DRIVE Awarded $189K from ARC ARISE Grant

DRIVE Awarded $189K from ARC ARISE Grant 

DANVILLE, PA – A regional economic develop group received a $189K from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). DRIVE, an economic development council of governments, was awarding a planning grant to develop SPARK, a multi-state, multi-county small business ecosystem and incubation network in NC, NY, OH, TN, WV, as well as PA. The award was made available through Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) funding opportunity, which drives large-scale economic transformation through multi-state collaboration.
ARC awarded $33.5 million to 12 collaborative, multi-state projects. “This multi-state incubator network is an idea we’ve been nurturing for more than a year. We’re excited that ARC is supporting the vision we’ve developed with our partners, and we can’t wait to get to work,” said Jennifer Wakeman, DRIVE’s executive director.
Through partnerships with Bucknell University SBDC and Building Bridges 2 Careers (BB2C) in Ohio, the project will evaluate the creation of an incubation network that supports entrepreneurs of all ages, including youth, with resource sharing and programming across historically underserved Appalachia.

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DRIVE is an economic development council of governments serving Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union Counties. Established in 2015, DRIVE provides professional staff for project development, business retention and expansion, and site selection services. It also serves as a forum for communication and coordination of economic development activity among its member counties.
The Appalachian Regional Commission is an economic development entity of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.