Adam Kenney, far right, and the graduating class of the Oil City ACRE cohort. September 9, 2025.
A Letter on ACRE: Resilience in Rural Creative Economies
September 30, 2025
Dear Friends,
As we celebrate Bridgeway Capital’s 35 years of impact, I’ve been thinking about what it means to build something that lasts. At Bridgeway, we have the privilege of working with entrepreneurs who do this every day — people who build businesses, shape communities, and create opportunities where others may only see challenges.
Our programs exist to meet them where they are and walk with them toward growth. That commitment takes many forms: flexible financing, one-on-one technical assistance, creative business coaching, and cohort programs that center the unique strengths of the participants within their individual communities.
Each of these efforts matters, but today I want to focus on the Alliance for Creative Rural Economies (ACRE). It’s one of the programs closest to my heart, and right now feels like the moment to share why.
Earlier this year, Bridgeway — along with many peer organizations across the country — experienced the sudden elimination of federal funding. For us, this meant the end of a multi-year grant that had been supporting ACRE and other important business assistance efforts. It was a hard blow, especially because we were just beginning to see how transformational those resources could be for rural creative businesses.
If I’ve learned anything from the rural entrepreneurs we serve, it’s that scarcity forces innovation. So, with commitment from our team and partners, we pieced together the resources to continue ACRE. This summer, we saw our third cohort of entrepreneurs complete the program. They are stepping into their futures with sharper skills, stronger networks, and greater confidence. That’s the story I want to tell here.
Rural entrepreneurs face challenges that their urban counterparts rarely experience at the same scale: limited access to broadband, long distances to markets, fewer nearby mentors, and less exposure to investors. Yet these same entrepreneurs often carry an unmatched sense of place, resourcefulness, and determination.
I think about the ceramicists in Wheeling, West Virginia who told me they balance production with teaching classes, because the classes aren’t just income — they keep craft traditions alive and local. I think about the designer in Oil City, Pennsylvania working to relocate other creatives to her community to thrive there and contribute to revitalization. I think about the three makers in Johnstown, PA that partnered to reactivate a vacant storefront space on main street. These stories aren’t the exception in ACRE; they’re the rule.
ACRE’s role is to recognize that grit, honor it, and provide it with the business tools and support systems that help it grow. It is both the trial of working against the current in rural economies and the triumph of celebrating creative entrepreneurs who refuse to quit.
At our most recent ACRE graduation, one participant said, “For the first time, I don’t feel like I’m doing this alone.” That hit me hard.
Entrepreneurship can be isolating anywhere, but especially in rural areas, where the next creative business might be miles away. ACRE isn’t just about accounting tools or marketing strategies, critical though they are. It’s about creating a sense of belonging and momentum. Programs like ACRE don’t just strengthen businesses; they knit a fabric of mutual support across entire regions.
I’ve seen ACRE participants open new storefronts in historic downtowns, collaborate on shared studio spaces, and form marketing collectives to extend their reach. I’ve also seen them stumble, regroup, and rebound. These aren’t just stories about business — they’re stories about community resilience.
So where does ACRE fit into Bridgeway’s larger work? At its core, Bridgeway exists to make capital and support available where traditional systems often fall short. Some entrepreneurs need loans to buy equipment or expand operations. Others need intensive one-on-one business assistance. While some creatives benefit most from the connections and experiences of cohort programs, learning with peers in their community.
ACRE adds a rural lens to this work and sits at the intersection of all of these types of support. It works best when paired with our lending, so that a business can go from planning to execution with uninterrupted support. And it underscores our market-building initiatives, which connect entrepreneurs to customers and opportunities beyond their immediate geography.
In other words, ACRE is not an outlier. It’s a vital piece of the Bridgeway ecosystem — one that demonstrates how targeted programming can unlock the full potential of a community.
When makers in Johnstown collaborate to bring creativity and commerce to the downtown area, the town is more vibrant. When a clay studio in Wheeling hires local talent to expand classes, there are more jobs and more experiences for the community. When Oil City becomes a destination for creatives from across the country to come and thrive, it attracts more tourists, sparks the local economy, and inspires pride of place. That ripple effect — helping individual entrepreneurs so that entire regions can thrive — is what makes Bridgeway’s approach with ACRE so powerful.
Since launching ACRE in 2021, Bridgeway has served 129 cohort participants in 18 counties across the tristate area. We have worked with key partners in Wheeling and Morgantown, West Virginia and across Pennsylvania in places like Johnstown, Greensburg, Oil City, New Kensington, Uniontown, and State College. Each of these communities has its own character, history, and challenges, yet they all share a deep reserve of creativity and determination. ACRE has been a vehicle for translating those qualities into change.
The recent ACRE graduations are not an ending. ACRE is resilient, just like the entrepreneurs it serves. Federal funding cuts have forced us to rethink and reconfigure, but they have not stopped us. If anything, they’ve underscored the importance of finding new ways to sustain and grow this work. And the future of ACRE looks brighter every day.
So, what’s next? We double down on the partnerships that have gotten us this far. We continue to adapt to the needs of rural creative businesses. And we invite everyone who believes in the future of rural economies to join us — as funders, as mentors, as advocates, as friends.
When I think about the road ahead for ACRE, I feel inspired. I’ve seen what rural creative entrepreneurs can do with just a little more support, a little more visibility, and a little more belief.
At Bridgeway, we remain focused on ACRE not just as a program, but as a commitment: that no matter where in our service area a small business is located, their creativity and determination deserve to be met with resources, support, and respect.
Thank you for walking this journey with us. The work is not finished, and the best chapters are yet to be written.
With gratitude and resolve,
Adam Kenney
Chief Programs Officer
Bridgeway Capital
Learn More
The Alliance for Creative Rural Economies brings creativity-driven economic development to rural areas across the region; meeting creatives where they are in their career journeys and offering multiple levels of support and resources to achieve business stability. Visit ACREpartners.org.
You may also watch this video about an earlier ACRE cohort.
About Adam Kenney
As Chief Programs Officer, Adam’s leadership of Bridgeway Capital’s small business support team fosters an environment open to innovation and directed by a collective vision. Before his tenure at Bridgeway, Adam was the Executive Director of Touchstone Center for Crafts where he managed a wide range of activities including marketing, development, and program design. Adam also served as the Manager of Operations for the Arts Education Collaborative, an arts education advocacy organization under the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. In addition, he possesses 25 years of experience as a professional glassmaker in production and academic settings. Read more.