Alleghany Highlands EDC Awarded $30,000 Rural Community Development Initiative Grant

In July 2020, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) began working to provide comprehensive capacity building services through the federal Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) to six recipient organizations located in rural and/or economically challenged regions of Virginia.

The RCDI program seeks to increase a community’s readiness to undertake community and economic development projects through technical assistance from DHCD staff and consultants, while addressing organizational, economic and design improvements within each recipient community. The capacity building program also provides a funding opportunity to help recipients implement activities that align with the community’s strategic planning goals, which are developed and made clear through the RCDI program.

The Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corporation (EDC), one of six RCDI recipients across the state, received an RCDI grant, totaling $30,000, from DHCD to fund the creation of two downtown kiosks, one located in Covington and the other in Clifton Forge, that showcase community information and encourage visitors to spend more time in each locality, as well as updates to construction intent drawings that will strengthen the community’s wayfinding system, identify various tourism attractions and/or assets and improve the visitor experience.

The project will, specifically, accomplish the following:

The EDC will be partnering with The Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce & Tourism to enhance the Alleghany Highlands with this funding!

As this exciting project progresses, stay tuned for additional updates!