Renew Rural America | Community Development
Strong Economies
- Creating Entrepreneurial Communities: The most effective economic development strategy for many rural communities is small entrepreneurship.
- Strong Farms and Ranches: A single-family farm contributes $720,000 to the local economy, or the equivalent of eight $40,000 "town jobs". On average, 7 farms support 1 town business. This link offers strategies for keeping farms and ranches local and vibrant.
- Small Businesses: This link takes you to the home of the Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP) of the Center for Rural Affairs. REAP is about strengthening rural communities through small, self-employed business development.
Education
- Rural Schools, A Primer: Rural schools have come a long way from the one-room school houses of the past and are a shining example to many over-crowded large schools in metro communities.
- Consolidation: A Tool Kit: This site, from the Rural School and Community Trust offers insight and resources for communities facing consolidation.
- Farm to School Program: Bringing fresh, local food from area farmers into schools.
On This Page
This pages offers strategies for building vibrant towns and cities across rural America by paying special attention to:
Sign up for email
Critical Infrastructure
- Rural Broadband: High-speed internet is revolutionizing the way we do business, interact with our government, and is a necessary utility equivalent to electricity in the 1930s.
- Rural Schools, A Primer: Rural schools are a large employer, offer social activities for residents and contribute to local economy. In many communities, they are a cornerstone.
- Grocery Stores: If you live in a rural community, you understand that our grocery store is arguably one of the most important businesses in town.
- Making Communities Desirable Places to Live: For rural communities to thrive, they must be places where people want to live.
- Attracting Seniors to Your Community
- Community Facilities: This page gives the ins and outs of the Community Facilities Program, which provides grants, loans, and loan guarantees for essential community facilities.
- Creating a Community Garden
- Farmers Market Promotion Program: Help for communities hoping to start or expand markets.
- Green Spaces for Your Community
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as “food stamps,” is a program to help low-income people afford the food they need.
- Farmers Market Nutrition Program
- Hunting on Private Lands:
Leadership & Policy
- Community Development Strategies: People think community development is an expensive process, but it doesn’t have to be. All it takes are a few simple questions to get the ball rolling and get the community interested.
- Recruiting and Retaining New Community Members: This page offers examples of local efforts to increase population in rural communities, what brings new residents in, and most importantly, what keeps them in rural communities.
- Community Development Guide: This guide gives key references to assist communities, including information on grants, foundations, even low-interest loans.
- New Markets Tax Credit: Leveraging Investor Money in Low-Income Communities
- Rural Tourism: Expert Joanne Steele explains why times have never been better for adding tourism to a small town’s economic mix.
- Leadership Skills: Tips for how to become a community leader.
- Community Revitalization Digest
- Renewable Energy: Making it Work for Rural America