Aspen CSG partners with Rural Development Hubs across the country to strengthen local leadership, align resources, and grow regional opportunity. By combining research with peer learning networks, we help Hub leaders sharpen strategies and spread what works.
In Arizona and the Navajo Nation, we support Hub partners who braid funding, build trust, and connect communities to create lasting change:
Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) began with a group of student and community activists who pushed back against racial discrimination. Today, they provide services to people of all backgrounds while honoring our Mexican American roots. Their programs give individuals and families a seat at the table.
CPLC is featured in these Aspen CSG resources: Building Power Towards an Equitable Rural Economy and Rural Development Hubs: Strengthening America’s Rural Innovation Infrastructure.
Since 2003, Local First Arizona has been fiercely dedicated to driving inclusive community and economic development throughout Arizona. They have created a movement that champions a thriving and diverse economy, fostering community support and an unwavering sense of local pride and purpose in every Arizonan. Their work shapes the future of Arizona by advocating that every individual and community deserves the opportunity to thrive, and that entrepreneurship is at the core of any lasting economy. In rural, Tribal, suburban, and urban communities across our great state, Local First is delivering resources to ensure a future focused on economic opportunity for all.
Local First Arizona participated in Aspen CSG’s 2025 Rural Development Hubs Summit, which informs our work, including: The Power of Connection: Rural Development Hubs in Action
Chinle Planting Hope (CPH) is a grassroots organization in Chinle, Arizona, in the heart of the Navajo Nation. Chinle Planting Hope practices asset-based community development and invests in projects that build up the physical, social, educational and spiritual health of all community members. CPH tries both to identify regional strengths and to meet community needs in ways that strengthen dignity, empowerment and cooperation.
Rural Community Assistance Corporation
The Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1978, dedicated to supporting underserved rural and Indigenous communities across the Western U.S. through technical assistance, training, financial resources, and advocacy. RCAC’s work spans environmental infrastructure, affordable housing, community resilience and disaster planning, economic and leadership development, and community finance. Serving communities in states such as Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, RCAC acts as the Western hub for the national Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) network.
