The Project
Invest Appalachia (IA) is a regional blended capital platform designed to accelerate and expand community investment across Central Appalachia. IA provides a large-scale platform to absorb investment from national sources and channels it to existing partnerships on the ground, including community development financial institutions (CDFIs), local foundations, and community development groups.
C3 funding furthered the development and implementation of IA’s new blended capital design, particularly Invest Appalachia’s community accountability infrastructure of an Investment Committee and Community Advisory Council. IA tracks its investments through an ongoing impact framework that assesses system-level changes in each targeted economic sector and measures the amount of dollars leveraged, businesses served, co-investment partners, and communities impacted. IA also tracks impact across its portfolio related to increased equity, community wealth, and sustainability.
Value and Outcomes
Catalytic capital has a huge role to play in locations like Appalachia that have been historically marginalized, lack investment capital, and would benefit from projects that enable an increased flow of resources. IA’s regional approach brings together multiple investors and partners, drawing on connections to regional funders, local economic development actors, and longstanding CDFIs that are already operating in the region. As such, IA’s project is helping fuel systemic change in a region that has long faced barriers to equitable economic opportunity and sustainable growth.
For more information on Invest Appalachia, visit their website.