Rural Development Philanthropy Learning Network

Building rural assets to build rural livelihoods

The Aspen Institute: Community Strategies Group

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Overview

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Rural Grantmaking & Program Activities

The key question:

How can community foundations use grantmaking and program activities to enhance the economic security of low-income rural families and communities?


Don't miss:

Building Rural Livelihood: A Thinking and Action Framework—a study of how community foundations can design effective grantmaking and program efforts to help build the economic vitality of their communities.

Margins to Mainstream: Community Foundations Advancing Family Economic Success—a roadmap of decision points in your work to improve the economic success of families in your service area.

Overview

The current rural funding climate requires community foundations to make difficult choices to determine the best, most sustainable role to play in rural CED efforts. Thus, as community foundations experiment with ways of building strong rural communities and influencing the economic well-being of rural families, it is critically important to share and learn from program and capacity-building strategies, pitfalls and achievements of others—to move the field toward greater effectiveness and impact.


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