ARC Public Investment Opportunity 

ARC's investment opportunity for FY2027 investment is open for all counties in Appalachian NY.  (ADD NOTE REmatch requirements) If you have a matched project, please submit this pre-application by ADD DATE. 

ARC's strategic plan focuses on five key investment priorities to achieve its mission:

1. Building Appalachian Businesses
2. Building Appalachia’s Workforce Ecosystem
3. Building Appalachia’s Infrastructure
4. Building Regional Culture and Tourism
5. Building Community Leaders and Capacity

The Application Process

Local Development Districts (LDD) that provide assistance with the process:

Southern Tier 8 Regional Board, serves partners in Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Tioga, and Tompkins counties. https://southerntier8.org/how-to-apply 

Southern Tier Central serves partners in Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben counties.https://www.stcplanning.org/grant-funding/appalachian-regional-commission-2/ 

Southern Tier West served partners in Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua Counties, https://www.southerntierwest.org/arc-funding.html 

Each local project is reviewed by the LDD's Board and NYS DOS for local public investment alignment, project readiness and feasibility, then followed with an invitation to apply in ARC's grants management system, Pathways.

Pre-Application: due June 15, 2026!

This pre-application is designed to streamline the grant development process by gathering preliminary information about your project. It allows the LDD staff to provide guidance and support in refining your proposal.

Pre-application steps:

1. Familiarize yourself with the steps and timeline of the full ARC application process. Review the ARC Application Overview.
2. Ensure match and eligibility. Note that funding is only available to nonprofit or public sector organizations. Private sector companies are not eligible, however private funds can be used as a match. 
3. Identify and choose ONE ARC Investment Priority
4. Identify and choose ONE New York State Implementing Strategy
5. Obtain a letter of alignment from your County Planner to be attached to the pre-application. Be sure to send them a brief project description.
6. To save your work, make sure you click “Next” on each page. However, to ensure your work is not lost, writing and saving your pre-application in a word processing program is recommended.
7. Enter and submit your pre-application information into this form.

Contact:

If you have any questions about the pre-application process, please email: CONTACT@southerntier8.org  For more information about ARC’s programs and funding opportunities, visit ARC Grants and Opportunities.

Please provide your project's address and latitude and longitude coordinates. Geographic coordinates are available at this link If it is a regional project, include the latitude and longitude of your main office location. 

The Appalachian Regional Commission’s (ARC) Appalachia Envisioned Five-Year Strategic Plan (2022-2026), identifies five Strategic Investment Goals to advance its vision and mission. The plan further identifies “Action Objectives” for each goal area. Please review the ARC’s Five Year Strategic Plan, and carefully consider which Strategic Investment Goal and Action Objective aligns with your project when describing the purpose of your project below.

Next, review the NYS Implementing Strategies and identify ONE NYS Implementing Strategy that most aligns with your project:

Building Appalachian Businesses: See Strategy 1.1 to 1.4

Building Appalachia's Workforce Ecosystem: See Strategy 2.1 to 2.6

Building Appalachia's Infrastructure: See Strategy 3.1 to 3.4

Building Regional Culture and Tourism: See Strategy 4.1 to 4.4

Building Community Leaders and Capacity: See Strategy 5.1 to 5.7

Review information regarding ARC Performance Measures in the Guide to ARC Performance Measures and outline below.

If you would like a copy of your pre-application, please print pages before submitting.  You will not be able to go back into the application after submission.