Rural Community Economic Options Built on Local Assets

 

SRDI works to identify and implement practical asset-based options for building and sustaining rural income and assets. We explore burgeoning local opportunities and also national innovations that may support our grassroots partners.

 
Local Innovation
SRDI has partnered with McIntosh SEED in Coastal GA to:
  • Develop the Rural Community Investment Project (RCIP): a unique partnership between a mainstream developer, the city of Darien, and the Old River Road. Community Association. RCIP is a multi-million dollar comprehensive community change effort.
  • Organize the Costal African American Action Network (CAAAN), a regional network of African American Heritage and Cultural groups
  • Organize the first African American Heritage and Cultural Summit, a gathering of rural grassroots leaders working on issues related to African American heritage and cultural tourism as a vehicle for economic development, leadership, and intellectual and cultural property.

National Innovation

SRDI is analyzing the emerging rural grassroots economy – that part of the rural economy that is based on small-scale income generation employed by rural families in chronically poor and isolated regions. We focus on specific rural low-wealth communities where grassroots economic strategies are particularly critical to family economic success and stability.

 
Community Assets:
SRDI’s analysis lends particular attention to assessing the community assets (support networks, community-based organizational capacity, local government engagement, philanthropic support, and external information and expertise) necessary to maximize the potential of income generating practices in economically distressed communities. SRDI’s framework has two levels of analysis:
  1. innovative practices and their economic impact;
  2. an analysis of grassroots support systems on innovative practices
Geographic Comparison for Context
Our analysis focuses on two areas of the South -- a three to four county of area of coastal Georgia centering on McIntosh County, and yet to be determined region in Central Appalachia (Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, or Southwest Virginia). We will compare our findings between these regions of dissimilar demographics as a first step to assess to what degree the Deep South’s legacy of race presents barriers to new solutions for family economic success in rural African American and Hispanic populations.
 

Economic Alternative Strategies Defined

Economic Alternatives Resources
Bring Economic Alternatives to Your Community
Rural Innovation Network

SRDI’s Rural Networking Strategy

Rural Networking Resources
 
 
     
Raleigh: 128 E. Hargett St. Suite 202 Raleigh, NC 27601 phone: 919.829.5900 fax: 919.829.0504 info@srdi.org
Asheville: 20 Battery Park Avenue, Suite 211 Asheville, NC 28801 phone: 828.285.9230
Home l Grassroots Support l Community Based Philanthropy l Economic Alternatives l Aligned Public Funds l Contact Us