Invest Appalachia directly coordinates an ecosystem of initiatives designed to do that deeper work: developing local leaders who can move deals, supporting the news organizations that keep communities informed, building the communications infrastructure that shapes how Appalachia is understood from the inside out, and creating pathways for downtown and rural development that center community ownership.
Together, these initiatives form a learning system, with each cohort and story adding to a shared understanding of what equitable investment in our region requires. That understanding finds its way back to our communities in many forms: a project ready for investment, a better-told story shaping true resilience, or a leader ready to meet the moment.
Good deals don’t just happen. They’re built carefully by leaders who know how to read a community’s assets, structure a project, and move an idea from vision to investment-ready reality.
The Community Investment Framers Training is our flagship capacity-building program that develops leadership and deal stewardship across the region. Through a cohort model, we work with place-based leaders across Central Appalachia — those already showing up for their communities — and equip them with the language, tools, and connections to become active builders of their local investment ecosystem.
We believe the best pipeline for community investment isn’t recruited from outside, but grown from within.
Recent partners include Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, which uses our curriculum as part of their Rural Investment Collaborative, and Mountain BizWorks of Western North Carolina.
Worthy Ground is a project of Invest Appalachia, made possible through generous funding by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy is the only full-time resource dedicated to helping donors maximize their impact through expert resources, community-driven grantmaking, and philanthropic consulting services.
The strategic partnership behind Worthy Ground aims to ensure that Central Appalachian disaster recovery efforts are shaped by the people most affected.
The partnership aims to create space for stories of resilience to guide long-term investment into the region.
Guided by a coalition of regional leaders, ADDI is designed as a coordinated, ecosystem-based approach that supports community-centered downtown revitalization and long-term economic growth.
This book, available online and in print, shares what we’ve learned and where we’re headed. It reflects a growing movement grounded in collaboration, fueled by local vision, and committed to creating lasting opportunity through community-rooted downtown development.
Invest Appalachia’s Capital Stewardship program serves as fund manager for mission-aligned capital working across our footprint — providing the regional knowledge, relationships, and accountability structures that outside funders can’t replicate and local organizations shouldn’t have to build alone.
We know this landscape. We know who’s doing the work, what the deals actually require, and how to structure capital so it serves the community rather than the other way around.
The Appalachian Solar Finance Fund (SFF) catalyzes solar development in coal-impacted communities across Central Appalachia, providing pre-development support, technical assistance, and credit enhancements for community-oriented solar installations. A partnership between Invest Appalachia, Appalachian Voices, and Central Appalachian Network, the SFF anchors an extended network of non-profit organizations, industry innovators, and community leaders across Central Appalachia.
Invest Appalachia’s staff and operations have been directly impacted by Hurricane Helene’s devastation. Thanks for your understanding with any delays in normal communications.
We are headquartered in Western NC, and involved in local recovery efforts as well as investment strategies to rebuild for long-term resilience and equity. Any financial contributions to Invest Appalachia will go directly to recovery and rebuilding efforts in impacted communities.