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Meet Daniel Wallace, ACC’s New President
& CEO!
Daniel began as ACC’s President & CEO on January 2. He brings nearly 30 years of rural business development, community finance, and nonprofit leadership, most recently serving as President
& CEO of the Green Bank for Rural America. Daniel has jumped into action getting to know ACC’s members and partners and is looking forward to continuing in
the months ahead.
Engage with Daniel and follow the work of ACC: ACC’s LinkedIn, Instagram, and website. Daniel’s LinkedIn and email.
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My first month has been a whirlwind of activity! Thank you to everyone who has been there for me and for ACC—what an extraordinary network, from staff and contractors to members to partners and funders. I’m thrilled to hit the ground running and to build on ACC’s amazing track record as a catalytic membership platform for Appalachian CDFIs and aligned capital providers, always grounded in our core mission of expanding wealth-building opportunities for underinvested entrepreneurs across Appalachia.
I’m especially excited to be traveling to meet members in North Carolina in March and Kentucky in April, with hopes to visit Alabama later in April and Pennsylvania in May. Learning directly from ACC’s members is a top priority—and an easy one at that. Our members provide daily inspiration.
In this moment of transition, it’s also important to celebrate the leadership of ACC’s former President & CEO, Donna Gambrell. Donna has been a mentor to me, as she has been to so many across the CDFI ecosystem. The opportunity to advance her legacy is truly the pinnacle of my career. ACC established the Gambrell Fund for Strategic Initiatives to honor her contributions and to carry her work forward. I hope you’ll consider contributing.
Gifts can be made through ACC’s secure online donation page, via donor-advised funds, or by check, as outlined in the Donate section of ACC’s website. This spring, we will recognize our Gambrell Fund donors, whose support celebrates Donna’s impact and signals our shared commitment to the work ahead.
Thank you, and I hope to meet you soon,
Daniel
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Where the ACC team will be showing up, speaking, and building alongside our partners.
Confluence Philanthropy – 16th Annual Practitioners Gathering March 3–5 in Asheville, NC
ACC representatives: Daniel Wallace & Jesse Fripp
Jesse will speak on the “Funding in Fractals” Plenary during the Tuesday Practitioners Institute.
African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs Midwest Huddle & Exchange
March 11–12 in Minneapolis, MN
ACC representative: Shauna Yeldell
Shauna will speak on The Future of CDFIs — Thriving in an Era of Change.
National Community Investment Conference
March 23–26 in Phoenix, AZ
ACC representative: Daniel Wallace
North Carolina Rural Summit
March 26–27 in Raleigh, NC
ACC representative: Jesse Fripp
Community Development Investors Annual Conference – Scaling Community-Based ETA and EO
April 10–11 in Washington, DC
ACC representative: Daniel Wallace
Daniel will speak on Financing EO Deals.
Appalachian Funders Network Annual Gathering
April 13–15 in Ashland, KY
ACC representative: Daniel Wallace
National Community Reinvestment Coalition Just Economy Conference
April 13–16 in Washington, DC
ACC representative: Shauna Yeldell
Mission Investors Exchange National Conference
April 27–29 in Atlanta, GA
ACC representatives: Liz Rogers and Jan Piercy
| | ACC's Year End Highlights | | |
Expanding Access to Capital Across Appalachia
Fiscal Year 2025 was a banner year for ACC. Working closely with our members, our team proudly closed $9.46M in total loans. This funding directly advances ACC’s mission of expanding access to capital for underserved entrepreneurs. It provides a lifeline to businesses like the West Virginia saw mills and timber hauling companies we supported through member Woodlands Community Lenders, building community resilience and keeping jobs local.
In addition, we extended five participation loans to business owners undertaking strategic projects. For example, ACC member Disability Opportunity Fund is working to restore Main Street White Sulphur Springs, WV, following severe flooding. ACC invested in this redevelopment effort alongside DOF through the purchase of participation loans.
With funding from the Truist Foundation, ACC also granted $805,000 to 13 members. This enabled the members to support over 1,000 small businesses by providing pass-through grants, technical assistance, and financial products that helped them expand, purchase equipment, stabilize cash flow, and create and retain jobs–businesses like Clyde, NC’s Crafted Glory Woodworking, pictured above, that are building wealth and driving their local economies.
| ACC Launches Data Analytics Hub | |
The Truist grant also funded the creation of the new ACC Data Analytics Hub, a tool that empowers CDFIs with insights to better identify and understand underinvested small businesses, particularly BIPOC- and women-owned enterprises and businesses in distressed rural counties. Twelve CDFIs have been onboarded as Hub subscribers, gaining access to data for targeted technical assistance, CRM development, and loan portfolio management.
The Data Hub has already benefited Appalachian businesses, particularly those recovering from disasters. With funding from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, the Data Hub supported capital deployment by mapping geographic information and connecting impacted businesses to member CDFIs, enabling $805,000 in grants, technical assistance, and lending to reach more than 1,000 small businesses across the region. Similarly, the Data Hub informed the deployment of $55 million in Western North Carolina Small Business Initiative grant funding to 2,182 small businesses affected by Hurricane Helene.
| ACC's Opportunity Appalachia Supports 86
Catalytic Projects | |
Opportunity Appalachia’s newest impact report details the latest results of the program. Since 2020, it has provided technical assistance to 86 community projects, helping to raise $165M to finance their activities. Nine projects are now open and operating, creating 718 jobs - 193 permanent jobs and 525 construction jobs. Projects in the portfolio range from a high-growth award-winning water technology company in Bristol, VA to a 26,000-sq. ft. workforce development center for the outdoor recreation industry in Old Fort, NC to the redevelopment of the historic Tygart Hotel in Elkins, WV, pictured left.
| | ACC welcomed three new members at the end of 2025. Welcome aboard - we look forward to working with you! | | |
Community Ventures improves the lives of Kentuckians through economic empowerment. CV provides financial and technical assistance to entrepreneurs, supports homeownership through education and affordable lending options, helps revitalize neighborhoods, supports disaster relief, and more. CV has been named the Microlender of the Year by the Kentucky Small Business Administration each year since 2000.
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Disability Opportunity Fund provides financing, technical assistance, and policy advocacy to increase access to affordable housing and related services for people with disabilities throughout the U.S. DOF supports housing, community centers, schools, and more. In White Sulphur Springs, WV, DOF worked alongside local partners in the aftermath of devastating 2016 flooding to transform a former high school into the world’s first fully ADA accessible hotel, the Schoolhouse Hotel.
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Virginia Community Development Fund, the lending affiliate and a subsidiary of Virginia Community Development Corporation, provides flexible financing and technical assistance to support affordable housing and community development projects in Virginia and West Virginia. One example of a VCDF investment in Appalachia is the rehabilitation of the historic Rupert School in rural Greenbrier County, WV.
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