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 South Carolina, we work with Hub partners that coordinate across sectors, align resources, and connect communities to advance long-term regional strategies.
Appalachian Community Capital
Service area: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Appalachian Community Capital is a nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI) focused on attracting new sources of capital for small businesses, including minority- and women-owned business owners, in underserved places across Appalachia and similar energy communities nationally.
Visit organization: appalachiancommunitycapitalcdfi.org
Featured in Aspen CSG resources: Resources for Rural Communities, Aspen CSG in Action, How Can We Secure Enduring Capital for Equitable Rural Prosperity?, and more.
Center for Heirs’ Property
Service area: South Carolina.
The Center for Heirs’ Property provides free legal support and financial education to prevent the loss of heirs’ property rights while preserving family legacies. Rooted in South Carolina, they envision a nation in which everyone can enjoy the legacy of home.
Visit organization: heirsproperty.org
Featured in Aspen CSG resources: Learnings on Rural Migration and Displacement.
MDC
Service area: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
MDC equips leaders, institutions, and communities with the necessary tools and strategies to advance equity, particularly racial and gender equity, and economic mobility. For more than 50 years, MDC has shared deep knowledge and proven tools to design, demonstrate, and sustain what works to boost opportunity for everyone, particularly those who have been left behind.
Visit organization: mdcinc.org
Featured in 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.
Sustainable Forestry & African American Land Retention Network
Service area: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
The Sustainable Forestry & African American Land Retention Network (SFLR Network) creates a system of support for African American and rural forest owners that significantly increases the value of forests, land retention, and asset development for rural families in the U.S. South. The SFLR Network has improved forest management and forest retention by connecting African American landowners with established networks of local forestry support. This includes federal and state government programs, businesses, nonprofit conservation, legal, and community development organizations.
Visit organization: sflrnetwork.org
Featured in Aspen CSG resources: Using Relational Leadership to Build Power Together and more.
