What it does
We champion rural north carolina by investing in people, communities and potentialand envision a rural north carolina where every rural voice matters and every ruralcommunity thrives.
Small business/entrepreneurship: the rural center delivers critical resources to support existing businesses and enable the emergence of new entrepreneurs. The rural center believes equitable economic growth depends on sustaining rural small businesses and nurturing small-town entrepreneurs. The rural center's lending subsidiary, thread capital, works with individuals trying to start or expand a small business by providing capital, coaching, and connections. The rural center operates the state small business credit initiative program to support private sector capital formation in all 100 counties. The rural center operates cornersquare community capital, which supports community development financial institutions in a 17-state region.
Leadership & engagement: the center's flagship leadership program, the rural economic development institute (redi) offers participants collaborative leadership skills and rural development strategies to help them return home and make a meaningful impact in their communities. Upon graduating from redi, graduates of the program become part of a larger alumni network of leaders. Redi and homegrown leaders regional leadership training have trained over 1,800 rural leaders. The rural summit brings together community leaders, policymakers, and rural advocates from across the state and nation to engage in a thoughtful, intentional dialogue about the actions we can take today to advance policy and systems change across a broad spectrum of rural development issues. Finally, through our connect church and community connect programs, we locate the powerful intersection between rural church assets and community opportunities.
Advocacy & research: the rural center serves as the state's leading advocate for its many rural communities. The rural center provides local, regional, and state leaders the information they need to be informed on the important rural issues of the day. The rural center identifies specific topics for more in-depth exploration and partners with experts to lift up policy and research that informs the decisions of today and helps plan for the choices of tomorrow. With a voice informed by data, research, storytelling, and best practices, the rural center advocates on the local, state, and federal levels for the compelling issues facing rural communities: issues like broadband access, healthcare, housing, agriculture, education, energy, workforce development, and infrastructure.