Appalachia Is Forever was born from urgent needs that arose directly because of Hurricane Helene’s impact.

Essentially, the needs we are serving did not exist before September 2024. The projects we are creating in the world also weren’t needed before September 2024.

Appalachia Is Forever was a fast moving reaction to problems that are huge and directly caused because of Hurricane Helene and now the scorched forests from thousands of acres burning in 2025.

Our projects are big because we know the people affected by Hurricane Helene need bold, massive action to create real, lasting solutions. Each of our projects aims to either bridge a gap that saves lives or create a lasting solution that can be sustained for the indefinite future.

Appalachia Is Forever has a 501( c)(3) fiscal sponsor. This means that when you contribute through our fiscal sponsor, your donations are tax-deductible.

Our organization is still registered as a nonprofit, and operates with charitable missions, but the tax-deductible part is through our fiscal sponsor.

This model also frees us up to move quickly and with less overhead as a new organization that is tackling disaster related issues. These types of problems are acute, immediate, and require us to shorten our timelines as much as we possibly can. Fiscal sponsorship helps us do that.

We are also guided by the incredible team and board that sponsors us, allowing us to learn from decades of wisdom they have accrued.

This allows peace of mind for donors, knowing you are contributing not only to a new organization, but to a long-term amazing team with decades of nonprofit experience and history.

Christina Gray is the founder and wears many, many hats.

Rather than many different moving parts and unnecessary teams for the entire organization, each project has it’s own team.

One of the reasons for this is that responding to a disaster is very emotionally challenging. Someone that dedicated their time to a previous project may not be up for continuing or could need a break. This did happen earlier in our history, and that’s okay!

We can be nimble, move quickly, and find people who really care about a particular project and cause and this helps us make a big different in acute areas of impact.

Christina is the throughline along with dozens of people who all come together to make a difference and help these mountains become home again.

Donations made through our fiscal sponsor are tax-deductible. Please email Christina@appalachiaisforever.org to donate through our fiscal sponsor.

For tax-deductible donations, please email christina@appalachiaisforever.org

If you do not need a tax-deduction. Follow the link at the top right, “Take Action.”