ARC Commends Four Appalachian Winners in Make it in America Challenge October 2013

WASHINGTON, October 23, 2013—ARC Federal Co-Chair Earl F. Gohl commended the four Appalachia-based winners of the national Make it in America Challenge grant competition to spur business investment and job creation within the United States. The challenge winners were announced October 22. Ten grants were awarded nationally, with four going to applicants within the Appalachian Region: Mississippi State University, the Buckeye Hills–Hocking Valley Regional Development District in Ohio, the SEDA–Council of Governments in Pennsylvania, and Clemson University in South Carolina. Each of the four Appalachian winners has drawn on the support and participation of its local development districts.

"The winners reflect the capacity and expertise of Appalachia's leading institutions in identifying the economic trends in the Region and designing strategies to move them forward," Gohl noted.

To be eligible for a Make it in America Challenge award, projects had to develop strategies that encouraged insourcing, either by on-shoring productive activity by U.S. firms, fostering increased foreign direct investment, or supporting the growth of existing American businesses and jobs, as well as by training local workers to meet the needs of those businesses.

The Appalachian grant awards ranged from $1.7 million to $3.5 million. Funding for the challenge grants is provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Delta Regional Authority.

ARC made available up to $50,000 in funding to help organizations serving the Appalachian Region develop applications for the challenge.