In business and finance, an old truism says, “You have to spend money to make money.”

For entrepreneurs, that can mean spending on equipment, employees, marketing, etc., to launch a business, grow revenue and generate profit. For investors, it’s even simpler: With more money to invest comes more potential for returns.

What about for a Southwest Virginia locality like Dickenson County, Buchanan, Damascus or Bristol? What if you don’t have funds to invest significantly in economic development and tourism, comprehensive planning and marketing, or in specialized employees who can do the administrative heavy lifting on grant applications?

This is reality for many in Appalachian communities with high unemployment, anemic growth and persistent poverty. For communities that desperately need creative economic development strategies or quality-of-life staples — we’re talking at times about basics like lifesaving equipment for emergency workers — this lack of time and staff means missing out on opportunities that they can’t afford to miss.

It’s not for lack of effort or vision, know-how or heart. There’s plenty of that. What’s needed in one case after another is way more fundamental: time and people. So where can these communities find them, and even if they do, how can they afford them?

We have good news to share. A simple but powerful partnership between localities and higher education — made possible by philanthropic support — is providing answers for communities across our region. 

Through this novel program based in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, students from UVA are paired with local governments, economic development offices and nonprofits across Southwest Virginia and Appalachia. Over the course of these internships and fellowships, the students provide hours of hands-on assistance and expertise to communities that need and appreciate the help.

They identify grant opportunities and manage the application process. They develop marketing and tourism plans. They help write and update comprehensive plans needed for certain kinds of assistance. They analyze local economic development conditions and recommend policies for strategic growth.

And there are no costs to the partners across Southwest Virginia.

Here is a small sample of local impacts:

• Dickenson County: Tadler Fellows researched, wrote and secured $192,500 for a community business launch program and small business incubator last year, and then wrote and secured another $99,603 this year for fire and rescue equipment. 
• Buchanan County: Tadler Fellows supported writing two different grants to VCEDA for the Southern Gap economic development initiative, both of which were successful, securing $600,000 for infrastructure and site development. This year, Fellows researched, wrote and secured $120,000 for a new amphitheater in Southern Gap to draw tourists. 
• Wise County: Tadler Fellows researched, wrote and secured $75,000 for a new downtown park for the Town of Wise to improve quality of life and support downtown businesses.
• Bristol: Tadler Fellows researched, wrote and secured $50,000 for Believe in Bristol for a new stage to support building community, events and draw residents from far and wide to enjoy all the City of Bristol has to offer. 

Since the launch, students in the Tadler Program on Impact Investing in Appalachia — named for its benefactors, Richard and Donna Tadler — have provided $2.5 million in pro bono services and secured nearly $22 million in grants for program partners. Grants are easier to quantify, but new marketing websites and materials for economic development initiatives, new ordinances to support tourist spending and strategic plans to support new revenue streams are also impactful. 

The results are quantifiable, the model is repeatable and the need is ever-expanding. The program pays off for students who gain practical and valuable experience and for communities that can use an assist. 

It proves out an approach for combining philanthropy and higher education to co-invest in improved opportunities and quality of life. We’re grateful for the continued support of the Tadlers, who earlier this year committed to continued funding for the student fellowships. Their expanded support also introduces an exciting and logical next step: matching funds to establish an endowment to support a new Professorship in Rural Economics, Impact Investing and Public Policy with a joint appointment at UVA’s Batten School and UVA Wise. The professorship will be based at UVA Wise, the heart of so many other exciting and important existing partnerships between higher education and local communities in Appalachia.

The Tadler Program is a spark of opportunity for Southwest Virginia. It’s a story we’re excited to share and proud to play a part in supporting. We would never suggest it is the solution to the biggest, overarching challenges of Appalachia. 

But what it accomplishes means something. This is real.

With a helping hand, communities that aren’t in the best position to “spend money to make money” are taking small but meaningful steps, and it’s easy to imagine leaps and bounds ahead.

Christine Mahoney is a UVA Professor of Public Policy and Politics. Dana Cronkhite is economic development director for Dickenson County, Virginia.