Green Bank for Appalachia, Energy Communities, and Underserved Rural America

The Green Bank for Rural America will grow the next generation energy economy, supporting thousands of businesses and creating thousands more quality jobs in economically distressed areas while reducing the carbon footprint in target communities.   This effort is anticipated to be supported by funding from the EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF – CCIA), the Appalachian Regional Commission, as well as private investment from corporate and philanthropic partners.  Appalachia and Rural America have powered the economic growth of our nation – from coal, to oil, to natural gas – and the Green Bank will help ensure these communities are well positioned to leverage opportunities presented by the new energy economy.  This Green Bank and related programming are envisioned to be funded at $1 billion to provide financing for development transactions and growing businesses, and will leverage substantial new investment in rural communities.

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Green and Inclusive Finance

ACC and its members are launching a unique and potentially ground-breaking Green Appalachia Innovation Accelerator (GAIA) Initiative. GAIA will be focused at the intersection of historically disadvantaged demographics (communities of color and distressed rural communities), and emerging Green and sustainable economy opportunities with transformative potential not only for Appalachia, but also for the major interconnected East Coast and Midwest urban centers that are dependent on and impacted by the core Appalachian regional transportation, energy, natural and agricultural economy and resources in one way or another. Consisting of 423 counties across 13 States, Appalachia is home to more than 26 million people – more than 5 million of them Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC) – and boasts over 2 million active small and medium enterprises, nearly 100,000 of them owned and/or operated by BIPOC entrepreneurs.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 global pandemic resulted in a health and economic crisis, but overall CDFIs, including ACC and its members, navigated through the disruption. In June 2020, ACC –supported by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)- launched an Emergency Business Response Assistance Program in response to COVID-19. This program invested $3.5 million in redeployed ARC funds in 31 Regional CDFIs and other mission-driven community lenders, such as Revolving Loan Funds, to cover operational costs and offset lost income from suspending, or reducing, borrower payments during the pandemic. Through this program, lenders also provided operational support and direct technical assistance to Appalachian small business and non-profit borrowers. Since April 1, 2020, over 9,000 unique businesses or nonprofits have been served and are still in business, more than 40,000 jobs have been created or retained, and over $430 million has been leveraged in new or modified loans provided to borrowers.