Ascend West Virginia — Pairing Cash Relocation Bonuses with Two Years of Outdoor Recreation

Ascend West Virginia launched in 2021 within West Virginia University's Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative, funded by a $25 million gift from former Intuit CEO Brad Smith and his wife Alys Smith.

It pairs a relocation package worth more than $20,000 -- including a $12,000 cash bonus paid over two years -- with two years of complimentary outdoor recreation access, and by 2025 had expanded from its original Morgantown cohort to six West Virginia communities: Morgantown, the Eastern Panhandle, Elkins, New River Gorge, Greenbrier Valley and Charleston.

Independent press coverage reports cumulative applications exceeding 65,000 against fewer than 1,000 people selected and relocated -- an acceptance rate under 1.5% -- and that 36% of admitted participants have since bought homes in West Virginia, a proxy for retention beyond the incentive period.

Programme staff have publicly described economic-impact data as preliminary. Unlike Tulsa Remote's peer-reviewed-style Upjohn Institute evaluation, no independent econometric assessment of Ascend's net fiscal or labour-market effect has been published. Admitted cohorts skew toward high earners -- one regional group averaged $125,937 in annual salary with over 90% holding a bachelor's degree or higher -- and a state legislator has publicly questioned the equity of funding relocation for well-paid newcomers while long-term West Virginia residents face economic hardship.