AFN NEWS & UPDATES OCTOBER IN REVIEW |
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It has been another busy month at the Appalachia Funders Network! We present you with our second month in review, with the intention of being back on schedule with our newsletters for the month of November and beyond. |
Our Hurricane Helene Response Calls continue every Friday at 10 AM. Use the link below to register.
If you have questions, would like to spotlight work you are doing, or are seeking partnerships from within the Network, please contact The Helene Response Project Manager, Willa Johnson. |
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AFN Member Donors: Anne & Gene Worrell Foundation, Appalachian Community Fund, Educational Foundation of America, Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, New York Community Trust, Perry County Community Foundation, Sisters Health Foundation, Waymakers Collective, Weissberg Foundation
Philanthropic Partner Donors: Amalgamated Foundation, Barchart, Bluegrass Community Foundation, The Carriuolo Family Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Hamilton County Foundation, The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation, Hickman Holler Appalachian Relief Fund, Hill-Snowdon Foundation, The JEM Project, The JM Kaplan Fund, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Park Foundation, Pikeville Community Foundation, San Diego Foundation, Surdna Foundation, The Philadelphia Foundation, Thomas S. Keenan Institute for the Arts.
Community Donors: Applashop, Apodlachia, Barchart, Bashful Bee Press, Black Girl Environmentalist (Knoxville), Causemedic, Coal Country Candles, Essential Tremors Podcast, Festive Water, Knox Community Street Dance, Lexington Philharmonic, ORCA, Our Streets, Proof Bakery Collective, Read Spotted Newt, SWOP Hawaii, Synscrypt, TAIT, TeePublic, Velocity Risk Underwriters, Ya'll Company.
...and thousands of individual donors. |
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Preparing for Our Membership Drive | |
Emails Going Out by End of Month |
Questions? Please email Jessica Miles, Grants and Membership Administrator. |
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Post Election Funder Debrief: |
What Do the Election Results Mean for Funders in Appalachia? |
TIME: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18 | TIME: 1 PM to 2 PM EST |
Co-hosted by Appalachia Funders Network and Just Transition Fund, join us for a Post Election Debrief. This funders only conversation will be lightly facilitated, and is meant to give our members a platform to connect and engage in open dialogue following the 2024 election. |
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New Member Orientation | Rescheduled for December 3rd |
AFN is hosting its first new member orientation on December 3 at 3 PM EST. This meeting is open to all members, however. Whether you're a new or long time member, join us to learn about and catch up on all things AFN. |
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2025 AFN Gathering | Sponsorship Packet |
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The 2025 AFN Gathering will be April 23-25 |
We are now accepting sponsorships for this event. Please click the button below to learn more. |
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Note: We welcome Gathering sponsorship as a means to cover your membership dues. If you would like to learn more, please contact Jess Mullins Fullen, Programs and Learning Administrator. |
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Did you know that AFN no longer has a cap on how many groups you can join and participate in? Check out the upcoming group meetings below, and send us an email to have your information added to the group contact list to get involved!
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- Creative Capital | November 12 at 3:30 PM EST
- Arts & Culture | December 3 at 1 PM EST
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Health | November 21 at 3 PM EST
- Place-Based - November 26 at 3:30 PM EST
- Energy and Natural Resources | TBD
*All times in EST |
We have co-chair vacancies in the Place-Based and Health Groups. If you have an interest in serving in a leaderful capacity to shape work that will radiate from the network, please contact contact us.
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In October, AFN Launched its First Community of Practice, Finance and Impact Investing. View the recording of our launch meet-up and/or sign up to join below. |
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South Arts Launches Southern Arts Relief and Recovery Fund |
Announced last Thursday, this fund is providing timely support to artists "affected by Hurricane Helene and/or Milton in the entire region, and organizations in North Carolina that have been affected by Hurricane Helene and/or Milton". Read more about the fund at this link. |
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Appalachian Community Capital launches The Western North Carolina Small Business Initiative with Lead Grant Partner Dogwood Health Trust |
Read more about this exciting new initiative here. The application window is open through November 27th, so please share with your networks! |
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| Upcoming Webinar on PACE Language Perceptions Research in KY |
Hosted by Greater Clark Foundation, and taking place on November 25th at 12 PM EST, join other funders from the Appalachia Funders Network and beyond for a deep dive into the Kentucky oversample that influenced the the overall project, and other outputs such as How to Talk Bridgey, released last month. Stay tuned for more registration information and please block this time on your calendars!
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NC Partners Launch WNC Strong |
WNC Strong is collective of partners based in North Carolina who are dedicated to revitalizing the communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. They provide essential resources to local businesses affected by Hurricane Helene, such as toolkits, grants, and recovery loans. AFN members leading in this collective include Invest Appalachia, Appalachia Community Capital, Partner Community Capital, and Dogwood Health Trust. Read more about this impressive collaborative at this link.
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Appalachian Peoples Movement Assembly Planning Underway |
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, planning is ongoing for the first ever Appalachian Peoples Movement Assembly, a gathering of grassroots leaders from across the region who will be coming together in April of 2025 to discuss regional policy priorities and strategies to inform regional climate resiliency projects.
The planning committee for the event, coordinated by Project South, is currently seeking a partners to support the event which will connect Appalachian people, for the first time, with other Peoples Movement Assemblies around the world. If you are interested in partnering, please reach out to Lora Smith, to connect with organizing efforts
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Upcoming Webinar: Shareholder Engagement Strategies and Corporate Accountability in a Post-Election Landscape |
On November 19 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm EST, please join a co-hosted webinar from Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and the Shareholder Engagement Project on Shareholder Engagement Strategies and Corporate Accountability in the Post-Election Landscape. Register here.
This is an initiative aimed to support philanthropic institutions to become more active owners, led in part by AFN member Educational Foundation, with AFN member Weissberg Foundation participating in this first cohort. |
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New Press Forward Nationals Open Call |
Open Call for Infrastructure Grants Opens November 13th |
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Press Forward Locals Conference |
In late October, Press Forward Central Appalachia Coordinating Committee Members and AFN staff traveled to the Press Forward Locals Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. It was affirming to be in space with every local chapter (save for 2) and some prospective ones, as well. The gathering was one of network and community building, knowledge sharing, and endeavoring toward a more inclusive news and journalism sector nationwide.
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As we inch closer to finalizing the Press Forward Central Appalachia/Rural News Fund governance model: |
Watch The New Announcement Video |
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Interested in getting involved? Let us know by contacting us! | |
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What's Good In Appalachia? |
November is Native American Heritage Month |
The region now known as Appalachia is the ancestral land of over 22 Indigenous groups and their traditional territories, with 3 federally recognized and 5 state recognized Tribal entities still residing in the region. As we continue our mission to accelerate a just transition, we acknowledge the necessity of addressing Appalachia's colonial history - a legacy deeply intertwined with resource extraction and exploitation - while holding that because of this, the very same forces created the material conditions and structural challenges that our network is committed to addressing today.
We invite AFN to learn and commit to memory the indigenous land where you live and work. We encourage you to check out this toolkit on land reparation and solidarity, and we uplift the importance of continually supporting indigenous art and craft, and research into indigenous led movements such as rematriation and other resources to learn more, which deepen reckoning and understanding. And most importantly, please begin or continue to listen to indigenous voices, and follow their lead on the stewardship of this land and the ways in which to be in right community with our ecologies, and therefore, one another.
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Other News That Caught Our Eye |
Do you have news or opportunities for collaboration you want to see highlighted in the next newsletter? Let us know! |
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