For Our Members & Region

Our Programming

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AFN creates spaces rooted in shared values for both our members and the wider Central Appalachian community to foster deeper learning, collaborate across sectors, and take aligned action to promote a just transition across the region.

Our program structure honors the history of the network while making space for what's next: member programs that connect ideas to action, encourage systemic change, and reflect the collective strength of our members.

MEMBER PROGRAMS

  • Communities of Practice

    Communities of Practice are ongoing, member-only, practice-based peer-learning circles designed to build relationships, exchange strategies, and deepen shared understanding across the network.

    They are always free and are an exclusive membership benefit.

    FREE - EXCLUSIVE MEMBER BENEFIT

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  • Learning Journeys

    Learning Journeys are time-bound, cohort-based opportunities for funders to delve deeper into and share learning on complex topics affecting our communities. They are designed to help funders align strategies, learn from experts, and deepen place-based understanding. We offer these at cost to ensure equitable pay for our speakers and scholars.

    Learning Journeys are often open to members and non-members alike, though non-members may pay an additional fee.

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  • Action Teams

    Action Teams are collaborative, deliverable-oriented formations through which members work together to incubate concrete outputs — such as a playbook, a new fund, or solutions to regional challenges — by co-investing their time, energy, and capital in close partnership with other funders, practitioners, and AFN staff.

    Participation in any Action Team is free as a membership benefit.

    FREE - EXCLUSIVE MEMBER BENEFIT

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  • "Blending bigger ideas and information with local action is part of what makes being a member of AFN so valuable to me as a practitioner. I am grateful for a better understanding of regional data, promising opportunities I've gained, and shared strategies that strengthen local work and impact across the broader central Appalachian region."

    Mary Fant Donnan, Executive Director, The Alleghany Foundation

  • "AFN provides immeasurable value by enabling funders and other regional change makers to learn from and with each other. In a rapidly evolving philanthropic sector, AFN membership allows me to build my network, understand emerging trends, and employ best practices shared among peers working in Appalachia."

    Hannah Conover, Executive Director, Grant Ready Kentucky

  • "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."

    Deb Markley, Senior Vice President, LOCUS Impact Investing And VCC Social Enterprises

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