Partners for Rural Transformation

Our Partner and @Oweesta Corporation CEO, Chrystel Cornelius, was recently featured in @Tribal Business News as one of five leaders transforming clean energy finance in Indian Country. With a focus on residential and community solar, Oweesta will connect tribal governments with partners and developers, providing technical assistance and expertise to enhance energy security. Full article: https://buff.ly/3M1KPnh #CEOHighlight

Have your voice heard. Support PRT by signing the letter below, advocating for the incorporation of the Rural Partnership Program (RPP) in the upcoming Farm Bill. The RPP's goal is to offer funding grants to rural and indigenous communities, promoting localized connections and enhancing social assets. The RPP aims to enable these communities to tackle their issues with solutions driven by the community by backing local alliances and collaborations. The petition highlights a three-fold strategy: RPP Grants for local collaborations, Technical Aid Grants for mediators, and a Comprehensive Government Strategy for inter-agency cooperation. Signatures must be submitted by July 26, with an appeal to spread awareness of the initiative within networks. Sign here: https://buff.ly/4d7etmD #RuralPartnership #CommunityEmpowerment #FarmBill

The release of CFPB's updated National Survey of Mortgage Originations results has now added a year of data, now showing data through 2021. It offers a new backdrop for us to compare PRT's dashboard data within the appropriate contexts. This new data is part of the National Mortgage Database, and you can access it via this link: https://buff.ly/3zEvyWw Given the housing crisis nationwide, and the affordable housing crisis in rural and PPAs, this new data will be critical in better understanding the housing market and consumer perceptions after the midst of COVID-19.

June 19, 1865, marks the date that slavery officially ended nationwide. Today we honor those who suffered under slavery as well as celebrate the freedom of Black Americans today. Happy #Juneteenth!

We're so excited for this upcoming webinar, featuring our Senior Manager of Advocacy and Research, Emily Burleson, MSW. Click the link here to register: https://lnkd.in/eppS2iA3

So proud of this collaboration, our partners who participated, and the leadership of our National Partner, Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group! Read the report today!

Pleased to be featured in The Aspen Institute Community Strategy Group's report on equitable, flexible grantmaking! The report recommendations are grounded in experiences and insights from 40 rural economic and community development practitioners from rural and Native nation communities across the United States. Check out its four principles on how doing grantmaking differently can better support organizations serving low-income and persistent poverty rural regions. Read now! https://buff.ly/3Vo8LXO

Last plenary of the day speaks to a paradox in rural communities: to sustain momentum/funding you need to measure progress, but rural data are scarce, burdensome, and can lead to measuring what can be measured instead of what truly has impact. So what advice did our panelists have for communities? Jacqueline Ponti-Lazaruk with USDA: Have communities start with the story they want to be able to tell about themselves and create measures tied to that — becomes your anchor. Emily Burleson, MSW with Partners for Rural Transformation: Gather as many stakeholders as you can and start with a theory of change and a logic model. Tells you what activities need to be done and what success looks like. Corianne Payton Scally, Ph.D. with Urban Institute: Fill data capacity gaps, whether you hire or tap partnerships. Example of a community needing to identify vulnerable individuals in a climate event, realized the local fire chief would know them by name and it just needed to be written down. #InvestRuralUSA

From the hollers in Appalachia to the colonias in rural South Texas, rural America breeds innovation. Mainstream discussions about rural America often ignore or forget this fact, though. At PRT, we know firsthand how that feels & how to combat it - by simply getting real about rural. Check out our latest publication, "Innovation Is Rural," via @DailyYonder!

Very proud of our Partner Nick Mitchell-Bennett for speaking on behalf of those underserved and underrepresented in the lending space! Follow cdcb to learn more about what they're doing to bridge the gap - and ultimately erase it through their work with the Partnership.