Connecting communities with the resources they need to succeed is the goal of the recently organized West Virginia Community Development Hub.

Based in the Harrison County community of Stonewood, the Hub came about as the result of a September 2008 merger of two similar statewide nonprofit organizations, Community Collaborative Inc. (CCI) and the Community Development Partnership of West Virginia (CDP).

An interim board of directors is comprised of representatives from both organizations. A three-member staff has been on the job since November.

Kent Spellman, former economic development director in Ritchie County, is serving as executive director. He previously was involved with the CDP while Program Coordinator Herk Conner and Board President Jean Ambrose were affiliated with the CCI.

Spellman said the concept is to promote organization, cooperation and alignment to connect communities with service providers and funding sources.

“What we want to be is the go-to organization for community development in West Virginia,” he explained. “There is really no model like this in the nation. We want to keep communities from wondering in the dark, hoping they bump into a program that will help them.”

Ambrose, a recent retiree, said the business world is generally doing a better job of networking than those in the nonprofit sector. Better organization and communications will help communities help themselves, according to the Wood County resident.

“There are really no connections between the nonprofit community and the economic development community,” she noted. “We’re often spinning our wheels because we’re not working together; we’re not looking at it as a community development system.”

As a result, Ambrose said, those agencies providing funds are not necessarily getting a maximum return on their investments. The Hub will help, she said, by directing communities to the appropriate resources.

“Improved communities are really the end result,” she said. “We believe this will lead to some tangible results that could not be achieved otherwise.”

As an example, Spellman referred to a shortage of affordable housing in a community. The Hub could assist with the alignment of those entities that are positioned to make affordable housing happen.

“It’s about creating the capacity for a community to do the deal instead of just talking about it,” he added.

The Hub has a startup operating budget of about $300,000 with no government funds. The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation is providing major funding. Mary Hunt Lieving, senior program officer at Benedum, is serving as the Hub’s administrative assistant.

She said sees the Hub as providing infrastructure that will improve quality of life in West Virginia.

“This organization can help communities establish and pursue their goals,” she commented. “It can provide assistance with the strategies to help them be more prosperous.”

Spellman said the current focus is “collecting and connecting” information on community development organizations, service providers and funding sources.

“Who’s out there? What are they doing? How do we find them? What is their real capacity? That’s what we’re doing now and this will be an on-going process,” she said.

Hub officials are currently working with leaders in 20 communities who were previously involved with either the CCI or the CDP through the Sustainable Communities Training Program (SCTP) or the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Blueprint Communities Program. Participants are the cities of Huntington, Beckley, Fairmont, Bluefield and St. Albans; smaller communities of Ansted, Mullens, Salem, Williamson and Winding Gulf; and Monroe, Pleasants, Marshall, Doddridge, Roane, Fayette, Harrison, Ritchie and Gilmer County groups.

Other communities also are welcome to participate, according to Spellman.

“This is not an exclusive list, but we needed a place to start,” he said.

The goal is to create a statewide network with access to a Web site featuring a myriad of information and contacts.

Spellman emphasized that the Hub is not a direct provider of funds or services but rather the connector between various stakeholders in the network. Hub organizers said their model ultimately will help communities develop strategies for improvement and connect them with the tools and support necessary to see projects through to completion.

“We hope to be able to see measurable outcomes within two, three years,” Spellman said. “The economy is forcing communities to change gears and adjust to new demands. We want to help them find the sources they will need to meet those demands.”