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The University of Virginia plans to expand a commitment to boost the fortunes of Appalachia, doubling down on an initiative supporting economic development and entrepreneurship in America’s most distressed region.
During the last three years, UVA has provided $2.5 million worth of pro bono economic development support service for communities across Appalachia, including multiple counties and municipalities in Southwest Virginia. The service – including grant-writing proposals, research on economic development, and assistance on local government strategic plans – has helped secure more than $22 million in revenue for the region.
The UVA initiative, based at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, also has funded internships for UVA students with “impact investors” who make early investments in entrepreneurs and others focused on building new industries and career pathways in a region with high poverty rates and static economies.
“This partnership helps uplift rural communities in areas with struggling residents and economies, while also providing UVA students experiences that prepare them for careers and lives of service,” said Christine Mahoney, Batten professor of public policy and politics.
The successes are exactly what Richard (McIntire ’78) and Donna Tadler (Ed ’79) had in mind when they began the first of a series of gifts in 2019 to create and fund fellowships, internships, and other connections between UVA, the Batten School and rural Appalachian communities.
Richard Tadler said the results show that investing in rural America pays off. He and his wife said they have committed to extending their initial investments in the Tadler Program on Impact Investing in Appalachia so ongoing work can continue at the community level. Mahoney directs the program.
They also have expanded the initiative.
New gifts from the Tadlers will fund the program for the next three years while adding components, including support for entrepreneurs seeking seed funding, a rural planning course that will position UVA architecture and policy students to provide rural communities even more pro bono professional services, and a professional consulting position to help communities work through administrative challenges of community and economic development.
The additional funding also would establish an endowment supporting a new Professor in Rural Economic Development with a joint appointment at the Batten School and UVA Wise, where it would be based.
The Appalachian region, stretching from New York to Alabama, has stunning beauty and abundant natural resources. But it also is recognized as America’s most distressed region, with poverty rates more than double the national average, disability rates at 20%, and the nation’s highest opioid addiction rate, according to state and federal data.
Community leaders seeking to boost local economies often are understaffed and under-resourced, leaving many unable to develop a comprehensive plan – disqualifying them from many federal funding programs. Similarly, they typically have no trained grant writers or funds to hire them.
“One of the biggest barriers in local government, especially in rural communities, is capacity. Having individuals who are not only capable, but also willing to assist at a high level creates a type of support that is hard to fully describe.”
Dana Cronkhite
Dickenson County (Va.) Director of Economic Development
“One of the biggest barriers in local government, especially in rural communities, is capacity,” said Dickenson County (Va.) Director of Economic Development Dana Cronkhite. “Having individuals who are not only capable, but also willing to assist at a high level creates a type of support that is hard to fully describe.”
During the past two years, Cronkhite has worked with UVA public policy students and interns through the Tadler program.
Their work has included grant writing, policy research, helping organize a county job fair, creating social media and marketing content, and developing marketing material for properties tied to economic development efforts. Those efforts have resulted in new grants and programs “that simply would not have happened without this partnership,” she said, including a new community business launch program and incubator, and two fire-and-rescue grants for the county.
“Without question, it has been incredibly valuable,” Cronkhite said.
Sarah King’s time as a Tadler Fellow included a variety of assignments supporting Dickenson County, which recently received a state license for a new substance-abuse treatment facility seen as both crucial for regional services and an economic development success. She developed grant narratives and proposals linking opioid settlement funding with housing grants, contributed to workforce development strategies, and designed marketing and policy materials for an industrial park. King’s work also helped the county secure the grant funding for emergency services.
“I worked closely with local stakeholders to map recovery-to-workforce pathways, identifying policy barriers and opportunities to better coordinate housing, treatment, and job placement service,” she said.
King said she has been in recovery from substance-use disorder for almost seven years and worked in the treatment and prevention field for five years before deciding to return to school and enroll in Batten’s Master of Public Policy program.
“This experience was transformative,” she said.
Batten student and Tadler Fellow Jory Woods has paired with leaders in Virginia’s Buchanan County, which shares a border with both West Virginia and Kentucky. His work has included writing a proposal securing a grant to help fund a canopy roof on the ongoing construction of an outdoor amphitheater in Southern Gap, a developing community on a reclaimed surface-mined site that the county views as crucial to its economic development and future.
Woods, who stresses that his efforts have been just one of many among the Batten students in multiple localities, described the experience as rewarding from every perspective. When he received a congratulatory message from the project manager, Woods was filled with pride and satisfaction.
“I couldn’t help but get a little emotional and think, ‘Wow, that’s real impact,’” he said.
Since 2019, more than 200 UVA students have benefited from fellowships to travel to Appalachia to collaborate with communities like Dickenson and Buchanan counties, local leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs. Thirty-six Master of Public Policy students in the Batten School have contributed some 17,000 hours of pro bono support to rural economic development efforts during that time.
“At a global-focused University, we believe it is also very important to work on nearby problems,” Richard Tadler said. “Appalachia is a region ignored by many that needs help to restart its economy. UVA undergraduates and Batten graduate students are now exposed to the region, help solve difficult problems, and participate in a lifelong transformational experience.”
