[ workforce ]
Unlocking Appalachia ’ s
Full Potential
Celebrating 10 Years of Coalfield Development
CATHY BONNSTETTER
Coalfield Development recently celebrated 10 years of rebuilding Appalachia by propelling both residents and entire communities forward from the days when coal was king . The group ’ s goal is to unlock Appalachia ’ s full potential , power and purpose , not with programs and bureaucracy but with hands-on training and network building .
According to Brandon Dennison , co-founder and CEO , the nonprofit is a true grassroots movement . He and his best friend started Coalfield Development , and despite what he calls surprising growth , they have stayed true to their original vision .
“ We really tried to stay true to a servant heart and a belief that it ’ s human relationships that really change things , much more so than programs and projects ,” says Dennison . “ To celebrate 10 years is deeply gratifying . We ’ ve made mistakes , but our intentions have stayed pure , and I know hundreds of people whose lives are better because this organization believed in them .”
Coalfield Development ’ s team has grown from three to 32 with a 10-member board of directors and has assembled a network of enterprises across the region . This network fuels Coalfield ’ s success with its mission of providing the state with personal and professional development , employment-based social enterprises and community-based revitalization projects .
Coalfield Development ’ s partners in the network measure their impact and success with a triple bottom line philosophy : people , planet and profit . Social enterprise and economic diversification ( SEED ) partners make equity investments in social entrepreneurs with environmentally sustainable ideas who plan to follow the nonprofit ’ s retraining model . Workforce readiness and professional success partners identify community-based organizations willing to provide training using the
Coalfield model . Coalfield also partially or wholly owns strategic partners that diversify regional economies and provide employment for program grads .
Coalfield Development has trained 1,200 people in new economic sectors , many of whom have faced barriers to employment such as substance use or poverty , and created more than 300 jobs .
“ Our on-the-job approach creates the kind of real-world experience employers want to see in a recruit ,” says Dennison . “ But more than the technical training , our people become critical thinkers , communicators , problem solvers and reliable team members . Rather than training people and then praying they get a job , we ’ ve shown that you can and should create the job and the training simultaneously .”
Coalfield Development uses a 33-6-3 workweek model in its training that offers displaced workers a 2.5-year contract consisting of 33 hours per week of paid work , six credit hours of higher education and three hours of personal development mentorship designed to help trainees excel in the modern world of work . The model has transcended state borders .
“ 33-6-3 has become a social innovation of global importance ,” says Dennison . “ The World Bank is incorporating it into a global curriculum designed to help coal communities around the world diversify and retrain workers .”
Over the past 10 years , Coalfield Development has supported and grown 52 new businesses in Appalachia , attracted $ 25 million in new investments to the region and revitalized more than 200,000 square feet of formerly dilapidated and abandoned property .
38
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE