In 2023, AFN released it's Road Map to Asset Based Investing in Central Appalachia. In it, we found that higher levels of civic engagement in rural communities were directly correlated to higher levels of economic and community wellbeing.

We know civic engagement matters, and that for more than a decade, the Appalachia Funders Network has convened, connected, and supported more than 70 funders dedicated to the socio-economic transition in Central Appalachia. This effort not only addresses a critical democracy and civic engagement imperative but also presents a transformative economic opportunity for rural communities in Central Appalachia.

News Deserts in Central Appalachia

In Central Appalachia, 78% of counties are classified as news deserts, including 13 counties with no news outlets at all. This urgent situation has prompted community foundations to take action to restore news businesses and ensure that local narratives and issues are adequately covered. Press Forward provides additional infrastructure, and access to capital, to support their efforts and those of the news organizations in their communities.

Addressing Philanthropic Disparities

What's more, funders in rural Central Appalachia face significant challenges, with only one-tenth the philanthropic resources of their urban counterparts; while also grappling with issues such as broadband deserts, healthcare deserts, food deserts, poverty, and the opioid epidemic, these disparities underscore the need for national initiatives like Press Forward to recognize and address the historic under-resourcing of the region.

We are still working with our partners to discern the internal structuring of this initiative, ensuring sustained success and the proliferation of long-term investment into the most historically excluded parts the region. This takes time to get right.

Bear with us while we work toward creating processes that will uplift Appalachian stories and those telling them, and check back here frequently for updates.

Despite economic marginalization and a still developing philanthropic infrastructure due to generations of extraction from the region, many in coal country are stepping forward to rebuild local media.

The Appalachian Funders Network — through partnership with Invest Appalachia, an impact investment non-profit providing fund management, and Media Growth Partners, a veteran journalism business consultant — is bringing these local media funding initiatives together with Press Forward in launching a Rural News Fund (RNF) to guarantee that 100% of pooled dollars from Appalachia funders remains in the region.

With the initial goal of raising $1M for the RNF, we are nearly there! Grants made out of the RNF will provide:

• Technical Assistance

• Working capital for staff building & ensured sustainability

• Capital for innovative practices & media tech

• Crucial data to support marketing efforts & secure future funding

While we are hard at work building the internal controls to support this endeavor, we expect grantmaking to begin in Spring/Summer 2025.

Join this effort to collaborate on strategies that will strengthen the information ecosystem, news businesses, and create more civically engaged Appalachia. Contact us at the link below or by clicking here and someone from our team will be in touch in 1-2 business days with more information.

To learn more about membership with AFN, please visit our Membership page

We are so excited you are here! To stay in the loop about the exciting things to come, and any upcoming announcements, please subscribe for updates by clicking here.

Though we are in the early stages, expect more information to be posted at the end of 2024/early 2025 as we complete an ongoing narrative change pilot program.