The Rural Community Development Initiative was built on NeighborWorks America’s long-standing commitment to strengthening rural communities through capacity building, technical assistance and peer learning. As a national leader in community development, NeighborWorks America has supported rural-serving organizations for decades, ensuring they have the tools, strategies and resources needed to address complex housing and economic challenges. This initiative provided targeted technical assistance to seven organizations in the NeighborWorks Rural Initiative, each focused on advancing critical community development efforts such as affordable housing, economic resilience and sustainability.
At the outset, each organization identified a key challenge and was paired with a subject matter expert to guide their work. AHEAD focused on revitalizing downtown Whitefield, New Hampshire, through mixed-use development. Arbor Housing and Development worked to strengthen disaster preparedness in Corning, New York. GROW South Dakota explored strategies to access federal funding for workforce housing, while LIFT Community Action Agency pursued certification as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) to expand lending in southeast Oklahoma. Neighborhood Development Services aimed to increase access to housing opportunities for residents across northeast Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania, and Total Concept sought to incorporate energy efficiency and solar energy into Colorado’s rural housing solutions.
Grounded in an emergent learning framework, the program began with Before-Action Reviews to establish goals and align strategies. Throughout the initiative, organizations engaged in a collaborative, adaptive process using monthly check-ins, learning logs, quarterly updates and After-Action Reviews to refine their work and build long-term capacity. By pairing organizations with subject matter experts and emphasizing collaborative learning, RCDI strengthened the ability of rural-serving nonprofits to implement innovative, community-led solutions that will extend beyond the life of the grant.
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