RESOURCES &
SITES OF INTEREST

Americans for the Arts
A non-profit organization focusing on advancing the arts in America.
www.AmericansForTheArts.org

Appalachian Regional Commission
The Appalachian Regional Commission is a federal-state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life.
www.arc.gov

Blue Ridge Travel Association of Virginia
A non-profit membership organization promoting tourism in the seventeen county region of the Blue Ridge Highlands of Virginia. Those counties of Bland, Carroll, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Henry, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, Roanoke, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, and Wythe, and the cities of Bristol, Galax, Martinsville, Radford, Roanoke, and Salem in mid-southwestern Virginia.
www.virginiablueridge.org

Craft Organization Development Association (CODA)
Serves organizations with education and professional development to foster public appreciation and understanding of craft.
www.codacraft.org

Department of Business Assistance
The Virginia Department of Business Assistance is the economic development agency dedicated to the growth and success of the Commonwealth's business community. Established by the Virginia General Assembly in 1996, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance ensures that businesses and entrepreneurs have a principal point of contact with state government for inquiries and services.
www.dba.state.va.us/

Heart of Appalachia Tourism Authority
Promotes tourism in the seven coalfield counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Wise, Tazewell and the city of Norton.
www.heartofappalachia.com

Historic Crab Orchard Museum
The middle Appalachian region's most comprehensive cultural heritage museum. Located in scenic Tazewell County, Virginia.
www.craborchardmuseum.com

Ninth District Development Financing, Inc. (NDDF)
A Revolving Loan Fund that was established by Congressman Rick Boucher for use in the Ninth Congressional District. NDDF is a tax-exempt corporation that was founded to make loans to new or expanding non-profits and small businesses that are tourism related.
www.nddf.org

People Incorporated Financial Services
A community development financing institution created to provide financing solutions to viable businesses that build wealth and create jobs for low-income and low-wealth families and to provide high quality service to businesses that build on the community's assets.
www.businesstart.org

National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
A membership organization that unites, represents and serves the nation's state and jurisdictional arts agencies.
www.nasaa-arts.org

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.
www.neh.gov

'Round the Mountain
'Round the Mountain: Southwest Virginia's Artisan Network is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable economic development of the region's communities by assisting local artisans with marketing, educational, and entrepreneurial opportunities.
www.roundthemountain.org

Small Business Administration
The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States.
www.sba.gov

Small Business Development Center
We are an organization of 29 local SBDCs across Virginia providing professional business counseling, training and information resources to help grow and strengthen Virginia businesses.
www.virginiasbdc.org

Southwest Virginia Community College
SwVCC is a comprehensive institution of higher education that offers more than 80 programs of study leading to an associate degree, a diploma, a certificate or a career studies certificate. Economic development throughout the service region is of prime importance to the College, and many services, such as the Workforce Development Program, the Small Business Development Center and the Procurement Technical Assistance Program, are provided to assist in efforts to bring a diversified economic base to the region. The Tazewell Area Chamber of Commerce website provides more information about Tazewell County.
www.sw.edu

Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC)
The overriding goal of all of VTC's activities is to "serve the broader interests of the economy of Virginia by supporting, maintaining and expanding the Commonwealth's domestic and international inbound tourism and motion picture production industries in order to increase visitor expenditures, tax revenues and employment."
www.vatc.org or www.virginia.org

Virginia Commission for the Arts
An agency of state government whose mission is to support and stimulate excellence in all of the arts, in their full cultural and ethnic diversity, in order to enhance the quality of life, to stimulate economic development, to support educational advancement, and to make the arts accessible to all Virginians.
www.arts.state.va.us

Virginia Cooperative Extension
Helping people improve their lives by providing research-based educational resources through a network of on-campus and local Extension offices and educators.
www.ext.vt.edu

Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH)
For more than thirty years the mission of VFH has been to develop the civic, cultural, and intellectual life of the Commonwealth by creating learning opportunities for all Virginians. Their purpose is to bring the humanities fully into Virginia's public life, assisting individuals and communities in their efforts to understand the past, confront important issues in the present, and shape a promising future.
www.virginia.edu/vfh