About Us

Our Mission

Inspiring the courage to grow, activating the creativity to innovate, and cultivating communities of opportunity in central Appalachia through four core capabilities:

  • Designing and Scaling New Programs in Emerging Sustainable Sectors
  • Incubating and Investing in Well-Paying Employment Social Enterprises
  • Facilitating Personal, Professional, and Academic Growth for People Facing Barriers to Employment
  • Advancing, Completing, and/or Managing Community Based Revitalization Projects

Our Vision

Resilient rural communities with socially, environmentally, and financially thriving economies which create the
community conditions for all kinds of people to unlock their full potential, power, and purpose.

Our Values

Gumption

  • No complaining or whining
  • Commit to excellent work
  • Fully participate; dive in
  • Believe in yourself, each other, and your community
  • Do hard work towards big goals

Grit

  • Doggedly pursue solutions
    to problems
  • Follow through
  • Reflect; be fully present
  • Find the joy
  • Learn and grow

Grace

  • Stay humble; continually improve
  • Trust and relationships are top priority
  • Take time to listen, especially
    with whom you differ
  • Value each other’s unique strengths
  • Be genuine and honest

Team Principles

The principles apply in all circumstances and are equally important. It’s not as if you must first have an entrepreneurial
mindset before you celebrate learning. Having said that, the principles do correspond directly with the organization’s overall strategies, as the next page will show. The principles help you set priorities and shape decision-making. The principles help you take the organization’s strategies and understand how to apply them day-in and day-out. And just as with all the work of the organization, they are grounded in our values and and our vision, but they are more specific and tangible.

ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY OF CHANGE FOR TRANSFORMATION

  • Diversify Local Economies so Wealth Creation Self Perpetuates
  • Link to Broader Regional Systems Change so Tangible Improvements Can Stick
  • Provide Measured Mentorship and Accountability
  • Advance Higher Education and Personal Growth
  • Employ People through Paid On-the-Job Working
    and Learning
  • Start New Employment-Based Social Enterprises
  • Collaborate Creatively and Cross-Sectoraly on Difficult but Valuable Work
  • Patient Speed on Tangible, Often Experimental
    Work Grounded in Community and Diversity

TEAM PRINCIPLES TO ADVANCE THE STRATEGIES

  • Contribute to Market Shaping
  • Be a Systems Leader
  • Engage as a Professional Mentor
  • Celebrate Learning
  • Work Side-by-Side with People
  • Have an Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • Embrace Challenges Thoughtfully
  • Keep Trust and Relationships as Your Top Priority

We have supported and grown 72 new businesses.

(Impact Statistic as of January 2023.)

From the Beginning

Our organization exists because in 2010 volunteers started to address concerns about housing in Wayne, WV. It was quickly realized that traditional charity was not nearly enough to address the deep, generational challenges we face. After intense community engagement, we pioneered a relationship-based, holistic approach to on-the-job training. Unemployed and underemployed people were hired to construct green affordable housing.

Today, crew members participate in a workforce development program according to our 33-6-3 model: 33 hours a week are spent doing on-the-job training, along with participation in workshops and trainings; 6 hours a week are devoted to community college and business classes for an Associate’s Degree in Applied Sciences; and 3 hours a week are committed to personal development coaching.

We have grown into a family of social enterprises working throughout the region as a leader in the building of a new economy during the wake of the coal industry’s rapid decline. Since our conception, we have helped 95 alumni get placed in full-time careers; attracted $16M in new investment to the region; created 190 new jobs; trained 850 people in new economic sectors; revitalized 187K SQ FT of formerly abandoned property; and supported and grown 40 new businesses, from real estate development and construction to agriculture and artisan trades – industries based on local assets and having real viability in the Appalachian region.

13 Years Rebuilding Appalachia

This interactive timeline was created to give you a glimpse of accomplishments throughout our first 13 years.

2010

2011

2012

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2014

2015

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2019

2020

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2023

We have played a key role in attracting over $100 million in new investment to the region.

(Impact Statistic as of January 2023.)

2020 - Celebrating 10 Years Rebuilding Appalachia

2020 is Coalfield Development’s 10 year anniversary – a full decade of rebuilding the Appalachian economy from the ground up! Since 2010 we have been the catalyst of true transformations for people in southern West Virginia by creating over 250 new jobs, training over 1,200 people, leveraging more than $20 million in new investment to the region, and revitalizing over 200,000 square feet of formerly dilapidated property.

If you missed our live event, you can watch the full show now available on our Media page.

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Hours
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We are celebrating at 3:30PM EST on August 28th and invite you to virtually attend.

*Only pre-registered guests will be granted event access.