From our colleagues at USDA. Two weeks’ worth of goodies to peruse!
From: Agans, Suzette - RD, Washington, DC [mailto:Suzette.Agans@wdc.usda.gov]
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2013 2:54 PM
Subject: Publications, Learning, and Funding
Note: Next week there will not be an email blast, due to vacation. Enjoy your July 4th!
PUBLICATIONS
HUD Resource Library pages are now available - the Homelessness Assistance and Resources page provides an overview of HUD’s homelessness assistance programs, as well as links to program information, reports, data, reporting systems, and CoC information.
Processing and marketing costs for local beef are higher than for commodity beef - Locally produced and processed beef—defined as product marketed direct-to-consumer or direct-to-restaurant/grocer within 400 miles of its origin—is a small, but growing segment of the U.S. beef market. Evidence indicates that firms marketing local beef face substantially higher costs, particularly processing and marketing costs, than the large-scale sellers of conventional commodity beef. Local beef producers are typically unable to access the facilities of large commodity beef processors, and are unable to offset processing costs with byproduct sales to the same extent as commodity processors. Small, fee-for-service processors lack the scale to refine and effectively market byproducts, generate relatively little from byproduct sales and, therefore, have higher net processing costs. Local beef purveyors also face higher marketing and distribution costs than larger, vertically integrated processors of commodity beef.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST) today has issued an Request for Information (RFI) to inform the creation of potential new Manufacturing Technology Acceleration Centers (M-TACs). The anticipated 2014 FFO will competitively fund a select number of new M-TACs. The M-TACs will focus on addressing the technical and business challenges encountered by small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers as they attempt to integrate, adopt, transition, and commercialize both existing and emerging product and process technologies into their operations to help them grow and compete within manufacturing supply chains as innovative, value-adding components of our nation's economy.
M-TACs will amplify the effectiveness of the current Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) network, establishing teams of experts in specific technology/supply chains, offering multiple services and deep expertise through the national MEP network. The RFI specifically seeks comments relating to four primary issue areas:
(1) Technology transition and commercialization tools and services that should be provided by M-TACs;
(2) M-TAC roles relating to supply chain needs;
(3) Potential business models for M-TACs; and
(4) M-TAC performance and impact metrics.
In addition, NIST seeks comments relating to other critical issues that NIST should consider in its strategic planning for future M-TAC investments.
Comments are due by July 22. For the complete Federal Register notice: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-06-21/pdf/2013-14895.pdf
M-List Recognizes High-Quality Advanced Manufacturing Universities - The Manufacturing Institute, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, has released an inaugural roster for the “M-List,” which includes academic institutions training workers up to industry standards in advanced manufacturing. M-List schools have designed their curriculums to compliment industry standards and provide their students with credentials through the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System. The M-List will help connect workers and employers by identifying schools that prepare their students for the globally competitive standards of U.S. advanced manufacturing. In support of the program, the NSF's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program provides grants to M-List schools to support the connection between workers and employers. Read the press release...
U.S. Business R&D Spending by State, 2010 - In 2010, almost one-quarter of every dollar spent on R&D by U.S. businesses was spent in the state of California, according to data from the National Science Foundation. Together, the top seven states for business R&D spending (California, New Jersey, Texas, Massachusetts, Washington, Illinois and Michigan) were host to almost 53 percent of private research investment. While California leads in total business R&D, the state of Washington has the greatest concentration of private research spending in the state economy, with $3.92 spent on business R&D for every $100 in state gross domestic product (GDP).
SSTI has prepared a table of funds spent by businesses on R&D by state in 2010. The table also includes the percent of total U.S. business R&D spending represented by each state. In order to gauge the volume of business R&D spending with respect to total economic activity, the table provides 2010 state GDP levels and a ratio of business R&D spending to state GDP. View the table...
Volunteering May Boost Job Prospects for the Unemployed – A study shows that unemployed rural Americans without a high school education benefit the most in finding jobs because of volunteering. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/volunteering-lifts-job-prospects-of-the-jobless/2013/06/17/02547208-d769-11e2-a9f2-42ee3912ae0e_story.html
How long do food-insecure households remain food insecure? Knowing how often and how long households are food insecure is important for understanding the extent and character of food insecurity and for maximizing the effectiveness of programs aimed at alleviating it. Food-insecure households are those that are unable, at times during the year, to acquire adequate food because they lack sufficient money and other resources. Two studies commissioned by ERS found spells of food insecurity to be generally of short duration. For example, one study found that half of households that were food insecure at some time during the 5-year study period experienced the condition in just a single year and only 6 percent were food insecure in all 5 years. However, the fact that households move in and out of food insecurity also means that a considerably larger number of households are exposed to food insecurity at some time over a period of several years than are food insecure in any single year. A chart is available on “Food Insecurity in U.S. Households Rarely Persists Over Many Years” in the June 2013 issue of ERS’s Amber Waves magazine.
Role of Small and Rural Hospitals and Care Systems in Effective Population Health Partnerships
Explains how small and rural hospitals and their systems can develop community and other partnerships to effectively implement population health management and improve their community's health status. Includes five case studies. Organization: Health Research & Educational Trust. Date: 06 / 2013
Unequal Distribution of the U.S. Primary Care Workforce
A policy brief on the distribution of the primary care workforce by urban and rural location. Organization: American Academy of Family Physicians. Date: 06 / 2013
NIST Series Explores Economic Impact of Technology
A new series of briefs from the National Institute of Standards and Technology lays out the argument for federal, state and local intervention in the high-tech economy. Authors Gary Anderson and Gregory Tassey suggest that U.S. economic policy places too much emphasis on macrostabilization efforts at the expense of policies targeted to promote technology development and entrepreneurship. They make the argument that one effective approach to federal intervention is through the support of research consortia and regional cluster development programs. Read the briefs...
FORWARD NM Pathways to Health Careers
New Mexico's Hidalgo and Grant counties have experienced chronic shortages of primary care providers. To help improve and ensure access to primary care in this rural area, FORWARD NM has developed a comprehensive workforce pipeline program, including programming for middle and high school students, undergraduates, medical students, graduate students and residents. The program reaches over 1,500 school-aged students throughout both counties, hosts 70+ rural rotation experiences annually, and in May 2013 received accreditation for a new family medicine residency program. Source: Rural Health Workforce Development Program Grantee Directory, 2010-2013
ERS releases the 2013 Urban Influence Codes
The Urban Influence (UI) codes classify all U.S. counties, as well as “municipios” in Puerto Rico, by size of metropolitan area, adjacency to a metropolitan or micropolitan area, and size of the largest town. These codes are updated every 10 years after the release of new decennial census data and updated metropolitan and micropolitan areas by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The latest UI codes were released in May 2013. Compared with 2003, in 2013 there are an additional 78 metropolitan counties, 114 counties moved from nonmetropolitan to metropolitan, and 36 counties changed from metropolitan to nonmetropolitan for a total of 1,167. The number of nonmetro counties fell from 2,053 to 1,976 between 2003 and 2013. The UI codes enable users to analyze the diversity of rural counties by their size, and access to larger economies that serve as centers of trade, finance, information, and communications. The codes provide a more finely articulated measure of rural and take advantage of OMB’s metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore classification system. ERS uses the codes extensively in its research on rural labor, poverty, population change, employment, and unemployment. A map can be found on the ERS website as part of the Urban Influence Codes data product, updated May 2013.
Geography of nonmetro population change is shifting
Opportunities for population growth and economic expansion vary widely from one nonmetro county to another, and new regional patterns of growth and decline have emerged in recent years. Spurred by an energy boom, large sections of the northern Great Plains turned around decades of population decline. Population growth slowed considerably in the Mountain West for the first time in decades, affecting numerous counties in western Colorado and Wyoming, central Oregon, northern Idaho, and elsewhere. At the same time, nonmetro population growth switched to decline in 21 Eastern States between 2004-06 and 2010-12. For example, most metro counties in Florida maintained above-average population growth through the recent housing crisis and recession, but nonmetro areas there went from 3-percent growth during 2004-06 to a -0.44-percent decline in the past 2 years. This map is found in the May 2013 issue of Amber Waves magazine.
TOOLS
American Community Survey Information Guide - Provides information about the American Community Survey (ACS), their collection of census data and how to access their data.
Organization: U.S. Census Bureau
Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Rural Primary Care - Contains information and tools to implement state-of-the art suicide prevention practices and overcome the significant hurdles this life-saving work faces in primary care practices. Organization: Suicide Prevention Resource Center
LEARNING
WEBINAR: Moving from Incremental to Transformational Impact,
Tuesday, July 9th, 11:00 am PST / 12:00 pm MST / 1:00 pm CST / 2:00 pm EST
Presented by Diana Peacock and Renee Baiorunos of Community Wealth Partners
Join us for a presentation and rich dialogue on how to achieve transformational, as opposed to incremental, impact. A team from Community Wealth Partners, a Share Our Strength organization dedicated to helping change agents solve social problems at the magnitude they exist, will share insights from their research on and experience with initiatives that have achieved dramatic improvement on our nation's most pressing problems. This session is geared towards social sector executives and rising leaders who wish to magnify the impact of their teams and organizations.
THIS WEBINAR IS FREE FOR MEMBERS AND JUST $10 FOR NON-MEMBERS
Conference Call: Designing for the Vision and Values of Your Community, July 25, 2013, 3pm to 4pm EDT. http://www.communitymatters.o…
If you want your project to truly succeed, it must reflect the vision and values of the community. But that’s easier said than done. Join this call to confirm and deepen your understanding of a community’s vision and values, learn how to use that understanding to inform design projects and a range of issues facing communities today, and hear strategies from folks that have succeeded in designing for the vision and values of their community.This call is part of a capacity building series offered jointly by CommunityMatters and the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design. Click here to sign up for other calls in this series.
WEBINAR: Crowdfunding: Can your organization leverage the online power of social media to access new sources of funding? Join Drew Tulchin, Social Enterprise Associates, on Thursday, September 26, 2013, 1-2 pm ET (noon-1 pm CT), as he answers this question. To register, click here.
ARCHIVED WEBINAR: Community Capital Raising: Tools for Investing Local - June 20, 2013 WCRL Webinar. Click here for a pdf of the slides. Click here for webinar recording.
ARTICLE: Managing Up – The Grantwriter's Dilemma, by Allison Shirk, Freelance Grantwriter
Good grantwriters have a unique perspective with respect to nonprofit organizations: We know what grantmakers want to hear and we know what we'd like to be able to put into grant proposals. But when conspicuous gaps begin to show up in proposals, what should you – the grantwriter – do?
Here are six elements of a good proposal that often are missing or inadequate, and some resources to help you and your employer/client address the problems they might be hiding....
Read the article»
WEBINAR: Facilitating Effective Small-Group Dialogues, Monday, June 24, 2013 at 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Want to facilitate an effective small-group discussion on mental health? This webinar will describe the role of the facilitator, walk through a typical session, and provide tips for facilitating effectively. We'll be offering two time slots for this webinar; please check on our website for the second time slot. We'll also post the video under "Training Opportunities" after the webinar.
Presenters:
- Betty Knighton, West Virginia Center for Civic Life
- Susanna Haas-Lyons, AmericaSpeaks Network Associate
Pre-register Here: http://www.creatingcommunitysolutions.org/partners/upcoming-webinar-facilitating-effective-small-group-dialogues
CONFERENCE CALLS: CommunityMatters and CIRD will co-host three capacity building conference calls to help selected towns plan for and implement successful community design workshops. These monthly calls are open to the public and designed to help any community working on a design or planning project get the skills they need to succeed, as well as the inspiration to get started:
- Designing for the Vision and Values of Your Community, July 25, 3:00-4:00PM EDT
- Secrets of Successful Communities, August 22, 3:00-4:00 PM EDT
WEBINAR: Organizing Multiple Conversations Across Your Community, Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Want to engage large, diverse numbers of people in productive small-group discussions on mental health? This webinar will give you a sense of what you might do, who you might work with, and how to get started. We'll be offering two time slots for this webinar; please check on our website for the second time slot. We'll also post the video under "Training Opportunities" after the webinar.
Presenters:
- Martha McCoy, Executive Director, Everyday Democracy
- Daniel Clark, Deputy Director, AmericaSpeaks
Pre-register Here: http://www.creatingcommunitysolutions.org/partners/upcoming-webinar-organizing-multiple-conversations-across-your-community
FUNDING
Aspen Institute - $1M Aspen Institute Ascend Fund: http://ascend.aspeninstitute.org/pages/aspen-ascend-fund.
Job Corps Now Enrolling - Job Corps is seeking new applicants ages 16 to 24 for its national career training and education program at 125 campuses across the country. Residential and nonresidential slots are available for the self-paced federal program. The program is an ideal opportunity to gain education, career training, and employability skills for eligible low-income individuals who may be looking for a steppingstone to a community college or for those who need additional support to pursue a community college degree.
• Learn More About Job Corps
• Visit the Job Corps Facebook Page
• Call 800-733-JOBS (5627)
PetSmart Charities Accepting Applications for Spay/Neuter Grant Programs
Grants of up to $100,000 a year for up to two years will be awarded to nonprofits, government agencies, and educational institutions for spay/neuter programs targeting owned pets and free-roaming cat populations in specific geographic areas with critical need.... Deadline: September 3, 2013
Walmart Foundation Accepting Applications for State Giving Program
Grants ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 are available to nonprofits in each of the fifty states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico for programs in education, workforce development, environmental
sustainability, health, and hunger relief.... Deadline: August 9, 2013
Build-A-Bear Workshop Accepting Grant Requests for Children's Health, Animals, and Literacy Programs
Grants of up to $5,000 are available to nonprofit organizations that provide programs benefiting children, families, and animals in a range of areas, including health, education, and domestic pet welfare.... Deadline: October 31, 2013
Avon Foundation for Women Invites Proposals for Domestic and Sexual Assault Training Programs
Four grants of up to $125,000 will be awarded for the development, creation, and dissemination of evidence-based materials, programs, or other forms of conversation starters that employers can use to educate their employees about violence prevention.... Deadline: July 19, 2013
Avon Foundation for Women Announces Expansion of Domestic Violence Survivor Empowerment Program in 2014 - Grants up to $65,000 will be awarded to fund up to twenty full-time Economic Empowerment Coordinator positions in domestic violence victim service agencies across the United States.... Deadline: July 12, 2013
Sunlight Foundation Invites Applications for Open-Source Technology Projects That Foster Greater Government Transparency
Through its OpenGov Grants program, the foundation will award one-time grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to support open-source projects that use technology to encourage more complete, equitable, and/or effective democratic participation.... Deadline: Rolling
OneCPD Plus: Technical Assistance and Capacity Building under the Transformation Initiative
OneCPD+ is intended as a collaborative effort among HUD, its customers – state and local grantees, public housing agencies, owners and managers of HUD-assisted housing, Continuums of Care (CoCs), non-profit grantees, HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and counselors, and other stakeholders – and successful applicants focused on building the kind of management systems and functional capacity necessary to successfully carry out comprehensive and sustainable “place-based” development and revitalization strategies.
HUD has announced the availability of approximately $16.5 million to fund OneCPD+. Additional funds may become available under this NOFA as a result of HUD’s efforts to recapture unused funds or to utilize carry over funds or other appropriated funds; their use will be subject to statutory constraints. Applications are due by July 31. Click here for complete background and the application package.
Eligible applicants include:
- A state or unit of general local government
- A public housing authority
- A public or private nonprofit organization or intermediary, including educational institutions and area-wide planning organizations or Indian tribes
- For-profit organizations
- Faith-based and community organizations
All organizations experienced and successful in providing any of the items listed below are encouraged to apply.
- Capacity building assistance in the areas of program design, technical execution, planning, financial management, organizational structure, using and reporting data, and regulatory compliance.
- Consulting on community development, affordable housing including the low income tax credit program, strategies to preserve the affordability of assisted housing, public housing programs, economic development, regional planning, organizational management, financing and underwriting, recapitalization, construction and rehabilitation management, project management, housing counseling, strategic planning, energy efficiency, fair housing, and housing and services for special needs populations, including homeless persons and those at risk of homelessness, persons with HIV/AIDS, veterans, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
- Facilitating and fostering local collaboration, strategic planning, and service coordination among HUD stakeholders and non-profit organizations and within local political structures.
- Knowledge management including developing, hosting and/or managing of websites, blogs, help desks and resources, and tracking Technical Assistance engagements, outputs, and outcomes, including related program outcomes.
- Preparing policy guidance and tools or materials for HUD approval.
- Improving the overall performance of a public housing agency by addressing deficiencies in the financial management and administration of HUD-funded programs (including but not limited to public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, and mixed finance development), providing repositioning options, and providing capacity building for PHA staff and boards.
- Preserving and recapitalizing distressed assets or those with expiring rental assistance contracts and/or affordability use agreements, as well as long term asset management, including physical or capital needs assessments.
- Leveraging funds, raising private equity investment, pre-development capital, preservation capital, or bank capital, and deal-structuring.
- Evaluating program design and effectiveness.
- Assessing performance measurement, including establishing outcomes or benchmarks.
- Integrating housing and supportive services and facilitating collaboration among housing providers and community-based healthcare providers.
- Reducing energy consumption in public or HUD-assisted properties.
- Workforce capacity and development for HUD customers.
Border Community Capital Initiative (BCCI) - http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/comm_planning/economicdevelopment/programs/rhed/bcci
For more information about the BCCI, call HUD’s Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development at 1-877-787-2526 or (202) 708-2290 or send an email to BCCI@hud.gov.
The BCCI Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) is published at Grants.gov. The submission deadline date is August 26, 2013. Up to $2 million remains available and committed for this NOFA.
Program Description - The Border Community Capital Initiative ("Border Initiative") is a collaborative effort among three federal agencies - the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of the Treasury - Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) and the Department of Agriculture - Rural Development (USDA-RD). The Initiative's goal is to increase access to capital for affordable housing, business lending and community facilities in the chronically underserved and undercapitalized U.S./Mexico border region. Specifically, it will provide direct investment and technical assistance to community development lending and investing institutions that focus on affordable housing, small business and community facilities to benefit the residents of colonias.
Program Specifics - Categories: Under the BCCI, HUD will award up to $2,000,000 on a competitive basis in two funding categories: Category I - Single Applicant and Category II - Consortium. Applicants applying for Category I must be a local rural non-profit or a Federally Recognized Indian tribe. Organizations applying for Category II must apply as a consortium with one organization acting as the lead applicant and taking responsibility for administrating the HUD funding. Organizations cannot apply both independently and as part of a consortium. If HUD receives an independent application from an organization that is also part of a consortium, the independent application will be considered ineligible.
Eligible applicants: Applicants that are eligible to participate in this initiative are community development lenders and investors, which may be local rural non-profit organizations or federally recognized tribes. Applicants do not need to be certified as Community Development Financial Institutions by the CDFI Fund at the time of application. If applicants propose to become certified as a CDFI, they should lay out milestones and timeframes toward the CDFI certification process in their application. Applicants may serve other markets than colonias residents and communities, using other sources of financing.
NEH: America's Historical and Cultural Organizations - Application deadline: August 14, 2013
NEH: America's Media Makers - Application deadline: August 14, 2013
EPA: National Center for Innovation in Small Drinking Water Systems - Application deadline: August 21, 2013
NEH: Digital Humanities Start-up Grants - Application deadline: September 12, 2013
Multi-Arts Production Fund Invites Letters of Inquiry for Performance Work Embodying Spirit of Exploration - The MAP Fund will provide grants of up to $45,000 to nonprofit arts organizations working on projects that examine notions of cultural difference and include a live performance.... Deadline: October 4, 2013 (Letters of Inquiry)
Headwaters Foundation Seek Applications for Native-American Social Justice Projects - The fund will provide grants of up to $10,000 to Native organizations in Minnesota and Wisconsin for programs that address issues of racial, social, economic, and environmental justice.... Deadline: August 1, 2013
Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children Invites Letters of Intent for 2014 Access to Care Grants - Matching grants of up to $20,000 will be awarded in support of community-based initiatives that provide quality oral health care to underserved children.... Deadline: August 1, 2013
Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation Seeks Applications for Mental Health Research - Grants of up to $20,000 will be awarded to support research on interventions designed to prevent or ameliorate major social, psychological, behavioral, or public health problems affecting children, adults, couples, families, or communities.... Deadline: November 1, 2013
Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Invites Will Fund Projects That Improve Quality of Life for People With Paralysis - The foundation will award grants to organizations working to help disabled individuals and their families and caregivers in ways that give them increased independence and opportunities.... Deadline: September 3, 2013
Small Business Innovation Research Program - Phase I Grant, Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-SBIR-004332 - Deadline: Sep 26, 2013
Funds may be awarded up to $100,000 for Phase I and up to $450,000 for Phase II. Success rates for applicants have been about 14% for Phase I and 50-60% for Phase II. Projects dealing with agriculturally related manufacturing and alternative and renewable energy technologies are encouraged across all 2014 SBIR topic areas. USDA SBIR's flexible research areas ensure innovative projects consistent with USDA's vision of a healthy and productive nation in harmony with the land, air, and water. USDA SBIR has awarded over 2000 research and development projects since 1983, allowing hundreds of small businesses to explore their technological potential, and providing an incentive to profit from the commercialization of innovative ideas.
The Office of Economic Adjustment within the Department of Defense has announced a federal funding opportunity (FFO) to obtain funding for community planning assistance and economic diversification in response to reductions or cancellations in DoD spending. Assistance may be granted if the reduction has a direct and significant adverse impact on a community or its residents.
Through a notice in today’s FEDERAL REGISTER, OEA outlines the proposal submission requirements and instructions, and eligibility and selection criteria that will be used to evaluate proposals from state or local governments. OEA assistance awards to a state or local government may result from proposals submitted under this notice, subject to available appropriations.
Proposals will be considered for funding on a continuing basis, subject to available appropriations. OEA will evaluate all proposals and provide a response to a respondent within 30 business days of OEA's receipt of a final, complete application.
AMA Foundation Healthy Living Grant (Formerly Fund for Better Health) - Application deadline: Jul 16, 2013
Provides healthy lifestyles seed grants for grassroots public health programs. This year's grants are supporting projects in the area of Prescription Drug Safety.
Rural Veterans Coordination Pilot - Application deadline: Jul 19, 2013
Funding for organizations that will assist veterans and their families who are transitioning from military service to civilian life in rural or underserved communities.
Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) - Letter of Intent (Required): Jul 6, 2013; Application deadline: Aug 6, 2013. Offers grants for new or continued Native American Research Centers for Health, which support research and research training to meet the needs of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.
Rural Health Fellows Program - Application deadline: Aug 31, 2013. A year-long, intensive program designed to develop a community of rural health leaders.
Senior Corps Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) - Letter of Intent (Optional): Aug 9, 2013; Application deadline: Sep 10, 2013
Offers funds to develop Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) projects that support volunteers 55 years and older in serving specific local and community needs.
Bureau of Primary Health Care Loan Guarantee Program - Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Loan program to Section 330 health centers to obtain a loan guarantee for the financing of a medical facility construction, renovation and modernization.
HUD Section 242: Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program - Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Loan program to help hospitals finance new construction, refinancing, and modernization or to purchase major movable equipment such as hospital beds, wheeled equipment, and office machines.
ARC Launches Appalachian Community Capital Initiative to Build Access to Credit in Region
Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Federal Co-Chair Earl F. Gohl announced the creation of Appalachian Community Capital (ACC), a new central bank for development lenders that will increase the availability of capital to small businesses in the 13-state Appalachian Region. Gohl made the announcement at the Clinton Global Initiative's CGI America conference with Ray Moncrief, ACC board chair and executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, and Donna Gambrell, director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. (See information on video of the announcement below.)
For growing businesses in Appalachia, finding capital is even more difficult, as a number of systemic factors have limited the sources of available capital. According to recent studies, Appalachian small businesses receive only 82 percent of the loans of their comparable counterparts nationally, while businesses in Appalachia's economically distressed counties receive less than 60 percent of the loans of their national counterparts.
To address this gap, ARC, along with participating community loan fund partners in the Region, has committed to establishing a new source of funding for development lenders and helping capitalize it with $42 million over the next 24 months. This new central bank is expected to leverage $233 million in private bank capital and help create 2,200 jobs.
Appalachian Community Capital will raise grant capital and leveraged debt from funding sources not available to or underused by individual funds, such as regional and national banks, utilities, and national foundations. Because this new central bank will pool the capital needs of all its members, it can attract investors that are seeking to place larger amounts of money.
ARC will make a lead investment of $3.45 million in equity and operating support, and with its regional partners will help raise an additional $39 million in debt and equity from bank, philanthropic, and public investors.
The Commission has significant experience in supporting development finance institutions in the Region. In addition to its lead investment in Appalachian Community Capital, ARC will contribute a range of resources to the bank's development, including assistance with creation of a business plan, with formation of the entity as a not-for-profit organization, and with raising capital from bank and foundation investors.
Suzette M. Agans
Rural Development | Community and Economic Development
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W. Stop 3254 | Washington, D.C. 20250
Phone: 202.401.1922 | Fax 202.401.7311
www.rurdev.usda.gov
"Committed to the future of rural communities"
"Estamos dedicados al futuro de las comunidades rurales"
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