COLUMBUS — A foundation formed to help make up for the lack of charity money in the state's Appalachian region has received a $1 million grant from the state.

        The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio plans to begin awarding funds this year to promote economic development and education in the hilly 29-county region that extends from outside Cincinnati to Steubenville.

        The Nelsonville-based foundation got the state match only after it raised $1 million in private donations during a yearlong campaign.

        The foundation is unique among Appalachian states, said Mike Kiernan, spokesman for Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, a federally funded advocate group for the 13 Appalachian states.

        “What's special about this sort of homegrown foundation is its focus on the 29 counties in Appalachian Ohio,” Mr. Kiernan said. “This is the only homegrown foundation in the 13 Appalachian states we've supported. This is an important opportunity.”

        He said other foundations spread money across regions that include Appalachia, but the Ohio foundation is the only one concentrated in an Appalachian region.

        “The whole goal is to help bring these rural communities into the economic mainstream,” Mr. Kiernan said.

        The foundation is expected to give out $5,000 to $10,000 grants totaling $300,000 this year, said Leslie Lilly, president and chief executive officer of the foundation.

        Grants will go to nonprofit businesses that help potential small business owners develop startup plans, such as ACEnet in Athens County, which works with food-related businesses.

        Education grants will go to after-school programs and toward establishing endowments for scholarships to help increase the number of Appalachian students attending college, Ms. Lilly said.

        “Charitable assets are critical. That money has often been missing in our region,” she said.

        While 12.9 percent of Ohioans live in the 29-county Appalachian region, less than 2 percent of the state's charitable foundation assets are held there, according to a 1998 report by Donors Forum of Ohio.

        “We hope we'll be providing a new resource ... to get things done that nobody else is helping the region to accomplish,” Ms. Lilly said.

        Private contributions to the foundation came from corporations and individuals, but more than 60 percent came from family and private foundations, such as the Schooler Family Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Longaberger Foundation, Ms. Lilly said.

        A 14-member board of trustees will award grants with input from a community advisory committee. The foundation is to announce the first grants in spring or early summer, she said.

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