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Generation West Virginia is one of a number of organizations now striving to revitalize the state\u2019s economy, which has historically relied heavily on the coal industry. As the industry declines across Appalachia, it has left glaring economic voids. President Biden\u2019s Build Back Better agenda has recently provided much-needed support for regional transitions away from fossil fuel industries. Yet advocates worry despite the new funding, smaller communities may still get left behind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere have been [past] periods where lots of federal money has flowed into the region, but the real roots of our problems have not really been solved,\u201d says Brandon Dennison, the founder of the non-profit Coalfield Development<\/a>, which has been working to rebuild local industries around Appalachia.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Born and raised in West Virginia, Dennison sees a strong link between the region\u2019s current hardships, and its past reliance on coal as the sole driver of the economy, a cautionary tale that has shaped Dennison\u2019s vision for creating more resilient paths forward. Coalfield Development started as a volunteer effort in 2010, when Dennison started talking to a couple of friends who worked in construction. He says their initial idea was to hire unemployed locals to build green, affordable housing\u2014they started with a crew of just three people in one county. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It took three years for Coalfield Development to get their first grant funding to support their efforts, which have since scaled up to providing a combination of paid on-the-job training, higher education opportunities, and other personal development for Appalachian residents. With teams now working in multiple counties, Dennison says their ultimate goal is to empower workers with the skills they need to establish their own businesses around the state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to starting the first solar company in the area\u2014which now employs over 80 people and is now operating as an independent and profitable business\u2014Coalfield Development supports agricultural projects, local craftspeople, and ecotourism through mountaintop restoration efforts. \u201cWe want everything we do to benefit people here to be environmentally sustainable, but also to be financially sustainable,\u201d says Dennison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To achieve that goal, he\u2019s working to make sure that significant funding is reaching other local organizations, who are often best suited to put in motion projects tailored to their communities\u2019 needs. It\u2019s a different strategy than many federal programs, which often give funds to the state. \u201cThey just assume the state government’s going to give it out in the hills and hollers where it’s needed, and that never really seems to actually happen,\u201d Dennison says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bolstering the organization\u2019s bottom-up approach, Coalfield Development recently led a successful bid by a collaboration with Generation West Virginia and other groups that they are calling the ACT Now Coalition<\/a>. The consortium recently received 63 million dollars<\/a> of federal grant funding through the Build Back Better Regional Challenge. The coalition of West Virginia organizations who will benefit from the funding includes a diverse set of community groups, universities, businesses, and nonprofits.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n But even as expansive federal legislation<\/a> supports established projects and kickstarts new ones, many smaller organizations foresee major hurdles ahead. Alex Weld, the executive director of Generation West Virginia, says, \u201cas federal funding allows us to scale our work, it also means the operational costs of our work exponentially increase\u201d\u2014an expense that grant funding often doesn\u2019t support.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Weld says simply having the administrative capacity to ensure that grant paperwork is filed accurately\u2014and every dollar is accounted for\u2014is one of the biggest challenges for smaller organizations. That\u2019s why if you look at who receives grant funding, it\u2019s often states or large universities with existing administrative capacity, rather than grassroots organizations. \u201cWe\u2019re all very, very cognizant of ensuring that all of the implementation procedures are done correctly,\u201d Weld says, especially as grant money is typically awarded as reimbursement, rather than up-front payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generation West Virginia is leading the workforce development portion of the ACT Now Coalition, which means they will be helping ensure that four other grantees all meet these reimbursement requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They have experience facing these kinds of challenges. \u201cWe’ve always been small and nimble,\u201d Weld says, which has helped shape their grassroots approach. Whether it\u2019s their intensive computer coding course or helping young people translate their lived experience onto a resume, Weld says that their mission is to help West Virginia attract and retain young people with good jobs, and empower them to grow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Weld says it\u2019s a misconception to think that just this round of funding will address the region\u2019s problems. Without sustained support for projects and organizations\u2019 administrative frameworks, Weld asks, \u201cHow do we ensure that the work continues?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/grist.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Coalfield-solar.jpg\")