AFN's New Tool: The Appalachian Helene Impact Explorer! |
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This month, marking one year since Hurricane Helene’s landfall in Appalachia, AFN launched a first-of-its-kind tool aimed to make disaster giving easier. In Inside Philanthropy's exclusive on the new tool, Martha Ramirez writes, "A year after Helene, national attention has faded. Given that philanthropy is often driven by quantitative data, however, the explorer tool has the potential not only to help coordinate local funding, but also assist funders outside the region who may be confused about where and how to give."
If you have questions about the Explorer or would like to chat about it, contact AFN's Data and Research Coordinator, Melody Lutz. |
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AFN's Annual Membership Survey is one of the major ways we get a sense of your organization's priorities and how we can support the network best in service of our mission.
All organizations who complete the survey will be entered into to win a one-of-a-kind gift bag with AFN merchandise and Appalachian-made goods! Once you begin the survey, it will need to be completed all at once for your responses to be submitted, so please plan accordingly. This survey is due by November 3rd, 2025. |
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Join us on the first Friday of every month at 10 AM EST for our network-wide Hurricane Helene Response Call. This is a space for sharing updates, ideas, and organizing around Helene Recovery and Community Resilience. Use the button below to register and add the call to your calendar. We look forward to building with you. |
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We're continuing to hold the same pre-existing time block for group meetings through the end of 2025. This time will now be used for members to convene, organize, and reflect on how they want their group to evolve under the new AFN structure.
You can check out what these new programs entail and see more of what's to come by checking out this preview. If you or others in your organization are interested in participating in upcoming programming, contact Jess Mullins Fullen, AFN's Programs and Learning Manager.
Do YOU have ideas about future programming? Click here to let us know about them today! |
What's Next for our programs...? |
A Learning Opportunity, Continued! |
In August, AFN convened a group of member and partner funders for a conversation around the anticipated impacts of OBBBA’s enactment into law. Particularly as it related to rural hospitals, communities, and systems level impacts, AFN partnered with subject matter experts at National Rural Health Association for a data rich presentation on where the nation, and the region, were at in that moment. Now, we look toward what comes next.
At the request of our members and Health Group, we are continuing this conversation. Click the pictures below to learn more, or sign up to join! *Please note, this opportunity is FREE to AFN Members. Click the Pictures to Learn More! |
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In Part II Session You Will: |
- Understand how the Rural Health Transformation Fund blends Medicaid, public, and philanthropic dollars to strengthen rural health systems.
- Explore initiatives in workforce, access, and technology that drive innovation and sustain essential care.
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Learn how philanthropy can play a catalytic role amid ongoing Medicaid cuts.
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In This Session You Will: |
- Hear directly from state rural health associations that bridge policy, practice, and community.
- Discover how these associations advance advocacy, coordination, and implementation at the state level.
- Identify opportunities for philanthropy to align and amplify impact across states.
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| In This Session You Will: |
- Reflect on key insights and shared learning from the series.
- Discuss how members are applying lessons in their own work.
- Identify next steps for philanthropy’s role in sustaining rural health transformation.
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- Place-Based | November 25, 2025 |
- As we think through programming for next year, join us for an informal discussion around Funding for the Moment We're In.
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While this conversation will be housed by our Place-Based Group, this conversation is also relevant to funders with experience in or interested in mutual aid, trust-based practices, and participatory frameworks
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How is the current moment reshaping what it means to move resources with accountability, care, and shared power?
- Health Group | November 20, 2025
- The next Health Group Meeting will coincide with the close of our Medicaid Cuts Learning Journey. We will spend time on that call debriefing and discussing:
- Based on research and data collected by National Rural Health Association, the group will reflect on key insights and shared learning around how cuts to Medicaid will impact rural
- Share how members are applying best practices around outreach, partnership, and advocacy in their own work
- Identify discussed or emerging ways funders can play a role in sustaining rural health transformation.
- Please note: Whether you were able to attend the series or not, this conversation will be meanginful for you!
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Communities of Practice are member only, standing peer circles that meet quarterly. |
- Arts & Culture | November 18, 2025
- Cappalachia (Capital in Appalachia) | January 14, 2026
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SCHEDULED LEARNING JOURNEYS |
Learning Journeys are time-bound deep dives into a focused topic. |
In addition to the continuation of the In Appalachia: Medicaid Cuts Learning Journey, check out the opportunity below:
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| Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund |
Announced $500,000 in grant funding to organizations across the Appalachian region |
You can read more about the Fund's grant-making in the region here. |
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| Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) |
Gov. Beshear, Congressman Rogers announce $26 Million for Eastern Kentucky revitalization at 2025 SOAR Summit |
Earlier this month, JTF grantee Shaping Our Appalachian Region’s 2025 SOAR Summit convened leaders to highlight workforce, tourism, and economic opportunities in Eastern Kentucky. At the event, Gov. Andy Beshear and U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers announced nearly $26 million in federal funding for 15 projects across 11 counties. One of the awardees is another JTF grantee, Backroads of Appalachia, which received an award of $260,000 for the Lynch Motorsports Welcome Center.
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SOAR Executive Director Colby Hall and VisitLEX President Mary Quinn Ramer meet to discuss tourism in Kentucky on Kentucky Newsmakers |
Find the conversation between SOAR and VisitLEX here. |
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The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Smoky Mountains News cover how Dogwood Health Trust uses local ties to assess Helene's aftermath |
Five days isn’t enough time to process a disaster like Hurricane Helene, yet as uncertainty swirled and rescue operations still played out across Western North Carolina, Dogwood Health Trust’s 16 board members found whatever internet they could, got on a Zoom meeting and approved $30 million in grants to organizations providing vital on-the-ground services. Read more here.
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| United Way of Southwest Virginia |
Launches One-time Bridge Program to Support Nonprofit Sustainability in Southwest Virginia and the New River Valley
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United Way of Southwest Virginia is launching a one-time Bridge Funding Program of $188,164.18 to help nonprofit organizations across the region remain sustainable and continue providing vital services during a year of funding uncertainty. This limited-time initiative was created in direct response to the shifts in philanthropic, public, and private funding sources that have impacted planning cycles for many nonprofit organizations across Southwest Virginia and the New River Valley. Read more here.
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| Fahe, Just Transition Fund, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Trust for Civic Life, Rural LISC |
These AFN members were mentioned in a Chronicle of Philanthropy article, Rural America is Struggling. Where's Philanthropy? |
New donor collaboratives are experimenting, but few national foundations bring big dollars or a strategy. Read the full article here. |
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| Appalachian Community Fund |
Appalachian Community Fund (ACF) Technical Assistance Grants are given to help with specific technical assistance needs of community-based organizations that address underlying causes of the economic and social distress of the region. Find more information here. |
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Dogwood Health Trust is offering open grant opportunities for 2025 designed to strengthen organizations, build capacity, and support innovation and collaboration within and among leaders and organizations in Western North Carolina. In addition, Dogwood’s Leverage Fund and a new Grants Help Desk will offer focused grant writing support and advice to eligible organizations who seek to apply for funds from sources outside of Dogwood.
Find more information here. |
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Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation |
The Babcock Foundation invites proposals from local, statewide, regional and national nonprofits serving the South that have track records of helping people and places move out of poverty and achieve greater social and economic justice. Find more information here. |
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South Arts offers a number of grant opportunities for artists and their professional development. Some open and upcoming grants include: Literary arts grant (Writers only), Professional Development Grants for Arts organizations (deadline 4/30/2026), Arts in Rural Places (deadline 4/30/2026).
Find more information on these opportunities and others here. |
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If you have news, an opportunity, grant, or webinar you would like for AFN to share in its next newsletter, please submit it here and contact Kalista Pepper at kalista@appalachiafunders.org with any questions. | |
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One challenge Appalachian funders have faced post-Helene is having a place to visualize and collect data related to the hurricane. Funders wanted answers to questions like which areas were hit hardest, and where the government stepped in versus where it did not. That’s why the Appalachia Funders Network (AFN) is launching the Appalachian Helene Impact Explorer tool, which compiles datasets and maps to highlight where
philanthropic dollars can make the biggest difference in the region.
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| Black by God | McDowell County Deserves More Than Studies and Drive-by Journalism |
In the Reimagine Rural podcast, Ryan Eller of the Appalachia Funders Network makes a point that mirrors Jason Tartt, Sr.’s critique: Appalachia has long been trapped in stories told about it rather than by it.
“For over a century and a half, there have been very intentional narrative efforts to typecast the region… Journalists would come maybe one time, meet the Hatfields and McCoys, and then just run with it. Those financing the narratives wanted access to the land. They gained a lot through broad deeds. Over time, that has a conditioning effect. These narratives prevent people from viewing Appalachia as investible.” — Ryan Eller
Eller argues that these stereotypes weren’t harmless — they were tools of exploitation. Just as Jason warns against “poverty gawking” in McDowell, Eller highlights how distorted portrayals of Appalachia discourage investment. |
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The Daily Yonder | Weathering the Storm Together: Community Resiliency Hubs Hold the Promise of Local Self-Sufficiency and Supportive Mutual Aid |
The State Energy Office of North Carolina just announced a major investment of $5 million to fund microgrids at up to 24 new community resilience hubs, a collaboration with the Footprint Project, Land of Sky Regional Council, and others. The Appalachian Solar Finance Fund, Invest Appalachia, and the Appalachian Funders Network are working together to invest in hubs. Regional leaders are partnering to create community resilience after the next storm. |
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It’s been a full and fast-paced month for AFN staff, with travel across Appalachia and beyond! We’ve been on the move presenting AFN’s latest reports on the state of Appalachia, connecting with members, funders, and friends of the region, scouting potential sites for the 2026 Gathering, and sharing our insights on panels across the country. Here’s a quick look at where October has taken us:
→Ryan traveled to Chicago for the Democracy Funders Conference, to Charlotte for the Press Forward Convening, and to Asheville twice for both the Trust for Civic Life Gathering and the Dogwood Health Trust Convening! →Jess and Kalista traveled to (secret gathering location) in Kentucky to check out the hidden gem that will host AFN's April 2026 Gathering! |
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→Melody presented AFN's State of Funding in Appalachia Report at the Philanthropy WV Conference in Davis, WV!
→Jess will travel to Washington, D.C. to speak on a panel about Reframing the Risk in Rural Investments at the Opportunity Finance Network Conference! →Melody will head to Washington, D.C. to applaud the impact and incredible career of ACC's Donna Gambrell at her retirement celebration!
→Kalista will attend the Just Transition Fund Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the end of this month! |
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What's Good in Appalachia? |
October brings both Global Diversity Awareness Month and, in some parts of the region, Appalachian Heritage Month. |
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It’s a fitting pairing, because Appalachia has always been more mosaic than monolith. Long before the word “Appalachia” existed as a place name, these mountains were, and remain, the ancestral homelands of many Indigenous nations whose knowledge and stewardship continue to shape this place. Through colonization, Scots-Irish, Chinese, German, English, free Black and enslaved peoples also crossed the mountains in search of opportunity and survival. During industrialization, poor and working-class families from across the nation, notably from the Deep South, as well as European nations like Italy and Poland, moved here to do the hard labor the coal mines and timber yards demanded. Each of these groups brought their own language, traditions, and culture that was woven, sometimes harmoniously and sometimes through hardship, to form the patchwork quilt that is contemporary Appalachia today.
That diversity runs deep in our traditions. The region’s music, for example, is a blend of cultures: the fiddle tunes of Scots-Irish settlers, the banjo adapted from a West African instrument called the ngoni, the German dulcimer, Italian mandolins, and Cherokee flutes and whistles. The ancestry of our region and the relics of its past have melted together to show that Appalachia has always been a meeting place, not a single story.
This month, as we celebrate where we come from, it’s worth remembering that Appalachia is a patchwork quilt - each piece beautiful on its own, but together, remarkable. |
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Other News That Caught Our Eye |
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