Purpose
For too long, the stories told about West Virginia haven’t shown the full picture. They’ve focused on what’s broken, overlooking the creativity, strength, and vision that exist in our communities. These incomplete narratives not only shape how others see us—they shape what we believe is possible for ourselves.
The Narrative Change Collaborative was launched by The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation (TGKVF) in 2024 to help change that. With seed funding from the Appalachia Funders Network, this work is grounded in a simple idea: communities should have the tools, resources, and support they need to tell their own stories and shape their own future.
Our goal is to create opportunities for youth, local media, and Greater Kanawha Valley communities to write their own narrative—one that defines the prosperous future they want to see. Participants in the project work to interweave nonfiction storytelling, journalism, cultural stewardship, and civic media practices to lift up regional narratives and build stronger regional networks.
Get Involved
You can learn more about this initiative and ways to get involved by contacting Project Manager Emma Pepper at emmafpepper@gmail.com.
Just published!
Read “Our Turn”
Stories help us find each other. That’s why this toolkit exists. Our Turn is for young people in
the Greater Kanawha Valley of West Virginia.
Work in Action
The Narrative Change Collaborative work is driven by a theory of change built on three pillars:
- Grantmaking that supports local storytelling and media innovation
- Stakeholder collaboration that bridges sectors and builds shared purpose
- Community engagement that lifts up the voices of residents
Together, these pillars create place-based narrative change—a process where stories become tools for economic and community resilience, connection, and transformation.
Project History
While The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation didn’t formalize its narrative focus until late 2023, the Foundation has long recognized how narrative work influences a community’s civic health and spurs community economic development opportunities. The graphic below provides several examples of how we have engaged with and supported narrative projects over the last decade.
Project Leadership
Advisory Group
In 2024 and 2025, the Narrative Change Collaborative Steering Committee served as the advisory group for TGVKF’s project, providing strategic direction and ensuring that the project remains aligned with values and priorities outlined by the Collaborative participants. Members offered insight and guided decisions on key aspects of the project’s launch.
- Laura Harbert Allen, religion correspondent & vertical editor – 100 Days in Appalachia
- Molly Born, independent writer & film producer
- Jamela Brown, podcaster, poet, & author; Family Support Specialist – Kanawha County Schools (Dunbar area)
- Tijah Bumgarner, filmmaker & associate professor – Marshall University
- Sara M. Crickenberger, past executive director – Mountain State Spotlight
- Leah Glover, member – TGKVF Board of Trustees
- Crystal Good, poet, founder, & publisher – Black By God the West Virginian
- David L. Lavender, apprenticeships & film – West Virginia Film Office for the West Virginia Department of Economic Development
- Carling McManus, president & co-founder – 84 Agency
- Jorge Rodriguez-Stanley, independent journalist
Foundation Leadership
Stephanie Hyre, The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation’s Chief Program Officer, leads the Narrative Change Project, providing oversight and ensuring alignment with its overarching goals. Derek Vance, Program Officer, leads the Narrative Change grant portfolio. To manage the Narrative Change Collaborative, TGKVF contracted with Emma Pepper, principal of Peppermill, a dynamic consulting firm dedicated to driving social impact in Appalachia. With a strong commitment to equity and community power-building, Emma leverages her expertise to help clients achieve transformative growth. She is skilled in leading participatory narrative change initiatives rooted in asset-based, community-driven practices.
Art and Photos
Listen to Narrative Advisory Group member Jamela Brown read Are You Ready, a poem written for the Narrative Change Collaborative and performed at the June 2024 Open House. The language in the poem is based on the Collaborative participants’ own words about what is needed to create narrative change in our communities.
Listen Here
Watch the related story on WOWK, Project hopes to change narrative in local communities.
Publications
Read “Our Turn”. Stories help us find each other. That’s why this toolkit exists. Our Turn is for young people in the Greater Kanawha Valley of West Virginia.
Read “Narrative Change in the Kanawha Valley” for a recap of our first year, including why we’ve committed to storytelling, big achievements so far, and a peek into future plans.
Check out “Narrative Change Pilot Learning and Evaluation Report,” which uses a regional lens to compile learnings from TGKVF, Mountain Association, and Appalachian Community Fund on their narrative-based cohort work together.
Dive into “The State of News Business in Central Appalachia” research, a report put out by the Appalachia Funders Network through its Press Forward Central Appalachia chapter; for information about TGKVF and its narrative initiative, flip to page 15!
A Decade of Change! Read all about TGKVF’s headlining exercise, led by Tom Heywood, and the news that came out of our community’s vision for its future.
Narrative Grantee Partners
2024 Grants
In December 2025, the Foundation awarded more than $100,000 to seven grantee partners that are committed to lifting up youth perspectives focused on belonging. Grantee partners include the following:
- Black By God (fiscal agent West Virginia Can’t Wait) – Operating and Project Support Funding
- Mountain State Spotlight – Mountain State Spotlight Empowering West Virginians
- The Real WV – Elaborate on The REAL WV
- Tamarack Foundation, Inc. – West Side Ripple Media Project
- Voices of West Virginia (fiscal agent Marshall University Foundation, Inc.) – Rewriting the Narrative with West Virginia Role Models
- West Virginia Community Development Hub – Building Community Resilience and Narrative Power on the West Side
- West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission – Appalachian Care Chronicles
- West Virginia Humanities Council, Inc. – West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Support in Kanawha County
- West Virginia International Film Festival, Inc. – Caring Bobbie
- West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation, Inc. – Us & Them WV News Desert Project 2025
- West Virginia University Foundation, Inc. – Grow This: The Documentary
- WTSQ (fiscal agent Masque Informed, Inc.) – On the Record: Spinning New Narratives for the Kanawha Valley
2025 Grants
In December 2025, the Foundation awarded more than $100,000 to seven grantee partners that are committed to lifting up youth perspectives. Those partners include:
- Black by God – Youth Voices Rising- Storytelling for Belonging in Appalachia
- Marshall University Research Corporation- Tell Your Story: a filmmaking workshop
- Mountain State Spotlight- Youth Citizens Agenda
- The Real WV Foundation- The Real WV According to Gen Z
- WV Public Broadcasting Foundation- Stay or Go: WV Youth Voices Weigh Staying, Leaving, and Building a Future
- WTSQ 88.1- The Record presents: Youth Waves- Stories that Echo
- YNST Media (fiscal agent Oglebay Institute)- WV Visionaries
Community Needs Assessment
In 2024, the Foundation conducted a regional needs assessment shaped by surveys, interviews, convenings, and conversations with over 100 residents who have a stake in changing narratives in our communities. This process uncovered both gaps and opportunities in how stories are created, shared, and valued in the Greater Kanawha Valley.
The resulting report, Creating New Stories for West Virginia: A Needs Assessment from The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation’s Narrative Change Collaborative, spotlights community-based findings and recommendations for action to bring about place-based narrative change in the region.
Above all, stakeholders affirmed the importance of authentic, hopeful stories—those that reflect challenges but also highlight creativity, perseverance, and possibility. These stories build pride, spark imagination, and help residents see their communities differently.
Narrative Convening Materials
Through its inception, the Foundation has collected notes and materials from the major gatherings of the Narrative Change Collaborative Stakeholders and Advisory Group. To browse materials to date, please use the links below.
