Community Leadership and Generation Y
Generation Y is top-of-mind for rural community leaders. They’d like to know how to draw these young individuals and families back to their communities. Once they’ve done that, they’d also like to figure out how best to involve them in leadership roles. 02/2010

Power of Networking
I never cease to be amazed at the power of networking, not only for individuals but for small businesses as well – and ultimately what that means for rural community development. The more we can do to support small business growth in rural communities, the better the outcome for our communities. 01/2010

Strategies to Work with Absentee Landlords
Absentee ownership of Main Street buildings and homes can present challenges for rural communities: empty storefronts; badly maintained buildings; rents that are too high; poor energy efficiency and high utility costs; homes with overgrown lawns, etc. 12/2009

Building Community Strength
There are many promising strategies to create a better future for rural communities and genuine opportunity for rural people. Members of each community must identify approaches that fit them and then provide the grassroots leadership to make them happen. We identify 7 activities to help. 11/2009

Youth Entrepreneurship on the Rise
Story of 3 small schools at work building future entrepreneurs: Cody-Kilgore, Leeton, KS and Bancroft-Rosalie, NE. 11/2009

Health Care - What If Rural Really Mattered?
Making health care coverage affordable for the rural self-employed should be a driving force in the reform debate. Over half the jobs in rural America are tied to small businesses or self-employment – on family farms, ranches and Main Street businesses. 10/2009

Working Together to Make Healthier Communities
Rural people eat less nutritious food, get less physical activity, and are more often obese than their urban counterparts. Research shows the community environment plays a key role in determining the health of its residents. We suggest 5 measures that work through existing infrastructure. 09/2009

Main Street Revives in “The Most Unlikely Place”
Lewellen, Nebraska, a remote community of 250 people in the Nebraska Sandhills, faces the same challenges as other rural communities. But there’s something different about this town and all of Garden County, Nebraska. Rather than sitting idly by while their future is determined for them, they are actively shaping it through leadership, inclusion, relationship building and entrepreneurism. 09/2009

Rural Communities Weakened by Absentee Farmland Ownership
Farmland ownership is increasingly shifting out of rural hands, costing small communities their natural resource wealth. Exporting that wealth leaves less to support the local economy, churches and development efforts. 09/2009

Building a Future for Your Community During a Recession
Hard times are hard on people. They drive some of us out of jobs and homes. Rural communities that reach out and offer options to those whose lives have been disrupted can help secure their own future. We see 5 strategies to help small communities amidst the recession. 07/2009

Entrepreneurial Curriculum and Rural Development
Rural schools do a good job and have some of the most dedicated teachers around. We’re very fortunate in that regard. But let me pose this question – how much more successful could we be if we infused entrepreneurship into every aspect of our school system? Could we reverse the trend in population decline and youth flight? It’s a thought with merit. 06/2009

Positive, Personal Contact Paramount in Recruiting and Retaining New Residents
I had an interesting conversation about two years back that I’ve not forgotten. After giving a presentation, I was approached by a shop owner from a town of about 1,100 bemoaning the fact that he was not having any success drawing new people into his main street store. 06/2009

Why New Residents Relocate
So many communities are creating websites and marketing plans with the sole intent of attracting new people to come live, work and thrive in their town. What draws someone to a community, and, more importantly, what makes them stay? Is it as simple as a website or is there more? 04/2009

Prosperous Communities Built on Cooperation and Trust
Anyone who wants economic development ought to begin by building cooperation and trust that forms the core of community. That's a recommendation from university research focused on understanding how citizens engage in practical ways to improve the place where they live. 03/2009

Community Attitude Plays Role in Attracting Young
People ask us, "how do we retain youth in our communities?" It’s a tough question, and one without one single answer. Some pieces, but not all, are support of and introduction to entrepreneurship at an early age, encouragement to return, connection to place, and respect of and taking youth seriously. 02/2009

For more information on the Rural Community Revitalization Digest, contact Kathie Starkweather, Rural Opportunities Program Director, at kathies@cfra.org.