TWO STREAMS, ONE VISION

Appalachian Families Forward Project

Black background with a floral line art design in the lower left corner.

Advancing economic inclusion and family wellbeing across central Appalachia.

Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, our work focused on shifting how our region views and supports family life. This initiative was designed to refocus toward a future where care is a collective responsibility, honoring all types of Appalachian families.

We leaned into this vision in two streams: a wellbeing collaborative and a fellowship.

WELLBEING COLLABORATIVE

Appalachian Family Wellbeing Collaborative (AFWC)

Supporting practitioners shaping futures and narratives for children and families across Appalachia.

Dotted line in Ironweed purple.
Dotted line in Ironweed purple. 
ROOTED FUTURES

Rooted Futures Fellows (RFF)

A fellowship dedicated to supporting Indigenous peoples in imagining and shaping the future they want to inherit in this place.

Dotted line in Ridgeline Blue.
Dotted line in Ridgeline Blue.

Our approach to grantmaking

  • Rather than a competitive application process, we identify organizations already doing the work that aligns with our funding priorities. We come to them, not the other way around.

  • When we invite an organization into this process, our message is: "We see your work and its impact, what would you do with this amount of money to impact future Appalachian families, or how would you incorporate intergenerational knowledge?" That lets grantees extend what they're already building, not reshape themselves to chase a grant.

  • We believe philanthropy is most powerful when it plays a supporting role to community-led vision. The organizations in this project are the experts. We were here to resource them.

AFWC practitioner grantees

  • Aflorar Herb Collective

  • WMMT/ Calls From Home

  • Black Appalachian Coalition (BLAC)

  • Cattywampus Puppet Council

  • Hemphill Community Center - Mawmaw Mentors

  • Higher Ground in Harlan County

  • Inner Sunshine Arts

  • Southeast Kentucky African-American Museum and Cultural Center

  • The Auntie Network

Dotted line in Ironweed purple.
Dotted line in Ironweed purple.
A family of six people outdoors in a park, including a mixed-race man with a beard, an Asian-looking woman with curly hair, and four children of various ages, standing in front of trees.

"Incredible, beautiful projects that have powerful impacts on families in Appalachia have been sitting in the heads and hearts of many movement workers and leaders. They are just waiting for the day they can afford to do these things."

—Tiffany P.
Project Manager

Rooted Futures Grantees

  • Schon Duncan, United Keetoowah Band (UKB) filmmaking

  • Keli Gonzales, United Keetoowah Band (UKB) filmmaking 

  • Diikahnéhi Shiloh (Cherokee and Kanien'kehá:ka) seed banking

  • Nokomis Eversole (Siksika and Choctaw) nature learning content for children and a coloring book

Dotted line in Ridgeline Blue.
Dotted line in Ridgeline Blue.
A man with glasses and a beard takes a photo with a Sony camera, standing in front of a wooden fence and barn in black and white.

Interested in building a cohort with us?

We’d love to hear your vision for a stronger Appalachia.

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Interested in building a cohort with us?

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