicitation Date: | 09/09/2025 |
| Match Required: | Yes |
| Match Type: | Cash/In-Kind |
| Actual Funds: | Unspecified |
| Range: | $70,000,000 (Min) |
| Award Range: | $500,000 (Max) |
Summary:
The purpose of this program is to drive large-scale, regional economic transformation through multistate, collaborative projects. This program aims to create economic mobility and produce high-quality employment for workers who reside in the Appalachian Region, enabling them to remain and thrive in these communities.
All applications must address the following essential elements of the program:
- Multistate partnerships: collaboration across the Appalachian Region so that the aggregate economic impact of collective efforts is greater than isolated activity in any individual state
- Targeted to advancing multistate economies: applicants must have assessed their assets and opportunities and formulated a plan that significantly advances the economies of multiple states
- Assessment and planning: every project must be based on prior assessment and planning
- Demonstrable collaboration among all partners: each multistate partnership must feature shared input, goals, accountability, and benefits for each partner
- Leverage regional resources: 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
- Outcome-driven: projects should define specific output and outcome measures and define how each partner will specifically contribute to achieving those shared goals
Projects must advance one or more of the following five strategic investment priorities of the funding agency's strategic plan:
- Building Appalachian businesses: strengthen and diversity the region's economy through economic development strategies and investments in entrepreneurship and business development
- Building Appalachia's workforce ecosystem: expand and strengthen community systems that help Appalachians obtain a job, stay on the job, and advance along a financially sustaining career pathway
- Building Appalachia's infrastructure: ensure that the residents and businesses of Appalachia have access to reliable, affordable, and resilient utilities and infrastructure in order to successfully live and work in the region
- Building regional culture and tourism: strengthen Appalachia's community and economic development potential by preserving and investing in the region's local cultural heritage and natural assets
- Building community leaders and capacity: invest in the capacity of local leaders, organizations, and communities to address local challenges by providing technical assistance and support to access resources, engage partners, identify strategies and tactics, and conduct effective planning and project execution
Refer to pages 18-30 of the StrategicPlan file for additional information regarding the strategic investment priorities.
Projects must also align with the state economic development priorities for the states served by the proposed project. Additional information regarding state plans and strategies can be found online at www.arc.gov/state-plans-strategies.
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 help multistate partners develop plans, strategies, and feasibility studies in support of future implementation efforts. Funding will provide the time, resources, and support for partnership building, resource mapping, and needs identification, and may help communities assemble the partnerships and vision to drive strong implementation projects down the line.
Eligible costs may include those in the budget categories of personnel, fringe, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual, other, and indirect.
Optional webinars are scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for details.
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 details.
Eligibility Notes:
Eligible applicants are:
- Local development districts (LDDs), a list of which can be found online at www.arc.gov/local-development-districts
- 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 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 spans 423 counties across 13 states, including all of West Virginia and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. If projects extend beyond the Appalachian Region, only the portion that falls 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 there must be at least one partner from each state included in the project, one of which must be identified as the lead applicant. The partnerships can have configurations of geography or programming. A geography-based configuration is a regional partnership focusing on cultivation and acceleration of an industry, service, or infrastructure of contiguous states, whereas a program-based configuration is a program model that is expanded and scaled across multiple states and does not require a shared border between partner states.
Applicants with open awards from the funding agency are eligible to apply; however, the proposed scope of work must be new and must not overlap with the open award. In addition, such applicants must provide a thorough status update on their existing project and demonstrate sufficient organizational capacity to manage multiple awards simultaneously. For applicants with open awards from the funding agency that are scheduled to be completed before September 1, 2026, applications must include an expansion of geography, an increased scope of work building on an existing concept, or a new concept.
Applicants do not need to receive an award through this component in order to receive an award through the Implementation Grants component, known in eCivis Grants Network as US17621B.
For-profit entities are not eligible to apply.
Eligible Applicants:
Local GovernmentAcademic Institutions
Consortia
Native American Tribe
Non Profits
State Government
Application Notes:
Prior to submitting a pre-application, applicants must submit a mandatory project summary to the state program managers of each state impacted by the proposed project.
Project summaries must be emailed or mailed to the appropriate state program managers listed online at www.arc.gov/state_partner_role/state-program-manager.
Project summaries must include:
- Project title
- Applicant name
- Project type
- Construction component
- Geographic scope
- Purpose (1 sentence max)
- Fund request
- List of partners
- Project description (2 paragraphs max)
The project summary may not exceed one page.
Upon receiving the project summary, the state program manager will respond to the applicant and may either request more information or acknowledge and confirm that the proposed project aligns with their state's economic development priorities. A response from a state program manager does not constitute an invitation to submit a full application or an approval of a proposed project by the funding agency.
Mandatory pre-applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET on December 5, 2025.
Pre-applications must be emailed to the address provided in the Contact section. The subject line of the email must include "ARISE Pre-Application Submission" and the applicant organization's name.
Pre-applications must include:
- Cover page (2 pages max)
- Budget and match (2 pages max)
- Narrative (6 pages max)
The pre-application must be submitted as one .pdf file not to exceed 9 MB in size.
The following are required in order to submit a pre-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.
Optional webinars will be held for this program as follows:
Application Process Webinar:
September 25, 2025
11:00 a.m. ET
Registration: arcgov.zoom.us/webinar/register
Designing Multistate Projects: Best Practices Webinar:
October 28, 2025
11:00 a.m. ET
Registration: arcgov.zoom.us/webinar/register
Pre-appplications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Budget and match (8 points)
- Narrative (20 points)
Applicants submitting successful pre-applications will be invited by March 31, 2026, to submit full applications, which must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET on May 15, 2026.
Refer to the NOFA, Pre-Application, and ProjectSummary files for additional application information.
| Match Required: | Yes |
|---|---|
| Match Type: | Cash/In-Kind |
| Actual Funds: | Unspecified |
| Range: | $70,000,000 (Min) |
| Award Range: | $500,000 (Max) |
|---|
Match Notes:
Applicants must provide cash and/or in-kind contributions, the amount of which will vary according to the funding agency's classification of the county or counties served by the proposed project. A table summarizing the funding agency's five economic designations and the matching requirement for each can be accessed online at www.arc.gov/match-requirements-for-arc-grants. Applicants may also use the funding agency's match rate calculator online at www.arc.gov/resource/match-rate-calculator to help determine the required match.
Matching contributions may include federal and/or nonfederal contributions. Applicants should demonstrate a 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.
Matching contributions may not come from funding agency sources.
Funding Notes:
At least $70 million is available for this program overall, with an unspecified amount of funding available to support awards of up to $500,000 through this component.
Awards will be announced in summer 2026.
The project period may last up to 18 months and may begin no sooner than September 1, 2026.
Funds may not be used for:
- Projects outside of the Appalachian Region
- Projects that fully or partially duplicate or overlap with open or previously issued awards from the funding agency
- Costs associated with the preparation of a response to this program
- Improvements to private property
In December 2024, a total of $14.5 million was distributed via five awards ranging from $192,050 to $7,030,989 through this program overall. In October 2024, a total of $33.5 million was distributed via 12 awards ranging from $120,806 to $10 million through this program overall. 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. Refer to the Award file for details.
Contacts:
Program Staff
ARISE@arc.gov
Agency Address
Appalachian Regional Commission
1666 Connecticut Ave, NW
Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20009
Contact Notes:
Questions should be directed to the program staff.
Project summaries must be emailed or mailed to the appropriate state program managers listed online at www.arc.gov/state_partner_role/state-program-manager.
Pre-applications must be emailed to the address provided.
The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.
Files:
NOFA File: US17621A_NOFA_FY2025.pdf (447.0 Kb)Application File: US17621A_Pre-Application_FY2025.docx (163.2 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17621A_ProjectSummary_FY2025.docx (55.0 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17621A_StrategicPlan_FY2025.pdf (35.1 Mb)
Award File: US17621A_Award_FY2025.pdf (1.3 Mb)
File Notes:
The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The Pre-Application file contains the required pre-application form for submission. The ProjectSummary file contains the required project summary form for submission. The StrategicPlan file contains the funding agency's strategic plan. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients.
| 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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Economic DevelopmentTraining & Vocational Services
Human Services