As the disco ball comes down, the crystal ball comes out! We’re looking ahead to 2026. Here are a few predictions based on what we’re seeing on the ground in Central Appalachia.
Recovery investment will give way to resilience investment across the field.
Across our region, we’re seeing a shift from recovery investment to resilience investment. The difference is simple but important: recovery chases the damage after it’s happened, while resilience ensures that while we’re busy fixing what’s broken, we also make sure communities have the tools, people, and capital to withstand a future hit. We’re watching resilience infrastructure move from abstract plans in think tanks and design studios into real projects on the ground: our recent collaborative Resilience Hub work is one example.
Agility and flexibility will be recognized as core requirements for impact—not optional features.
The past year was a period of unprecedented disruption – an uneven recovery from Hurricane Helene and flooding in WV and KY, alongside major cuts to federal funding programs and policies critical to rural communities and economic development. 2025 proved, like never before, that agility matters. Flexibility matters. Philanthropy and private capital can’t wait for perfect clarity from federal partners, and communities can’t afford to. Now that we’ve seen how quickly the rug can be pulled out from under philanthropy and government alike, the path forward is clear: invest in approaches that can move quickly, respond locally, and support the people with the strongest stake in the outcome. When our financing stays nimble and creative, the dollars reach the right people faster.
Rural regions will be looked to as proving grounds for resilience models that work.
At IA, we’re taking a proactive approach to community and climate resilience. That starts with simple things – strengthening relationships across the region, coordinating more closely with our partners, and bringing new talent into the ecosystem—like our Rural Resilience Specialist position, who (starting in 2026) will help connect climate resilience best practices, disaster preparedness tools, and investment with the communities that need them most.
Resilience will become a shared practice across the investment field, not because it’s a trendy concept, but because it’s essential to community well-being and inclusive opportunity. More organizations will build for long-term capacity, not short-term fixes. More partners will look to rural regions for models of what’s possible. And more funders will understand that flexibility isn’t a luxury, rather, it’s what keeps capital most connected to the people it’s meant to serve.
Blended capital investment will be recognized as necessary- not optional- for moving scalable investment into underserved communities.
Blended capital isn’t a new concept – it’s the approach of using various sources and types of capital to advance a project or complete an investment that likely can’t be done using just traditional finance. This means aligning different financial elements, such as flexible loans, recoverable grants, tax credits, credit enhancements, and sometimes pure subsidy (aka grants), to make the math work for high-impact projects. IA has supported dozens of projects that are thriving thanks to receiving the right blend of capital. Partners across the ecosystem – including mission-oriented lenders, local foundations, and regional/national grantmakers – are recognizing the benefits of this approach: leverage, scale of reach, and impact focus. We predict that 2026 will be a year of turning this recognition into practice, as new investment actors start participating in blended capital projects with their own dollars.
The community investment field will put greater emphasis on capturing and transparently communicating real impact.
Organizations that can show what’s working, where it’s working, and why will help the field shift toward models that prioritize flexibility and staying power. At IA, we’re building that reporting capacity now. We’re working to better capture our impact and deliver a new level of impact transparency back to the community. You can’t have impact without accountability, which is why we keep a live dashboard and map on our impact page that literally shows where our capital is going – every project we’ve supported, the geographies we’ve targeted, the sectors we’re betting on, the populations that benefit, and more. 2026 will be a year where it’s not enough to say we’re making a difference – we should have to show it. Communities deserve that level of transparency and accountability.
In 2026:
We’re stepping into a future grounded in relationships, flexibility, resilient investment, and meaningful impact. In many ways, our region has been preparing for this moment for generations. And we’re grateful to everyone helping move this work forward.
—Andrew and the Invest Appalachia team
