KENTUCKY HIGHLANDS INVESTMENT CORP
PO BOX 1738, LONDON, KY 407431738 www.khic.org

---

Organizations Filed Purposes: KHIC'S PURPOSE IS TO PLAN, PROMOTE, INITIATE, AND COORDINATE COMMUNITY, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS. KHIC HAS USED A VENTURE CAPITAL APPROACH YIELDING NOTABLE POSITIVE RESULTS. IT HAS A STRONG BASE OF CAPITAL WITH A PORTFOLIO THAT ALLOWS IT TO BE SELF-SUSTAINING, A DEDICATED AND EXPERIENCED STAFF, A COMMITTED AND SUPPORTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND A CLEAR DEFINITION OF ITS MISSION AND METHOD. KHIC'S STRATEGY IS TO DEVELOP AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE ENTREPRENEURSHIP WILL THRIVE. IT DOES SO BY PROVIDING BOTH FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE TO NEW AND EXISTING BUSINESSES. IT ALSO SEEKS TO INTRODUCE AND DEVELOP ENTREPRENEURIAL TALENT BOTH FROM WITHIN THE REGION AND FROM AREAS OUTSIDE THE REGION.

TO PROVIDE AND RETAIN EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN SOUTHEASTERN KENTUCKY THROUGH SOUND INVESTMENTS AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.

KENTUCKY HIGHLANDS INVESTMENT CORPORATION (KHIC), LONDON, KENTUCKY WAS FOUNDED IN 1968 AS JOB START CORPORATION AS A PART OF THE WAR ON POVERTY. KHIC STARTED WITH A NINE COUNTY SERVICE AREA AND HAS EXPANDED TO TWENTY-TWO COUNTIES. THESE COUNTIES HAVE CHRONICALLY HIGH RATES OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY. THIS HILLY, RURAL AREA HAS ONLY NINE POPULATION CENTERS WITH MORE THAN 5,000 RESIDENTS. BUT WITH TECHNOLOGY, GOOD HIGHWAYS, LOYAL EMPLOYEES AND LOWER COST OF LIVING IT IS AN INCREASINGLY ATTRACTIVE AREA FOR NEW BUSINESSES.IT HAS CREATED OR MAINTAINED MORE THAN 25,100 JOBS BY INVESTING 811 BUSINESSES INCLUDING 297 FARMRELATED RECIPIENTS WITH 15,323 JOBS IN ITS CURRENT PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (AS OF 03/31/19). KHIC HAS BEEN A VIBRANT CATALYST FOR CHANGE IN ITS TARGET AREA. HOWEVER, KHIC'S PRIMARY CONCERN FOR THE AREA IS POVERTY. THE POVERTY RATE IN THE TARGETED INVESTMENT AREA AVERAGED 27 PERCENT IN 2017 AND MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME WAS ONLY $38,413. UNEMPLOYMENT IS CONSISTENTLY HIGHER IN THE AREA BY SEVERAL PERCENTAGE POINTS THAN FOR THE STATE OR THE NATION. UNEMPLOYMENT IN 2017 IS 8.0% WHICH IS 195% OF THE NATIONAL RATE OF 4.1%. IN 2003, KHIC EXPANDED ITS SERVICE AREA TO INCLUDE AN ADDITIONAL TEN CONTIGUOUS COUNTIES ALL EVIDENCING EXTREME POVERTY, LOW EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, AND HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT AS WELL AS OTHER ASPECTS OF PERSISTENT ECONOMIC DISTRESS.SINCE ITS FOUNDING, KHIC HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN A VARIETY OF BUSINESS LENDING RELATED TO REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING LENDING FOR COMMUNITY FACILITIES, MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL PLANT DEVELOPMENT, AND OFFICE SPACE. KHIC HAS DEVELOPED CLOSE TO $13 MILLION IN INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE PROJECTS DIRECTLY AND HAS PROVIDED APPROXIMATELY $87 MILLION IN FINANCING TO COMPANIES FOR INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT. AS LEAD AGENCY FOR THE KENTUCKY HIGHLANDS EMPOWERMENT ZONE (KHEZ), KHIC HAS SUCCESSFULLY MANAGED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL RESOURCES, LEVERAGING MORE THAN $147 MILLION OF PRIVATE RESOURCES ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE EMPOWERMENT ZONE AND RESULTING IN MORE THAN 3,888 NET NEW JOBS FROM KHEZ INVESTMENTS. KENTUCKY HIGHLANDS PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUSINESSES IN ITS FOOTPRINT TO RECEIVE SOPHISTICATED FINANCIAL SERVICES OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE IN IN THE AREA. ACCESS TO FINANCING, ACCESS TO TRAINING, ACCESS TO NATIONAL LEVEL PROGRAMS ARE THE KEY ATTRIBUTES WHICH DIFFER KENTUCKY HIGHLANDS AND ITS STAFF. MOST INDIVIDUALS ARE LONG TIME EMPLOYEES, FAMILIAR WITH THE REGION AND ITS CONSTITUENTS, AND PASSIONATE ABOUT THE ECONOMIC ASPIRATIONS OF ITS CITIZENS AND BUSINESSES.ON JANUARY 7, 2014, PRESIDENT OBAMA NAMED KENTUCKY HIGHLANDS INVESTMENT CORPORATION, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EIGHT COUNTIES IN SOUTHEASTERN KENTUCKY, AS THE FIRST RURAL PROMISE ZONE IN THE NATION. PROMISE ZONE IS A FEDERAL DESIGNATION OF A GEOGRAPHIC AREA CONTAINING NO MORE THAN 200,000 IN POPULATION AND THAT 20% OR MORE OF THE POPULATION LIVES IN POVERTY. THE INITIATIVE AIMS TO REVERSE FACTORS THAT LEAD TO POVERTY THROUGH A STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT OF FEDERAL AGENCIES WORKING TOGETHER IN CONCERT WITH BOTTOM-UP STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT PLANS AT THE LOCAL ANDREGIONAL LEVEL.THE KENTUCKY HIGHLANDS PROMISE ZONE (KHPZ) CONDUCTS ITS WORK THROUGH A NETWORK OF SECTOR-FOCUSED (ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, HOUSING, HEALTHCARE, LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS, BROAD BAND AND EDUCATION) LED BY COMMUNITY LEADERS. COMMITTEES COMPRISED OF PUBLIC SECTOR, NONPROFIT AND FOR PROFIT BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES CONDUCT THEIR WORK ACROSS SECTORS TO BUILD ALLIANCES LEADING TO FRESH PERSPECTIVES TO ADDRESS OLD PROBLEMS. ULTIMATELY, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE KHPZ STRATEGIC PLAN IS TO OPEN AVENUES TO A MORE DIVERSIFIED AND VIBRANT ECONOMY THAT IS LESS DEPENDENT UPON THE COAL MINING INDUSTRY. DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL IS AT THE CORE OF THE INITIATIVE. MEASUREMENTS OF PROGRAM SUCCESS INCLUDE JOBS CREATED, INCREASED TAX BASE, DECREASED GOVERNMENT SPENDING ON SOCIAL PROGRAMS, TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS, CRIME REDUCTION AND AN INCREASE OF PRIVATE INVESTMENT.

---

---

Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (public 990 form dataset) from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202020419349301517_public.xml