Appalachian Regional Commission is seeking application to help communities and regions affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain or logistics industries due to the changing economics of America’s energy production and the coal economy.
Donor Name: Appalachian Regional Commission
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/08/2023
Size of the Grant: $2,500,000
Grant Duration: 48 months
Details:
The Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative makes up to $65 million available in federal resources to help communities and regions affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain or logistics industries due to the changing economics of America’s energy production and the coal economy. The POWER Initiative supports efforts to create a more vibrant economic future for coal-impacted communities by cultivating economic diversity, enhancing job training and reemployment opportunities, creating jobs in existing or new industries, and attracting new sources of investment. For coal-impacted communities to diversify their local and regional economies successfully, POWER prioritizes the allocation of federal resources to projects and activities with the following characteristics:
- Will produce diverse economic development outcomes, such as the following:
- Diversify the commercial and industrial bases of local and regional economies.
- Create high-quality, well-paying jobs in new and existing industries.
- Attract new sources of public and private investment.
- Provide a range of workforce services and skills training, including paid work- based learning opportunities, resulting in industry-recognized credentials for high-quality, in-demand jobs.
- Are specifically identified under state, local, and/or regional economic development plans.
- Have been collaboratively designed by a diverse blend of state, local, and regional stakeholders
- The POWER Initiative seeks to align and leverage complementary economic development resources to provide assistance through competitively awarded grants to partnerships anchored in coal-impacted communities. By aligning and leveraging multiple resources (federal, state, local, non-profit, and private sector), POWER solicits and prioritizes the selection of projects that integrate multiple economic development systems and support the implementation of existing economic development strategic plans
Grant Priorities
- Fostering Entrepreneurial Activities
- Access to capital. ARC seeks to increase private investment capital available to small and medium-sized businesses across the Region through the POWER program. ARC supports the formation, operation, and capitalization of a range of development finance activities. ARC encourages investment made with the intent of generating measurable social or environmental returns and a financial return (also known as impact investing).
- Creation, support, and growth of entrepreneurial ecosystems. ARC research has identified several key components of strong entrepreneurial ecosystems: market access, capital, talent, business assistance, infrastructure, and culture/community leadership. Projects should target and strengthen multiple components in a region.
- Development and deployment of entrepreneurship education programs that seek to lay the groundwork for a shift in a region’s entrepreneurial culture, especially those that work in concert with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) initiatives.
- Invest in a region’s natural and cultural assets and creative enterprises through activities that increase entrepreneurship. Project activities in this area should be integral to a region’s overall economic development strategy and result in realistic, measurable economic benefits.
- Proposals to use POWER funds for tourism-related capital investments, including construction and acquisition, must meet ARC’s Policy for the Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry,
- Developing Industry Clusters in Communities
- Supporting small manufacturing companies for product and market diversification and expansion. Project activities in this area should be designed to help communities cultivate an environment where new and existing manufacturers create well-paying jobs through increased private investment and acceleration of the resurgence of manufacturing. Examples include but are not limited to supply chain improvements, bringing connectivity and interoperability to the manufacturing facility, export assistance, energy efficiency improvements, and improved access to capital for the Region’s small and mid-sized manufacturers.
- Bolstering entrepreneurial, technical, academic, and scientific talent that supports the creation of strategic industry clusters, such as food systems or high-tech manufacturing, which yield high-quality businesses and jobs.
- Building a Competitive Workforce
- Projects investing in workforce training should stress the potential for upward mobility for the participants. This can be accomplished through up skilling, retooling, and establishing clear, defined career pathways in training programs that accommodate continued growth.
- Workforce projects should aim to increase labor participation rates by not only targeting underemployed workers, but also through recruiting and training people who have dropped out of the workforce.
- Proposals for training programs should be supported with evidence that indicates a demand for that particular skillset in the area to be served. Evidence can include letters from local businesses and business groups expressing a need or analyses of local and regional labor markets.
- Broadband
- Up to one-third of available funds provided for the POWER FY 2023 program will be available to fund broadband deployment projects that enhance access to broadband service. Broadband is a critical infrastructure component needed by all segments of the community: for business development; job creation; health care services, including telemedicine; and to help rural areas compete with more densely populated areas.
- Understanding that broadband deployment projects can be capital intensive, grant requests for deployment projects can be up to $2.5 million, with priority given to projects with evidence of leveraged funding for the overall project
Grant Types
Implementation Grants
Implementation grants awarded under the POWER FY 2023 RFP are for the support of programmatic delivery. Applicants may also request funding to support construction incidental to their project. The Commission will make individual implementation grants in amounts between $400,000 and $1,500,000 for each project it awards within the congressionally defined Appalachian Region, with exceptions for broadband deployment projects, which have a range of $400,000 to $2,500,000.
Planning Grants
In addition to implementation grants, ARC will also award smaller planning grants in amounts up to $50,000. These grants will assist coal-impacted communities and regions in POWER Initiative 2023 the Appalachian Region in the development of plans, strategies, and feasibility studies targeted to the diversification and growth of their economies. Planning awards should result in grantees better understanding their resources, identifying strengths and needs, and helping focus their future efforts through cost/benefit analyses.
Funding Information
- Implementation Grants: $400,000 to $2,500,000
- Planning Grants: Up to $50,000
Grant Period
- Implementation Grants:
- The period of performance for non-construction activities within implementation projects awarded under this RFP may be a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 36 months. If a project includes construction activities, then a maximum period of performance of 48 months is allowable for those activities.
- Planning Grants:
- For POWER planning awards, applicants can determine the period of performance necessary to meet the objective of their project, which may be up to 12 months
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants for ARC’s POWER Initiative are the following:
- Local development districts (LDDs)
- Indian tribes or a consortium of Indian tribes
- States, counties, cities, or other political subdivision 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 consortium of institutions of higher education
- Public or private nonprofit organizations or associations
For more information, visit Appalachian Regional Commission.
