Excited about a new partnership...
/RCAP ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH USDA’S REDI INITIATIVE
Washington, DC (October 16, 2018)- The Rural Community Assistance Partnership, Inc. (RCAP) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new partnership through the Rural Development Innovation Center’s Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) initiative. The program will bring the National WealthWorks Technical Assistance Program to rural communities across the United States through a partnership with RCAP, the National Center for Development Organizations (NADO), the Aspen Institute, and the six regional WealthWorks hubs.
Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development, Anne Hazlett, announced the partnership today at the Rural Water & Sanitation Forum in Sacramento, California, emphasizing that “setting clear economic development priorities is an essential step in building prosperity in rural communities.” RCAP, its western regional partner, the Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), and USDA Rural Development hosted the forum.
WealthWorks is a community-centered model that has a transformative impact on rural communities. The approach emphasizes increasing local ownership and connecting local assets to real market demand. The program will help communities identify and take advantage of economic development opportunities and will focus on communities facing persistent poverty and threatened livelihoods. To complete the project, RCAP will work closely with NADO, the Aspen Institute, and the six WealthWorks Hubs – RCAP’s western regional partner, RCAC, RCAP’s southern regional partner, Communities Unlimited (CU), the Central Appalachia Network, Community Roots, Region Five Development Commission, and Rural Development Initiatives, to drive economic development planning efforts and expand the WealthWorks model to additional communities across the country.
“We are thrilled to build this partnership with USDA to help rural communities across the country develop and implement economic development plans that will lead to growth and opportunity,” said Nathan Ohle, RCAP Executive Director. “By partnering, RCAP, NADO, the Aspen Institute, and the WealthWorks Hubs recognize that the future of economic development is built on collaboration and locally-led strategies for rural regions across the country.”
RCAP is a national non-profit network providing opportunity, assistance, and practical guidance to small communities in all fifty states, U.S. territories, and tribal lands to ensure access to safe drinking water, sanitary wastewater disposal, and economic prosperity for all rural America. To learn more about RCAP, visit www.rcap.org.