AdvantageWest announces suspension of operations; some programs to continue with other nonprofits

The nonprofit AdvantageWest has announced that it will suspend operations by the end of the year. The organization serves 23 counties and, since being founded in 1994, has worked to promote regional economic development and opportunity in areas including manufacturing, entrepreneurship, filmmaking and agribusiness. The organization has seen reductions in state funding since 2013.

According to the release, some AdvantageWest programs,including Blue Ridge Food Ventures, the Advantage Opportunity Fund and the Certified Entrepreneurial Communities program will continue through partnerships with other regional nonproits.

“From the time we learned in 2013 that AdvantageWest would be losing its funding, our goal has been to do everything we could to keep these programs alive and we are so pleased that this will be able to happen,” says the release. “Even though AdvantageWest as an organization will be suspended by the end of this year, we’re proud that we’ve been able to successfully continue operating AdvantageWest long past what many predicted, given our funding challenges.”

See the full release below.

From AdvantageWest

Press release

Two years after a new model for economic development was announced for North Carolina, thus eliminating funding to AdvantageWest and the six other regional economic development partnerships, AdvantageWest has made the difficult decision to suspend operations by the end of this year.

However, we are happy to report that there is a silver lining. Thanks to the help of other nonprofit entities in the region, our programs and initiatives are expected to live on, allowing them to continue making a positive impact long into the future.

The AdvantageWest board and executive leadership have been working for months to identify like-minded partners who could sustain key initiatives such as Blue Ridge Food Ventures, the Advantage Opportunity Fund, and the Certified Entrepreneurial Communities program. We can now say with confidence that we’ve found the right partners to make that happen. Negotiations are underway and these partners will be announced in the near future.

That also includes initiatives such as ScaleUp WNC, one of our most exciting projects, funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration to assist high-potential existing small businesses scale up and create quality jobs. We are working with SBA on a transition plan to ensure this program continues to benefit the region.

With regard to other AdvantageWest projects, we are currently in the final stages of several agriculture, natural resource and outdoor industry development initiatives through the WNC AgriVentures grant, awarded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, Appalachian Regional Commission, and U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2012. That grant program ends in September and AdvantageWest will continue to see those projects to completion.

From the time we learned in 2013 that AdvantageWest would be losing its funding, our goal has been to do everything we could to keep these programs alive and we are so pleased that this will be able to happen. Even though AdvantageWest as an organization will be suspended by the end of this year, we’re proud that we’ve been able to successfully continue operating AdvantageWest long past what many predicted, given our funding challenges.

We are proud of AdvantageWest’s long list of accomplishments since our founding in 1994, all made possible by public and private partners across our 23-county service area and beyond and the tireless work of many individuals and organizations. Stay tuned to hear more in the coming weeks about how our programs and initiatives will efforts to help Western North Carolina’s economy grow and flourish.

For more on the history of AdvantageWest and recent funding difficulties see “With state funding gone, what’s next for Advantage West?” by Margaret Williams, published March 2015, and additional coverage here.