Appalachia

MRBF Partners with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Financial Institutions, Fellow Foundations and Community Development Organizations in Uplift America Initiative

Once a year, the Babcock Foundation travels to a location within our funding footprint to learn from our grantee partners where they work. I always look forward to these trips because they afford us the opportunity to engage with our partners on the ground and meet with some of their constituents and other local residents. To be in their communities, to hear their stories, to see the lay of...

In addition to making grants to organizations across the South, the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation achieves positive impact by aligning our financial investments with our mission of moving people and places out of poverty. The Foundation recognizes that climate change has disproportionate impacts on low-wealth people and communities of color across the American South, the nation and...

It’s a common economic development strategy in the South: State policymakers offer deep tax incentives and relocation subsidies to lure big corporations from elsewhere, a tactic sometimes called “smokestack chasing.” New evidence, however, suggests supporting in-state startups and existing local companies is a far more effective strategy for creating jobs and building strong economies. In “...

Now Deputy Director of the West Virginia Community Development Hub, Stephanie Tyree served as its Director of Community Engagement and Policy for three years. The statewide non-profit organization’s mission is to engage communities and providers in an intentional, aligned and continuous system of community development. Before joining the Hub, Tyree worked as a community organizer and state...