OVRDC and Partner Local Development Districts Leveraged $133 Million for Appalachian Ohio in 2024

Working with local leaders, Appalachian Ohio’s Local Development Districts (LDDs) facilitated investments of more than $133 million in 60 projects through support from the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Governor’s Office of Appalachia in 2024. These projects helped the region create 211 jobs, retain an additional 1,471 positions, and represent investments that build local infrastructure and support the region’s workforce ecosystem.

Four LDDs serve Ohio’s Appalachian communities: Buckeye Hills Regional Council, Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association, and Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission.

The Return on Investment report serves as an annual report prepared by all four LDDs to showcase the impact of Area Development funds received from the Appalachian Regional Commission and assistance from the Governor’s Office of Appalachia. Leadership from the four LDDs shared the report with members of the region’s congressional delegation on March 11 during a joint conference in Washington, DC, hosted by the National Association of Development Organizations and the Development District Association of Appalachia.

“Over the past year, collaboration has emerged as the central theme in the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission’s (OVRDC) efforts. The OVRDC staff has focused on building and strengthening partnerships across various sectors, recognizing that the region’s development depends on a collective approach. Whether it was with local governments, state agencies, nonprofit organizations, or private businesses, collaboration has been the driving force behind many successful initiatives,” said Stephanie Gilbert, OVRDC Executive Director.

Ohio is home to 32 Appalachian counties and bolsters federal ARC funding with a matching state investment. Within this region, the four Appalachian Ohio LDDs organize community-driven projects and target funds for distribution from federal and state partners with the goal of helping build community capacity and strengthening economic growth in the region.

One of the primary roles of the LDDs is to identify the priority needs of their local communities. To ensure that funds are used effectively and efficiently. To strengthen local participation, Ohio’s project selection process utilizes a grassroots approach through which local governments prioritize state and federal investments across the region for the greatest regional impact.

With 423 counties, the Appalachian region includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states, including Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Appalachia is home to more than 26 million people.

With the goal of bringing the region to socioeconomic parity with the rest of the nation, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has focused investments into fundamental community and economic development needs, including building Appalachia’s businesses, workforce ecosystem, infrastructure, regional culture and tourism, and community leaders and capacity.

The Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission (OVRDC) is a regional planning commission, Economic Development District (EDD) and Local Development District (LDD) dedicated to the development of Southern Ohio, providing multi-jurisdictional planning and economic development, administrative, professional and technical assistance to local governments, nonprofits, communities and citizens in a twelve-county region. Members of OVRDC include the counties of Adams, Brown, Clermont, Fayette, Gallia, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto and Vinton.

Read the full LDD Impact Report here.