Southern Financial Assistance
Apportunity Fund
The Apportunity Fund is a platform to connect investors to Appalachian projects. They are not a venture firm or a network of angel investors. They believe the market of the "crowd" should drive successful businesses. They provide the opportunity for everyone (not just the wealthy) to invest in their main streets, their communities, their Appalachia.
The Apportunity Fund was created to change narratives and provide opportunities for the amazing ideas in the region. As a public benefit corporation they believe that EVERYONE should have the right to invest in what they believe in and the opportunity to succeed. They want to see Appalachia work for Appalachia!
Fahe
Type: Appalachian Resource, lending
Working with our Network of 50+ nonprofits across the Appalachian portion of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Alabama, and Maryland, Fahe uses their expertise in finance, collaboration, innovation, advocacy, and communication to achieve a more prosperous Appalachian region. With a focus on leadership, housing, education, health and social services, and economic opportunity, Fahe empowers the people and communities of Appalachia with the resources, opportunities, and tools needed to build a better life.
The Fahe Network builds resilient communities through our multi-tiered commitments to housing, education, health and well-being, economic opportunity, and well-resourced leadership that create local solutions and lasting impact.
SouthArts
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, South Arts is a nonprofit regional arts organization empowering artists, organizations, and communities, and increasing access to arts and culture.
In partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the State Arts Agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee — with additional funding from other public and private donors such as the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation — South Arts supports artists and organizations through a rich and responsive portfolio of grants, fellowships, and programs.
Waymakers Collective
Waymakers Collective strives to sustain creative practice, land, livelihoods, and dialogue across neighborhoods and disciplines. They envision an Appalachia that supports the joy, imagination, and hopes of our artists, activists, and culture bearers.
Waymakers sustain community organizations led by Black, Indigenous and People of Color, young people, LGBTQ folks, non-English speakers, new immigrants, and those unlikely to get mainstream funding.
Waymakers Collective doesn’t operate like traditional philanthropy, seeking to reach the places and people grantmaking doesn’t often reach. Utilizing their grassroots networks and artists, they do this through an intentional nominations process to ensure that the well-established organizations and artists already getting foundation support don’t overshadow others.