Aspen CSG partners with Rural Development Hubs across the country to strengthen local leadership, align funding, and build regional capacity. Through research and peer learning, we support Hub leaders to refine strategies and apply what works across regions.
In North Carolina, we work with Hub partners that coordinate across sectors, align resources, and connect communities to advance long-term regional strategies:
The Black Family Land Trust, Inc. (BFLT) incorporated in 2004 and based in North Carolina, is one of the nation’s only conservation land trust dedicated to the preservation and protection of African-American and other historically underserved landowners assets. The BFLT works primarily in the Southeast and provide families with the tools necessary to make informed, proactive decisions regarding their land and its use.
Black Family Land Trust is featured in these Aspen CSG resources: Building Power Together: Sustainable Forestry and African-American Land Retention Network and Four Principles for Fostering Community Well-Being with Asset-Based Development.
The Industrial Commons (TIC) is based in Morganton, North Carolina. As a nonprofit, they focus on launching and nurturing community-owned, for-profit businesses. These enterprises not only contribute to a vibrant local economy but also engage in a cycle of mutual support and reinvestment, enhancing the overall resilience and prosperity of the community.
The Industrial Commons is featured in these Aspen CSG resources: From Competition to Cooperation: Rural Wealth Creation and Four Principles for Fostering Community Well-Being with Asset-Based Development
MDC equips leaders, institutions, and communities with the necessary tools and strategies to advance equity—particularly racial and gender equity—and economic mobility. For over 50 years, MDC has shared deep knowledge and proven tools to design, demonstrate, and sustain what works to boost everyone, particularly those who’ve been left behind, to higher rungs on the economic ladder.
MDC is featured in these Aspen CSG resources: Q&A with MDC’s Brandy Bynum Dawson, The Power of Connection: Rural Development Hubs in Action, Funding Rural Futures: A Call to Action and more.
The NC Rural Center’s mission is to develop, promote, and implement sound economic strategies to improve the quality of life of rural North Carolinians. They serve the state’s 78 rural counties, with a special focus on people with low to moderate incomes and communities with limited resources.
NC Rural Center is featured in these Aspen CSG resources: Reinventing Rural Policy and Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design.
