Our History

The founders were intentional about combining “economic development,” which increases standard of living, community options and opportunities, with “community development,” which allows the community to make development decisions, while increasing leadership capacity.

The organization also developed its five-year vision that remains the core of our work today.

These included the Eastern Kentucky Bankers Consortium for Mortgage Lending, Citizens Water Task Force, Kentucky Local Governance Project, Women’s Initiative Networking Groups (WINGS), Forward in the Fifth, the Central Appalachian Network (CAN), Appalachia Funders Network, and the Appalachian Carbon Partnership.

A group of conservationists formed the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust (KNLT) as a MACED program to protect the forest, along with other critical land in the Commonwealth. KNLT later became a stand alone affiliate, and the Mountain Association continues to provide them back office support today.

Through this work, we have saved businesses, organizations and homeowners millions of dollars annually on utility bills, and facilitated the completion of more than 500 energy efficiency and 60 solar installations.

In 2010, How$mart was approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission and began serving homeowners and renters in Eastern Kentucky.

Ky Policy promotes inclusive policies that address systemic inequity and injustice in the Commonwealth. Since it was established, Ky Policy has grown substantially, adding staff and doubling down on research and advocacy on the most pressing budget and policy challenges, including healthcare, tax reform, criminal justice, and higher education. In 2020, they became an affiliate of the Mountain Association, though we continue to provide back office support.

With this office, MACED began to do more intensive place-based community development work.

Our New Energy Internship program also launched this year, and has since trained several individuals, many who are now employed or self-employed in Eastern Kentucky doing energy efficiency and renewable energy work.

We have helped facilitate or finance more than 30 solar installations in Eastern Kentucky. We also launched our Appalachia’s New Day storytelling campaign this year, and have shared more than 50 stories of change-making in our communities to date.

Our new strategic plan, our renewed mission, and our deepening commitment to equity came together with this 2020’s truly unique moment in history: a global pandemic with unprecedented impact on lives and economies; the rising tide of voices with the movement for Black lives, and justice for all who have been oppressed, overlooked, disrespected or disregarded.

We invite you to read more about this change in our 2021-2025 Strategic Plan and to join us on the journey of building a new economy, together.

Mountain Association became a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lender in March 2021 after Community Development Financial Institutions were authorized to administer these federal fully-forgivable loans to help businesses and organizations through financial strain caused by COVID-19. Though we had been connecting clients with an accountant early in the pandemic to help them apply for PPP loans, people in the region were still having a difficult time submitting their applications through commercial lenders. 

When the program ended on May 31, we had processed a record 409 loans, and deployed more than $6 million through loans averaging about $15,000 per borrower. From a truck drivers and warehouse union, to self-employed electricians and plumbers, to musicians and museums, these loans helped small businesses and sole proprietors continue to meet vital needs for the communities of this region.

Mountain Association helped secure a huge victory to protect solar net metering by formally intervening in a rate case before the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC).

One of Kentucky’s largest utilities, Kentucky Power, sought to reduce the benefits of solar net metering for its customers. In addition to changing their solar net metering rate from the current one-to-one credit to substantially less, the case included the company’s third request to increase rates in the past five years, with rate structure changes that discouraged energy efficiency measures.

We executed a robust communications campaign with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) and KY Solar Energy Society to generate more public awareness and increase public comments in these cases. We encouraged the PSC to host virtual public hearings so customers could safely participate during the pandemic, and ultimately three such hearings were held. Through our formal intervention, we were able to contribute to the PSC’s rate-making process with testimony, discovery, and cross-examination. All of these efforts resulted in key decisions by the PSC in 2021, including a lower rate increase than requested and the decision to uphold solar net metering. Learn more about our other energy policy work here.

On July 7, 2022, Mountain Association purchased a three-story building at 479 Main Street in downtown Hazard, Kentucky. We were inspired to purchase the building given the substantial downtown revitalization progress made in Hazard over the past decade. The 11,000 square-foot building has anchored Main Street for decades, but has been unoccupied since First Federal Savings & Loan moved locations in 2016 after being in the building since 1960. See our progress.

Over the last few years, the Mountain Association has been working on ways we can support nonprofits that serve Eastern Kentuckians with critically important programs. In 2022, the Small nonprofit Peers Accelerating Rural eastern Kentucky (SPARK) Collaborative officially launched. SPARK is made up of several very small nonprofits (less than $100,000 annual revenue) who support and learn from each other. The goal is to help build each organization’s capacity through peer support, organizational assessment, strategic planning, fundraising and grant writing support, and more.

In July 2022, 14 counties in Eastern Kentucky decimated by an historic flood. The Mountain Association’s teams have responded over the course of 2022, and into present work. to these needs by continuing to innovate ​services and opportunities that equip small businesses, nonprofits, and local governments with ​what they need to thrive. By creating flood and emergency loan options, we have assisted many ​businesses and organizations in recovering and establishing more resilient facilities. We have ​supported communities and business owners with strategic planning by funding their work with ​expert consultants to help them draft recovery plans and other immediate needs. We’ve helped ​clients complete grant applications to support their money-saving renewable and energy efficiency ​projects. We’ve also led and participated in regional conversations about how to build better ​connections within the region.

We have seen collaboration across the region like never before, and the flood has coincided with once-in-a-lifetime federal investments coming to Appalachia. The investment is significant in itself, but we also see these federal agencies thinking carefully about how to ensure resources make it to the underserved communities that need them the most. While conditions in affected communities call for continued urgency as the recovery is, at times, agonizingly slow, we know that coordinated planning and funding are essential as we respond to this flood and prepare for future crises. All this work will help to move the economy of Eastern Kentucky forward to a more resilient future.