CAPACITY BUILDING & COLLABORATION
Weaving positive systems change across the region.
We offer multiple ways to engage such as webinars, events, and special collaborative projects.
The primary differentiator within the AFN environment is focusing on our region. We support our members to learn together so they can improve their work on the ground.
We also seek to create collaborative environments so that members can try new approaches in their home organizations and share results together.
WEBinars
Our webinars feature current topics of interest, as well as presentations by federal partners.
For example, in the past year we hosted webinars ranging across such topic as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices; How the ACE Act impacts communities; the ins and outs of ARC’s Appalachia Nonprofit Resource Center; Recreation Economy for Rural Communities, presented by the EPA; and more.
GROUPS
As members seek to dig deeper into their areas of focus, they may wish to join a Group for information sharing with peers.
The agendas are shaped by the Group participants and range from hosting a regional meeting, such as the Health Group’s Oral Health Summits, to producing a publication, such as the Arts & Culture Group’s commissioning of a profiles project about the power of the arts unique to Appalachian culture.
AFN ANNUAL GATHERING
Our annual meeting, the AFN Gathering, is structured for lively participation, leadership, and passion for the region.
Each year the event features local site visits to see practitioners that are creating economic opportunities in their communities. AFN Members participate on a Program Planning Team to shape the agenda. For example, in past years this convening has been held in Roanoke, VA; Kingsport, TN; and Athens, OH.
CROSS-GROUP COLLABORATION
Network members are energized by the potential of working together across Groups to tackle cross-cutting barriers.
Topics of current interest and activity include: blending grantmaking and capital investing, oral health and employability, the outdoor recreation economy, broadband and rural connectivity, and equitable funder practices. The Network also serves as an expert guide and facilitator for funders from outside the region to catalyze new approaches to benefit communities. For example, during the pandemic, the Food and Agriculture and Place-based Groups collaborated to regrant to local nonprofits working in the food ecosystem, thanks to funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“The Appalachia Funders Network plays an important role in organizing the community investment ecosystem across Central Appalachia. AFN brings capital providers of all types together with community practitioners to build a shared analysis of the region’s opportunities and challenges. As regional philanthropy considers new roles in that ecosystem, including providing catalytic capital to move worthy projects forward, AFN will remain a cross-regional venue for organizations to share lessons learned, identify opportunities for collaborative action, and support an even stronger investment ecosystem for the decades ahead.”
