For Immediate Release

January 17, 2007
Contact: Douglas Robinson, NeighborWorks® America,  202-220-2360; drobinson@nw.org

New NeighborWorks America Report Shows How Effective and Sustainable Rural Development Can Be Achieved

Boston, MA- A new report recently released by NeighborWorks America provides action-steps to help nonprofit organizations deliver the types of services and programs that will sustain the nation’s rural communities. Based on a review of strategies reported by six members of the NeighborWorks Rural Initiative, the report makes it clear that rural development success can be achieved in a number of ways. The report can be found at http://nw.org/network/neighborworksprogs/rural/casestudies.asp.

“Rural communities have the same development needs as urban areas,” said David Dangler, director of the NeighborWorks Rural Initiative. “And just as increasing economic development and housing opportunities in the nation’s cities requires a diverse set of strategies, multi-faceted approaches need to be applied to rural areas.

“Since forming the Rural Initiative in 2000, NeighborWorks America and the NeighborWorks network members have tested a number of tactics to improve the lives of the millions of families who live in rural America. This report offers a glimpse into what works and can be adapted to the benefit of rural families in a wide variety of markets,” added Dangler.

The tactics in the report range from strategies on how to aggregate and deliver federal and local homeownership money, to tips on how to expand an organization’s service area with a “franchise approach” that retains operational excellence and develops solid partnerships.

For example, recognizing that local areas who had received federal Community Development Block Grants or other housing funds had few ways of delivering all of the mortgage money to their communities, NeighborWorks of Western Vermont formed a regional loan fund. The regional fund enables the NeighborWorks organization or other similarly committed nonprofit to attract local government housing dollars, leverage outside investment and serve a wider range of homeownership clients.

Meanwhile, the NeighborWorks Homeownership Center of Montana pioneered a collaborative approach to delivering services across the state. By implementing a partner model that trains staff from other nonprofit organizations and forming the Montana Housing Network, the NeighborWorks Homeownership Center of Montana attracts state and national corporate funding that likely would not flow to a smaller, local group.

Other examples in the NeighborWorks Rural Initiative report include guidance on building relationships with county- and state-level officials; development of technology-based tools for communication and information sharing, and strategies to foster economic development in areas where significant portions of the community live below the federal poverty line and unemployment is in the teens.

The new NeighborWorks report and other examples of best practices in rural development will be discussed at the upcoming NeighborWorks Training Institute in Atlanta, February 19-23. The five-day conference will feature a full-day symposium on manufactured housing, a mainstay of affordable housing, particularly in rural communities. More information about the NeighborWorks Training Institute and the symposium can be found at http://nw.org/network/training/Atlanta07.asp.

About NeighborWorks America
NeighborWorks America provides financial support, technical assistance and training for communities across the nation, including the NeighborWorks network – a nationwide network of more than 240 community development organizations working in more than 4,400 urban, suburban and rural communities across America. These organizations engage in revitalization strategies that strengthen communities and transform lives. In the last five years alone, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $10 billion in reinvestment and helped more than 780,000 families of modest means purchase or improve their homes or secure safe, decent rental or mutual housing.

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