North Carolina Rising is a year-long project by UNC-TV, funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation.  The project has examined “success stories” of rural NC communities that were once dependent on agriculture but are now transitioning to other areas of economic development.  There have been 12 segments tha … Read more

Mr. Erik Battle is a young, energetic, Iraq war veteran who serves as a County Commissioner in Caswell County. Erik is committed to providing opportunities for young people. He is part of an organization that owns the Dillard School, an historically African-American school in Yanceyville. The Dillar … Read more

In 2007, CFED began a campaign to look at and compare states’ policies and performances from an asset-based perspective as part of its policy advocacy work.  The goal is that the scorecards will educate policymakers, the media, and the public on the state of affairs in their respective states and on … Read more

In all seriousness, football is not really a strategy in this case, but high school sports in small towns have been known to create community cohesion.  In this case, the town of Canadian, Texas, seems to have defied all expectations and has not died out.  Located in the Panhandle of Texas more than … Read more

The CCP project was the topic of discussion at yesterday’s OEBD Working Group on Economic Development. News coverage available here: http://www.dailytarheel.com/content/students-describe-work-rural-areas. Graduate interns Kate Pearce and Adam Parker updated the working group on their summer internsh … Read more

Notes from the fourth conversation – – There are not really any community wealth building or individual asset building strategies that are not anti-poverty strategies – Stay in regular contact with the Rural Center – UNC-TV produced a documentary called “NC Rising” and they are doing town hall meeti … Read more

Here are notes from the third conversation – – Something to think about is poverty, its causes, and how much is related to land – Land ownership is power – political, economic, social – Issues around policies in relation to institutionalized racism and depressing property values – i.e. home appraisa … Read more

Here are notes from the second conversation – – Worry that waiting to decide criteria after looking at strategies will lead in the wrong direction – Question the ability of strategies to create living wage incomes – it all comes down to living wages/incomes, or at least the possibility for living wa … Read more

Over the next few months I will be posting notes from conversations with advisory board members for the Rural Center project.  The notes will not name names, but will, we hope, give everyone an idea of what others are saying, keep you informed, and spark other thoughts and discussions.  Here are the … Read more

On the first large-scale test of IDAs – http://add.cfed.org/ You can search results, data, and perspectives by group – individual families, private partners, community leaders, and policymakers.  About 14% of the accountholders involved in the study were from rural communities, but the data does not … Read more