Grant Technical Assistance
Overview | ARC Area Development Grant Program | Helpful Links
Overview
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) was founded in 1965 to help the 13-state Appalachian region reach economic parity with the rest of the nation. Since then, ARC has invested $4.5 billion in approximately 28,000 economic development projects across Appalachia, attracting over $10 billion in matching project funds.
Each year in Pennsylvania, ARC provides funding for numerous projects in the Appalachian Region in a wide range of program areas. The projects funded in the program areas create thousands of new jobs, improve local water and sewer systems, increase school readiness, expand access to health care, assist local communities with strategic planning and provide technical and managerial assistance to emerging businesses.
Local Development Districts (LDDs) — also known as local Council of Governments, Regional Planning and Development Commissions, or Area Development Districts — are multi-county planning organizations facilitating community-based, regionally driven economic development.
Our organization is the designated Local Development District (LDD) for the region, providing technical assistance and coordinating with the state, specifically the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), for nine counties in our geographic footprint: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Washington, and Westmoreland. Lawrence County is part of Northwest Commission’s LDD territory.
Service Maps
If your service area is outside of Pennsylvania, you can find all ARC state programs here.
ARC Grant Opportunities
All ARC projects have the same goals:
- Building Appalachian Businesses
- Building Appalachia’s Workforce Ecosystem
- Building Appalachia’s Infrastructure
- Building Regional Culture and Tourism
- Building Community Leaders and Capacity
All applications have to meet at least one of these goals, as well as a corresponding PA ARC strategy and objective. The four funding streams detailed below have different deadlines and funding focuses, but ARC is primarily interested in funding activities related to economic development.
Timeline
When applying for an ARC funding opportunity, applicants complete a pre-application (may be called a Letter of Intent, Concept Paper, or pre-application, depending on funding opportunity) and, if invited, a full application. In the pre-application and full application, applicants will need to identify both an ARC goal and strategy as well as a Pennsylvania goal and objective.
What to consider when applying for funding
Eligibility
ARC awards program grants to state and local agencies and governmental entities, local governing boards, and nonprofit organizations. Indian tribes and higher education institutions are also eligible for ARC program grants. ARC does not award grants to individuals or for-profit entities.
Planning vs. Implementation – which grant should I apply for?
You have two options for funding: a planning or implementation grant. Planning grants fund in the creation of strategies or programs and/or feasibility studies with hopes of pursuing an implementation grant. An implementation grant is for the execution of a project. If you have a project or program idea that could use further exploration – perhaps funding a consultant or market research – a planning grant may be for you. For a project or program that is fully fleshed out, perhaps has match sources and partners identified, and just needs that last bit of funding to make the project a reality, your project may be ready for an implementation grant. More information on eligible activities for planning and implementation can be found in ARC’s project guidelines.
Match
As you’re considering the project or program you’re looking to have funded, you’ll also need to consider match. ARC projects typically require at least 50% match between in-kind donations, cash, state funding, or other federal funding (as approved by DCED/ARC). For FY23, projects taking place in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Greene, Indiana, Washington, and Westmoreland count(ies) will need at least 50% match. Projects taking place in Butler county require at least 70% match. Projects taking place in Fayette county require 30% match.
For multiple county projects (like many SPC ARC projects are), an average of counties’ required match works for calculating match. Example: a proposed project is taking place in Allegheny, Washington, Beaver, and Butler counties. Allegheny (50%) + Washington (50%) + Beaver (50%) + Butler (70%) = 220 / 4 = 55% match required for this project.
Match is required for both planning and implementation grants.
Talk to SPC about potential options for matching funds.
Registered State Basic Agency (RSBA) or Basic Funding Agency
For construction projects, identifying an RSBA will be required for your pre-application. An RSBA will supervise your construction project and can be a federal agency (USDA, EDA, HUD locally), a state agency (DCED depending on capacity), or county/municipality. After identifying the RSBA that’s willing to supervise your project, you’ll submit an RSBA request letter to the agency and include a letter from said agency confirming their commitment to serve as your project’s RSBA with your pre-application.
SPC can help brainstorm potential RSBAs for your project. RSBA and BFA letter templates available upon request.
Performance Measures
Best practice: when considering what project you’d like to have funded, think about what metrics you’ll be providing to ARC and what activities will be funded by ARC vs. which will be funded by your match sources (see breakdown of budget in pre-application link). ARC has set outputs and outcomes for all projects, as defined by their Guide to Performance Measures: ARC’s Performance Measures. Whether your metrics are paired or standalone, you’ll need to include these metrics in both your pre-application and full application.
Executive Summary Template: Area Development and Local Access Road:
Pre-application Best Practices
- keep to 2-3 pages,
- use the strategic plans above to identify “Goals and Strategies”,
- use SPC’s Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP)/Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), SmartMoves, under “Strategic Rationale”
- use Performance Measures as outlined above
SPC, as SWPA’s Local Development District (LDD), submits Area Development and Local Access Road Executive Summaries to DCED. SPC also submits full applications to DCED on behalf of regional applicants. For more information on how to complete ARC’s Executive Summary, timelines for submission, and all other technical assistance, please reach out to Faith Collins (fcollins@spcregion.org) at SPC.
PLEASE NOTE: SAM REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL ARC APPLICANTS.
Please let us know if you need assistance getting a UEI from SAM.gov.
ARC Area Development Grant Program
The Area Development Program focuses on education and workforce training programs, highway construction, water and sewer system construction, leadership development programs, small business start-ups and expansions, and development of healthcare resources. Area Development programs also offer a Local Access Road funding opportunity. Please note that Local Access Road projects must use PennDOT as their Registered State Basic Agency.
Total time until funding is disbursed: 6-9 months. ARC is best for programs taking place in the future; ARC does not reimburse funding. All ARC-funded program activities will need to take place after ARC funding has been disbursed.
In addition to a cost estimate and preliminary engineering report, a Basic Federal Agency or Registered State Basic Agency must be identified for the project. A BFA or RSBA will be used to manage construction projects as ARC does not manage their own construction projects. An RSBA or BFA request letter template, examples of cost estimates, and information on how to put together preliminary engineering reports are available upon request from Faith Collins (fcollins@spcregion.org) at SPC
Documentation required for full applications:
Other Grants Available Through ARC
ARC offers other grant opportunities throughout the year: INSPIRE and POWER are typically open in February or March each year.
INSPIRE
INSPIRE is for projects with a workforce focus for the substance use disorder community.
POWER
POWER is for economic development projects in coal-affected communities.
ARISE
ARISE is open year-round for projects with a multi-state focus.
For more information on POWER, INSPIRE, and ARISE, please reach out to Faith Collins (fcollins@spcregion.org), or visit ARC’s website. You can also sign up for ARC’s newsletter.
Calendar
Pleaser check back. Grant due dates will be added as they are announced.
Helpful Links
CEDS
SPC is an Economic Development District (EDD), a designation from the Economic Development Administration (EDA)( https://www.eda.gov/). As an EDD, SPC is tasked with putting together a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). Our CEDS is titled SmartMoves. All Area Development applications can reference this regional plan’s goals as part of their Strategic Rationale.”
SPC CEDS
Click to view
ARC
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)’s website provides more information on all their funding opportunities and upcoming events.
ARC
Click to learn more!
EDA
The Economic Development Administration (EDA)’s site with more information about their funding streams. SPC also provides technical assistance on EDA funding opportunities.
EDA
Click to learn more!
Community Capacity Program
Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) provides technical assistance for potential grant applicants interested in applying for funding opportunities through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), as well other opportunities related to economic development.