One Harlan County will use part of a $450,000 gift from the Paul Angell Foundation for a business innovation hub to serve remote workers.
The Paul Angell Foundation, a donor-advised fund housed at the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, awarded the nonprofit the money in September.
One Harlan County will also use part of the gift to hire two staff members to lead operations and strategic investments, redo the group’s marketing materials and launch a grant program for small businesses.
The Harlan County Business and Innovation Hub will use existing space in an old bank building, Executive Director Geoff Marietta said.
“One of our main focuses right now is recruiting remote workers,” Marietta said. “We picked this space or created this hub because it has private offices. It has a boardroom. It has the amenities that remote workers want that they possibly can't have because they're working from home, and it gives them an opportunity to have a private space, a professional space. But also a community that they can become a part of in Harlan County.”
Marietta said the county has already gained a lot of remote workers without intentional recruiting efforts.
The nonprofit mainly focuses on industrial development, business creation, retention and expansion. For industrial development opportunities, One Harlan County has a build-ready site to offer to companies looking to relocate.
“We've had multiple people move to Harlan County who have never lived here before,” Marietta said. “They move here because they like the quality of life, the low cost of living, the natural beauty, the good internet access. People are already moving here and bringing their high-paying remote work jobs with them, and so it builds on the tax base.”
The recent gist also allows One Harlan County to match other grant programs like FAKy’s Invest 606 and Shaping Our Appalachian Region’s Make My Move program. For Make My Move, One Harlan County is looking to provide $15,000 to five people who move there with the program this year, and officials hope to continue the match in future years.
“There's just not a lot of extra resources to go around when you live in a higher poverty community,” Marietta said. “You have basic infrastructure issues. You have a lot of other needs and economic development, which is incredibly important if you're going to disrupt the poverty cycle, sometimes just doesn't have the resources it needs to make a difference.”
According to the Federal Reserve Bank, Harlan County had a nearly 30% poverty rate in 2024. Harlan County, like much of Eastern Kentucky, has seen population loss in recent years as coal jobs have disappeared and residents have left for opportunities outside the region.
Marietta said Harlan is a really great community, and that’s why people should consider moving to the area.
“This is a community where kids still play in the streets, still ride their bikes to school and everyone still watches over everyone,” Marietta said. “You're really getting the best parts of a community that people who remember pre-cell phone, pre-internet, pre-everything still exist in small rural communities, and it's just a great place to live and raise your family.”
