Community Strategies Group

Ground Truth from Rural Practitioners
Every day, organizations are working hard to improve the economy and livelihoods of residents in rural and tribal communities in...

Four Community-Centered Takeaways from Aspen Ideas Festival
Driving around my hometown of Truckee, California, I reflect on my time at the Aspen Ideas Festival this past week...

Reproductive Healthcare: An Intersectional Component of Healthy Rural Communities
Just like other momentous occasions in history, a likely topic of future conversations is “Where were you when the Supreme...

Measure Up: A Call to Action
Today, we have a generational opportunity to strengthen prosperity and equity in communities and Native nations across the rural United...

Annotated List of Resources for Measuring Rural Development Progress
This Annotated List of Resources for Measuring Rural Development Progress is part of Measure Up: A Call to Action. It was developed and...

Measure Up: A Call to Action — Executive Summary
This is the Executive Summary for Measure Up: A Call to Action. It highlights six principles for measuring rural development progress to...

What (and Who) Counts? Defining Rural Development Success
There are no easy solutions for the many challenges that rural Americans face, but it’s clear that rural communities themselves...

Naturally Balanced: What does it take to steward the land and grow rural prosperity?
Rural and Native communities have been stewarding the land for generations. Many are using new ways of growing nature and...

Better Results: What does it take to build capacity in rural and Native nations communities?
Organizational capacity and technical assistance need to be carefully and intentionally strengthened in rural and Native nation communities to grow...

Rural Capacity-Building Tips From and for Funders
On April 8, 2022, around 90 community and economic development practitioners and community members gathered at a Thrive Rural Open...

Stewardship + Equity: Rooting a New Rural Legacy
Rural and Native communities have been stewarding the land for generations. Many are developing new ways of growing nature and...

Learning Through Collaboration: Field Leaders Drive Critical Conversations
Setting the scene: Over eight hundred people in the virtual room, watching and listening, sharing resources in the chat, and...