Policy and Public Funding Resources and Links

• ARTICLE - The Pattern of US Department of Agriculture Policy and Funding in Rural America’s Low Wealth and Minority Communities: An Analysis by the Southern Rural Development Initiative
  http://www.srdi.org/srdi/docs/SRDI-rural-spending.pdf
  
  
• The Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group (CSG) structures and contributes to focused learning that supports the innovation of organizations and funders working to achieve more widely shared and lasting prosperity in communities.
  http://www.aspeninstitute.org/
  
  
• The Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire conducts research and analysis into the challenges facing families and communities in New Hampshire, New England, and the nation.
  http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/index.html
  
  
• CFED (Corporation for Enterprise Development) expands economic opportunity by helping Americans start and grow businesses, go to college, own a home, and save for their children’s and own economic futures.
  http://www.cfed.org
  
  
• The Rural Policy Research Institute conducts policy-relevant research and facilitates public dialogue to assist policymakers in understanding the rural impacts of public policies and programs.
  http://www.rupri.org
  
  
• The USDA Economic Research Service is a primary source of economic information and research in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With 450 employees, ERS conducts a research program to inform public and private decisionmaking on economic and policy issues involving food, farming, natural resources, and rural development.
  http://www.ers.usda.gov/

Community Based Philanthropy Resources and Links

• Community Strategies Group of the Aspen Institute
  www.aspeninstitute.org/csg
  
  
• Black Belt Community Foundation
  www.blackbeltfound.org
  
  
• Changemakers
  http://www.changemakers.org
  
  
• Center for Rural Strategies, Donors Ourselves
  http://www.donorsourselves.org/donors/
  
  
• Community Foundation Locator
  http://www.cof.org/Locator/index.cfm?menuContainerID=34&crumb=2
  
  
• Community Investment Network
  http://www.thecommunityinvestment.org
  
  
• Council of Foundations
  www.cof.org
  
  
• Foundation for the Mid South
  http://www.fndmidsouth.org/
  
  
• Hindsight Consulting
  http://www.hindsightconsulting.org
  
  
• National Center for Black Philanthropy
  http://www.ncfbp.net
  
  
• The Philanthropy Journal
  www.philanthropyjournal.com
  
  
• Rural Development Philanthropy Learning Network is a diverse group of community foundations and funds, and philanthropic and rural development organizations that exchange experience, knowledge and skills to increase rural assets and improve rural livelihood.
  http://www.aspencsg.org/rdp/
  
  
• Rural Philanthropy at the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers
  http://www.givingforum.org/s_forum/doc.asp?CID=4986&DID=11138
  
  
• Southeastern Council of Foundations
  www.secf.org
  
  
• West Virginia Grantmakers Association
  http://givetowestvirginia.org

• Grassroots Support Organizing Strategy Information
  
  
  Grassroots Support Organizing Defined
  
  Defining Systems of Support
  
  
• The Center for Participatory Change uses grassroots organizing, capacity building, networking and grantmaking to help rural people make improvements in their communities through projects that they plan, implement and evaluate themselves.
  http://www.cpcwnc.org/
  
  
• Grassroots Leadership, a southern-based national organization that works to defend democracy, enhance the public good and stop the erosion of the public sphere.
  http://grassrootsleadership.org/
  
  
• SRDI Partner Info: CEDNet
  
  
  • Organizational Paper
  
  
  • Model of Change
  
  
• SRDI Partner Info: McIntosh SEED
  
  
  • Organizational Paper
  
  
  • Model of Change
  
  
• Student Action with Farmworkers accomplishes its mission by working with farmworkers to address their concerns through documentation of human rights violations, grassroots education and mobilization, leadership development of young people, policy advocacy, and support of labor organizing.
  http://cds.aas.duke.edu/saf/
  

• The Center for Rural Strategies seeks to improve economic and social conditions for communities in the countryside and around the world through the creative and innovative use of media and communications.
  www.ruralstrategies.org
  
  
• The Daily Yonder
  55 million people live in the rural U.S. ¬ Maybe you're one of them, or used to be, or want to be. As mainstream TV and newspapers retreat from small towns, the Daily Yonder is your daily multi-media buffet of news, commentary, research, and features.
  http://www.dailyyonder.com/
  
  
• The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues helps non-metropolitan journalists define the public agenda for their communities, and grasp the local impact of broader issues. It interprets rural issues for metro news media, conducts seminars and publishes research and good examples of rural journalism. It helps journalists all over America learn about rural issues, trends and events in areas they’ve never seen but have much in common with their own. It helps rural journalists how to exercise editorial leadership in small markets.
  http://www.uky.edu/CommInfoStudies/IRJCI/welcome.html
  
  
• The Rural Blog, published by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, is a daily digest of events, issues, trends and journalism in rural America, with story ideas and sources.
  http://irjci.blogspot.com
  
  
• The Rural Innovation Network by SRDI, connecting rural communities around economic sustainability for peer learning exchange, access to relevant innovators and innovations, rural constituent training opportunities, and increasing partnerships across SRDI program strategies
  www.ruralnetwork.ning.com
  
  

Economic Alternatives Strategy Resources

• The Conservation Fund is developing sustainable solutions that integrate economic return with environmental quality, from our efforts to protect America's working farms, forests and ranches, to our programs to help communities advance strategic conservation, including land use planning, ecotourism and job development.
  http://www.conservationfund.org/community_and_econ_development
  
  
• Good Work provides trainings, consulting, and coaching to equip people, entrepreneurs, and organizations with the knowledge and skills to be more self-reliant, entrepreneurial, and active in their community.
  www.goodwork.org
  
  
• NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit organization created by Congress to provide financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization efforts.
  http://nw.org/network/home.asp
  
  
• Rural LISC was created by The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national community-building organization, provides grants, loans and equity investments to community development corporations (CDCs) for neighborhood redevelopment. In 1995, LISC launched Rural LISC to expand its reach beyond urban areas to include rural communities.
  http://www.ruralisc.org