Berea College Appalachian Fund

05/21/2026

Call for Proposals — STILL OPEN
The deadline to submit a proposal for the 2026 Leadership Gathering has been extended. We cannot wait to see what other sessions you have to share!

🚨 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱! 🚨

𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 + 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝗿𝘀!
We’ve extended the proposal deadline for the 2026 Leadership Gathering—there’s still time to share your work!

The Leadership Gathering is happening September 16–17 in Berea, KY, and we’re looking for folks who turn ideas into action. If you’ve got practical tools, lived experience, or community-tested strategies that help people lead, strengthen organizations, or build momentum in rural communities, we want to hear from you.
This is your chance to share what’s working, inspire others, and help move our region forward.

📅 New Proposal Deadline: May 31, 2026
🔗 Learn more & submit: tinyurl.com/LG26-Proposals

𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠? 𝙏𝙖𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙮!

04/09/2026

Join us for Giving Day on 08.29.2024! You make it possible for Berea to provide more than 1,400 Tuition Promise Scholarships annually to every Berea student.

03/31/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 + 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝗿𝘀!
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴

The 2026 Leadership Gathering is happening September 16-17 in Berea, KY, and we’re looking for folks who turn ideas into action. If you’ve got practical tools, lived experience, or community-tested strategies that help people lead, strengthen organizations, or build momentum in rural communities, we want to hear from you!

This is your chance to share what’s working, inspire others, and help move our region forward.

📅 Proposal Deadline: May 15, 2026
🔗 Learn more: tinyurl.com/LG26-Proposals

𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠? 𝙏𝙖𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙮!

02/27/2026

We want to hear from you! We invite you to share your input for the 2026 Leadership Gathering by completing this brief survey. Responses will help guide session topics and ensure that everything is current and reflects on the ground challenges.

Help Shape the 2026 Leadership Gathering!

We want this event to reflect what matters most to you and your work. Please take a few minutes to complete our input survey and share the topics, questions, and challenges you’d like to see explored at the 2026 Leadership Gathering. Your feedback will help guide session themes and ensure the gathering is timely, relevant, and grounded in real‑world experience.

Take the survey and add your voice: https://tinyurl.com/LG26-input

02/12/2026

Mark your calendars! 📅
The 2026 Leadership Gathering will take place September 16–17, and planning is currently underway. Help us shape the next Leadership Gathering!

Mark your calendar for the 2026 Leadership Gathering: September 16–17! We’re excited to bring leaders together for two days of connection, shared learning, and practical tools you can take back to your community or organization. As we plan, we’d love to hear from you!

📝 Share what conversations, skills, and questions matter most to you: https://tinyurl.com/LG26-input

12/04/2025

The Berea College Appalachian Fund is excited to partner with the Brushy Fork Leadership Institute on this expansion of services to develop the capacity of service organizations and build a stronger nonprofit network in Central Appalachia.

We’re excited to announce the launch of Strengthening Central Appalachia’s Nonprofit Ecosystem—a three-year initiative to help nonprofits serving economically distressed communities across 46 counties in KY, TN, VA, and WV!

Funded in part by a $390,410 READY Grants to Grow award from the Appalachian Regional Commission, this project will deliver technical assistance, leadership coaching, and organizational assessments to strengthen nonprofit sustainability and impact.

We’re proud to collaborate with our partners Berea College Appalachian Fund, Mountain Association, and Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky in this regional effort.

Read the press release here: https://www.arc.gov/news/arc-awards-over-12-6-million-to-80-projects-designed-to-strengthen-local-economies/

10/08/2025

Join Brushy Fork Leadership Institute for this amazing opportunity for Affiliates and other nonprofits!

Thank you to Brushy Fork Leadership Institute of Berea College for providing such a valuable opportunity!

Join Brushy Fork for a four-part series with Rian Johnson, Associate Director of Content Development at Partners for Rural Impact, designed to help nonprofits strengthen their communications and storytelling!

In this series, you will learn:
-Storytelling that resonates
-Smart social media strategies
-Newsletter essentials
-Stakeholder communication

Register now!: Tinyurl.com/BCAFcomms25

10/06/2025

We’re inviting all current BCAF Affiliates to join our private Facebook group, a space to connect, collaborate, and communicate with each other and with us. Be sure to answer the membership questions and agree to the group rules so you can jump right in!
Join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bcafaffiliates

09/24/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year's Leadership Gathering! We're grateful to our presenters for sharing their experiences, to the affiliates who brought posters to highlight their work, and to all of the attendees who helped make the event a success. A special thanks as well to Brushy Fork Leadership Institute of Berea College for co-hosting with us this year!

We're excited to share that the next Leadership Gathering will be held on September 16 and 17, 2026. We hope to see you there!