Appalachian Regional Commission
ARC: Investing in Appalachia’s Economic Future
Please contact Victoria Ehlen for more information about the ARC program at vehlen@stcplanning.org
Check out local news reports about this grant program:
2026 Coverage from BigFox: STC urges Southern Tier orgainzations to apply for ARC grant
2025 coverage from BigFox: ARC Grant Program Offers Up to $500K for Southern Tier Projects
All applicants must work with STC staff while developing their applications. STC staff will assist applicants with questions about grant writing, funding, budgets, and letters of support.
This Year’s ARC pre-application grant cycle has now closed.
STC anticipates a similar process and timeline for the next ARC Area Development Grant cycle (pre-applications due in Summer 2027). It is VERY likely that the pre-application questionnaire will remain the same for the next application cycle. Feel free to review these materials, and begin working on a pre-application over the next 6 months.
The most current application forms are available in the green box below, labeled “Grant at a Glance”. Also, please utilise the document “NYS Implementing Strategies” for an overview of the grant requirements and process.
Grant at a Glance
ARC applications have been simplified, no additional forms are required for the pre-application. Please call STC or email, if you have any questions about the new forms.
Deadline: Passed
These forms may not work in your browser, please download the forms and open with Adobe PDF or Nitro PDF. If these formats don’t work for you, please contact STC, we can send copies of these forms by email.
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With questions, contact Victoria Ehlen:
Maximum Amount:
$500,000 although applications for significantly smaller grants have been submitted. This year, NY will consider funding up to $500,000 for construction projects. STC may consider funding multi-year applications.
Match Required:
Minimum 50%
(cash and/or in-kind)
After the pre-applications are submitted to STC, the material will be reviewed and rated by the committee, approved and by STC’s Board, then a project summary of each will be transmitted to NYS for preliminary access to the online grant application system. STC and the applicants will work together to make improvements to the narrative and supporting documents based on the review committee comments. Then the applicants will upload their improved & finalized material into the ARC grant portal “Pathways”. through Pathways, the New York State Department of State will review and approved the applications, then the Secretary of State will approve the projects for additional review by ARC. The federal ARC office will complete an independent project review, allocate funding, and notify successful applicants.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a unique federal-state-local partnership. It has provided over $40 million in grants to the Southern Tier Central region over the past forty three years. The Appalachian Regional Commission has completed a strategic planning process that has identified five key goals for the 13-state region stretching from Mississippi to New York, including Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben Counties. These goals state that Appalachia will have:
Goal 1: Economic Opportunities Invest in entrepreneurial and business development strategies that strengthen Appalachia’s economy.
Goal 2: Ready Workforce Improve the education, knowledge, skills, and health of residents to work and succeed in Appalachia.
Goal 3: Critical Infrastructure Invest in critical infrastructure- especially broadband; transportation, including the Appalachian Development Highway System; and water/wastewater systems.
Goal 4: Natural and Cultural Assets Strengthen Appalachia’s community and economic development potential by leveraging the Region’s natural and cultural heritage assets.
Goal 5: Leadership and Community Capacity Build the capacity and skills of current and next-generation leaders and organizations to innovate, collaborate, and advance community and economic development.
The theme of New York State’s ARC Strategic Plan is job creation.
The plan outlines the following goals (as they related to job creation):
- Building Appalachian Businesses
- Building Appalachia’s Workforce Ecosystem
- Building Appalachia’s Infrastructure
- Building Regional Culture and Tourism
- Building Community Leaders and Capacity
Eligible Projects
Proposals will relate to one of the above goals and could include workforce training, basic skills, workforce assessments, economic development plans and strategies, child care and early childhood education, telecommunications, job related infrastructure, leadership, business development, necessary public infrastructure, educational excellence, local government assistance demonstrations, or rural health and mental health initiatives. You can access a list of prior ARC funded projects here.
Amount of Funding
Grants of up to $200,000 are available for all projects. Construction projects can apply for up to $500,000. In the NYS strategic plan, the state expressed a preference for funding smaller projects, thereby stretching the impact of the ARC grant funding. STC is also considering allowing phased funding applications for 2 or 3 years (please reach out to STC’s staff to discuss if this seems interesting).
Matching Funds / Continuation
All grants require a 50% match in cash and/or eligible in-kind services from federal, state, and local sources, although total federal funding is limited to 80% of total project cost for infrastructure, construction, and equipment projects. ARC provides funds for start-up and the first year of operation, and ARC-funded projects are expected to be self-sufficient after the project period, normally one year.
Basic Agency
ARC is not able to provide local project monitoring for construction projects. Therefore, ARC requires applicants for construction projects to arrange, in advance, for a “basic agency” to provide on-the-ground project review. STC will work with sponsors to identify a basic agency, which will receive an outline of the project in order to determine whether the basic agency can support the project. Rural Development has a long history of acting as a basic agency in this region. To use USDA as your Basic Agency, you MUST complete a USDA application; contact the USDA office in Bath for more information.