This Network Wants to Galvanize Philanthropy in an Underfunded Region

Appalachia is home to 26.3 million people. The region, which spans 423 counties across 13 states, faces a number of issues that, while not necessarily unique to the region, have had a disproportionate impact on its residents.

Data from the Appalachian Regional Commission shows that despite improvements in some areas, Appalachia still needs a great deal of support. For example, the substance use disorder crisis has disproportionately impacted the region. Overdose mortality rates in 2021 were 72% higher in Appalachia than in the rest of the country. And although poverty rates declined overall between 2012-2016 and 2017-2021, 77 Appalachian counties saw either an increase in poverty rates or the rates stayed the same.

Although only about a quarter of the region’s counties are classified as rural, Appalachia as a whole suffers from the same shortage of philanthropic support that affects other rural regions, largely because wealthy philanthropic funders are concentrated on the coasts. There have been some bright spots, though. Last year, for instance, a group of funders — including UnitedHealthGroup, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Appalachian Regional Commission — committed $19 million to support economic development in Appalachia through the Invest Appalachia Fund. Earlier this year, the fund received an additional $16.6 million in commitments, bringing the total to $35.5 million. New funders include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Dogwood Health Trust, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and Greater Clark Foundation, among others.

It’s encouraging to see big national names like Robert Wood Johnson and MacArthur putting resources forward for the region, but the contributions of smaller, local grantmakers in Appalachia shouldn’t be overlooked. As we’ve written — and as is true elsewhere in philanthropy — it’s often smaller, place-based funders who know rural issues best.

One hub for local and regional philanthropies operating in Appalachia is the Appalachia Funders Network (AFN). Formed in 2010, the affinity group brings together public, private and philanthropic funders so that they can have a bigger, more transformative impact on the region and better address the challenges that have afflicted Appalachian communities, focusing especially on the more heavily rural Central Appalachia. Its chief goals are to build relationships among the region’s funders, establish a common vision, enable cross-sector collaborations, align existing resources and leverage new investments, and support the network’s leadership and structure to advance its goals.

Today, the network is made up of more than 60 members, including the Appalachian Community Fund, the Greater Clark Foundation, Sugar Bush Foundation, Tazewell Community Foundation, James Graham Brown Foundation, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, the Harvest Foundation, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, National Rural Health Leadership Foundation, New York Community Trust and the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio. That’s a diverse list, encompassing smaller regional funders as well as bigger ones like the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation — which helped found the network — and others based outside the region, like the sizable Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies.

The network's stated goals are to build relationships and trust among Appalachian funders; facilitate common understanding, analysis and vision; foster cross-sector connections and collaborations; align existing resources and leverage new investments; and support network leadership and network structure.

A core part of AFN is its special interest groups, which encourage funders to come together to learn and take action. The six current interest groups are: arts and culture, downtown revitalization, energy and natural resources, food and agricultural systems, health, and place-based foundations.

AFN also has a number of special, network-wide projects. For example, funders in the food and agricultural systems and place-based groups came together during the pandemic to redistribute funds from Gates Foundation to local nonprofits working to advance food access in Central Appalachia.

AFN also launched a two-year Narrative Change Pilot project. Led by the Appalachian Community Fund, the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation and Mountain Association, the project's goal is to combine nonfiction storytelling, journalism, cultural stewardship and civic media practices to highlight regional narratives and build stronger regional networks.

Appalachia in transition

Another longstanding aspect of AFN’s work involves pooled funding for a priority area that’s particularly important right now: helping underinvested rural communities secure federal funding. In the spring of 2015, AFN and Rockefeller Family Fund established the Just Transition Fund with the support of six foundation partners: Blue Moon Fund, Chorus Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the JPB Foundation, the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation and Mertz Gilmore Foundation.

The background here is that Appalachia is undergoing a long-term economic transition. The network states that this transition "presents unprecedented opportunities to set a new course for [the region's] economy and communities." Of course, on the flip side of that are the immense structural challenges the region faces, including the decline of the coal industry, health disparities, the substance use disorder crisis, the over-extraction of natural resources, and major underinvestment in the region's organizations, businesses, community capacity and youth.

Initially, the Just Transition Fund was meant to help local groups secure federal funding through the government’s POWER Initiative, which sought to support communities impacted by changes in the coal economy. Since then, the fund has evolved to more broadly support the just transition movement while helping more communities in the West, Midwest and Appalachia access federal funding opportunities.

In addition to its Federal Access Center, which helps community-based organizations identify and apply for federal funds, the Just Transition Fund also provides grants to organizations that work to create economic opportunities, community-driven broadband projects and policy advocacy campaigns. The fund also offers technical assistance to communities for a range of work, such as starting the transition planning process, connecting with other communities that are facing similar challenges, building relationships with federal program contacts, and grant-writing assistance, among others.

"The transition movement is gaining traction as it pulls in a diverse and growing coalition of actors who share a common vision: a region of healthy communities and locally rooted economies that promote sustainable and broadly shared prosperity," AFN notes on its website. "While the momentum toward a new path forward is strong, we recognize that the change we envision will take long-term partnerships, shared leadership, and sustained investments to be fully realized."

As is the case with a lot of the other challenges philanthropic funders are taking on, creating a lasting and prosperous transition for Appalachia isn’t something private grantmakers can achieve on their own. But by helping communities access federal and state funding and supporting opportunities to create a new economic model, grantmakers can make a big difference. With so many funders in the mix, conveners like AFN play an important role in amplifying and coordinating the work these funders do.

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