The Appalachian Regional Commission Thursday announced $26.5 million in grants to expand and diversify the economy in Appalachia’s coal-impacted communities through the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative.

Six Pennsylvania projects were awarded over $3.6 million in grants.  They included--

--  $1,227,447 to the Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission in Altoona, Blair County to expand the Alleghenies Entrepreneurial Ecosystem - Startup Alleghenies.

Startup Alleghenies seeks to recognize, encourage, and guide entrepreneurs to create new businesses or expand existing businesses, ultimately generating new jobs and investments in the Alleghenies Region.

The project will identify innovative, entrepreneurial individuals and connect them with coaches/mentors who will link them with resources and training to facilitate their success.

Startup Alleghenies first received a POWER grant in 2017, with the work focused on Blair, Cambria, and Somerset Counties.

The new grant will help the Alleghenies Entrepreneurial Ecosystem increase the number of new business starts by expanding the geography served to include Bedford, Fulton, and Huntingdon Counties and by enriching the offerings provided through the four existing pillars of the ecosystem including: providing coaching, creating places for entrepreneurs, establishing a network of resources, and producing events, gatherings, and trainings.

The expansion is expected to create 30 new businesses, improve 20 existing businesses, leverage $2 million in private investment, and create 150 new jobs. Additional funding for the work of Startup Alleghenies is provided by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies.

-- $1,035,000 to Innovation Works, Inc. in Pittsburgh, for the Western Pennsylvania Small Business Services For Coal-Impacted Communities Program.

The project focuses on the revitalization of western Pennsylvania's coal-impacted communities through innovation and entrepreneurship by providing opportunities for those negatively impacted by contractions in the coal economy, including displaced individuals looking for new jobs or opportunities to start their own businesses, main-street businesses in need of business-support services, and new and existing manufacturing and technology businesses.

The SBS is a joint initiative of Innovation Works/Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania, and the University of Pittsburgh's Institute of Entrepreneurial Excellence (IEE).

Together, they will provide opportunities through co-working spaces, accelerators, and incubators to service business owners, independent contractors, and entrepreneurs in communities where there are limited resources.

Targeting 24 coal-impacted counties in western Pennsylvania, the project is expected to help create 32 new businesses and 156 new jobs, retain 260 existing jobs, and leverage $20 million in private investment.

-- $670,000 to Catalyst Connection in Pittsburgh for PA MAKES (Pennsylvania Manufacturing Assistance for Keystone Entrepreneurial Success).

This initiative will be implemented in over 48 coal-impacted counties across Pennsylvania and use mini grants that will support small and medium manufacturing enterprises (SME’s) in an “economic gardening approach” that provides targeted and direct assistance to companies.

Catalyst Connection is the region’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), providing technical assistance to help businesses increase their competitiveness. PA MAKES’ efforts to diversify and grow SMEs will include building SMEs’ capacity, improving efficiencies and demand locally, stimulating job creation, and driving economic impact.

To help SMEs become more competitive, PA MAKES will help these enterprises make strategic business investments that will foster market and product diversification and growth.

Outcomes of the initiative are expected to include 42 businesses improved, 120 new jobs created, 1,200 jobs retained, and $15 million in leveraged private investment.

-- $587,950 to the Community College of Beaver County in Beaver  for the Tristate Energy and Advanced Manufacturing (TEAM) Consortium in order to launch a three-part, regional (Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia) workforce development initiative.

The initiative’s goal is to increase enrollment and graduation from education and training programs to provide a supply of skilled workers for energy and advanced manufacturing (E&AM) industries that are critical to the resurgence of the tristate region.

The initiative’s first step is to align relevant curricula among higher education institutions in the three states to facilitate the creation of seamless pathways to jobs.

The second is to provide the necessary online access to information and referrals to programs within E&AM, and the third builds on the success of outreach and engagement practices that raise awareness of, change perceptions about, and increase interest in pursuing occupations in targeted STEM manufacturing sectors.

Within three years of completion of this project all 120 participating businesses will be improved by upskilling their current workforce and/or hiring new workers, 600 jobs will be created, 402 students will obtain employment, 752 workers will have higher skills, and eight new programs will be implemented.

The grant builds on work funded by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and Chevron and takes advantage of an agreement for developing the region’s shale resources signed in 2015 (and subsequently renewed) by the Governors of the three participating states.

-- $72,000 to the Pennsylvania Environmental Council in Pittsburgh for a feasibility study assessing the uncompleted sections of the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail and the PA Wilds Loop.

These two trails are a part of the Industrial heartland Trails Coalition, which utilizes existing natural and cultural assets in the region to diversify the local economies.

Work will include right-of-way acquisition assessments, community outreach, segment prioritizations, and identifying funding sources that will help cover the costs of completing the final 210 miles in the trail system.

The local communities have already seen the benefits of a burgeoning tourism sector from recently completed trail sections. A previous POWER grant is supporting entrepreneurship activities in the Pennsylvania Wilds.

-- $40,000 to SEDA-Council of Governments in Lewisburg, Union County for a feasibility study of broadband access in four central Pennsylvania counties (Clinton, Lycoming, Northumberland, Union).

The study will assess current broadband needs in the four-county region and review existing infrastructure assets, both public and private.

With this data, three communities in each county found to likely benefit the most from increased access to broadband will be selected for further implementation projects. The study will also help create a model Request For Proposals (RFP) that can be used for future implementation projects.

Click Here for a complete list of grants awarded.

For more information on this program, visit the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative webpage.

[Editor’s Note: The Appalachian Regional Commission was targeted for elimination by the Trump Administration in 2017.]

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[Posted: Oct. 12, 2018]

10/15/2018