Overview
Appalachian Confluence is Verdant Futures Appalachia’s regional backbone network for relationship-building, shared learning, and coordinated action across Appalachia’s plant-forward ecosystem.
It brings together organizations, institutions, networks, community leaders, and other cross-sector partners to help align, strengthen, and grow the plant-forward ecosystem through stronger relationships, shared knowledge, coordinated resources, and opportunities for collaboration.
Purpose
Appalachia possesses significant cultural, community, institutional, economic, and natural assets, but these strengths often operate independently or within separate geographic, organizational, or sector-based networks.
Appalachian Confluence strengthens connections among these assets. Rather than duplicating the work of existing organizations and networks, it creates opportunities for greater alignment, collaboration, shared learning, and coordinated action.
The Confluence provides a regional structure through which participants can better understand the broader Appalachian ecosystem, recognize complementary work, identify gaps and opportunities, and develop relationships that can lead to collaborative action.
What It Does
Appalachian Confluence may include:
- Regional convenings and facilitated discussions
- Cross-sector workgroups and collaborative planning
- Shared learning, information, and resource exchange
- Ecosystem and asset mapping
- Relationship-building and network development
- Identification of shared priorities and opportunities
- Coordination of collaborative projects, resources, and funding opportunities
Who It Serves
Participants may include nonprofit and community organizations, educational institutions, public agencies, philanthropic organizations, businesses, networks, community leaders, and others contributing to Appalachian communities.
The broader beneficiaries are Appalachian residents and communities that benefit from stronger regional relationships, increased organizational capacity, improved access to information and resources, and more coordinated approaches to regional opportunities and challenges.
How It Connects to VFA’s Other Initiatives
Appalachian Confluence provides the connective infrastructure linking VFA’s four signature initiatives.
Relationships, knowledge, and opportunities developed through the Confluence can lead to cultural activism through VerBAM!, learning and capacity development through Verdant Pathways, and enterprise development through the Plant-Forward Exchange.
Connecting people, knowledge, and opportunity across Appalachia.