EQUITY

Recognizing and investing in race, place, and class equity in rural America is a crucial first step toward strengthening rural and Indigenous communities and the nation as a whole.


Case Study
Equity
Racial Equity Case Stories

United Philanthropy Forum

United Philanthropy Forum commissioned Community Centered Evaluation and Research (CCER) to uplift and share PSO members’ racial equity learning journeys through the development of in-depth case stories.

Report
Equity
Equitable Economic Development Playbook Initiative

International Economic Development Council (IEDC)

IEDC’s Equitable Economic Development Playbook Initiative is IEDC’s flagship Race, Equity, and Economic Development program.

Research Brief
EquityHealth & Wellbeing
Equitable Food systems report cover
Using Networks To Build Collaborative & Equitable Food Systems

This brief focuses on local food systems as vehicles for collaboration and racial equity among multiple stakeholders and networks.

Report
Equity
The Rural Aperture Project: Leveraging Data to Gain New Insights Into Rural America

Center on Rural Innovation (CORI)

The Rural Aperture Project uses data to redefine rural America’s narrative, focusing on its diversity and economic realities. This resource, essential for practitioners and policymakers, offers accessible data for informed rural development strategies and storytelling.

Report
EquityHealth & WellbeingJobs & Workforce Development
Collaborative Strategies for Rural Health & Economic Prosperity

Insights and recommendations to do rural development and rural health differently—moving collectively toward equitable rural development with projects grounded in place and a people-centered vision of community impact.

Tool
EquityHealth & WellbeingJobs & Workforce Development
Resources to Advance Rural Prosperity & Racial Equity

ChangeLab Solutions

Resilience and ingenuity are hallmarks of rural communities, stemming from their unique cultural and social histories. Given the diversity and varied strengths in rural places, policy solutions need to be tailored to the conditions and lived experiences of people in those communities.

Report
EquityInfrastructure
natural disaster report cover
Through Natural Disaster to Prosperity: A Call to Action

Need actionable steps in your equitable disaster preparedness or recovery work? This report highlights best practices from the field.

Report
EquityHealth & WellbeingJobs & Workforce Development
Maternal health in rural America

National Rural Health Association

This NRHA white paper notes the lack of access to rural obstetric care as a known and growing concern. It supports a multifactorial approach to workforce, local access, regional care models, and social drivers of health to provide obstetric services in rural areas.

Case Study
EquityInfrastructure
Rural Environmental Justice: Community Flooding Case Study

This short case study has insights and tips on addressing the causes and conditions contributing to flooding in rural places, as well as to envision and build thriving futures of equitable rural prosperity.

Report
EquityInfrastructureJobs & Workforce Development
The Equity of Economic Opportunity in Rural America

The Center on Rural Innovation (CORI)

Research on rural America’s economic opportunity from CORI highlights growing disparities due to the knowledge economy’s focus on urban areas. It emphasizes the need for equitable policy and investment in rural regions to address systemic inequities and enable rural participation in the knowledge economy.

Report
EquityHealth & WellbeingJobs & Workforce Development
Native Nation Building Report Cover
Native Nation Building: It Helps Rural America Thrive

Native nations and rural communities, working side-by-side and together, can strengthen the potential for thriving rural regions.

Tool
EquityHealth & WellbeingJobs & Workforce Development
Toward Racial Equity & Rural Prosperity

ChangeLab Solutions

Explore a suite of resources created by ChangeLab Solutions designed to help community organizations, policymakers, and other changemakers advance racial equity and rural prosperity.

Case Study
EquityHealth & WellbeingInfrastructure
Safe Drinking Water: Rural Economic Justice Case Study

This short case study has insights on what will it take for rural communities to drive their own clean water solutions and breaks down the structural challenges that keep rural communities from accessing clean water solutions.

Report
Equity
Journey Toward Racial Equity Report

United Philanthropy Forum

In 2019, the Forum commissioned the design and implementation of a Racial Equity Organizational Self-Assessment for PSOs to support its members along their racial equity journeys by capturing a snapshot of their internal and external racial equity efforts. In 2022, the Forum launched a follow-up assessment to continue to benchmark the progress.

Report
EquityInfrastructure
outdoor rec report page cover
Mapping a New Terrain: Call to Action

As new rural outdoor recreation economies take root, we can meet this moment by improving how we do outdoor recreation development to better support rural families, businesses, and workers, create more sustainable and equitable economic systems, and improve local health and wellbeing.

Report
EquityJobs & Workforce Development
measure up report cover
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…


Tool
EquityJobs & Workforce Development
A Conversation with NEF about Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Preservation, and Workforce Housing

Rural LISC

In a webinar organized by Rural LISC, experts from the National Equity Fund provide an update on tax credit pricing and what makes a rural tax credit project attractive to investors.

Blog
EquityJobs & Workforce Development
Federal Farm Bill: Big Impacts in Rural Communities

Rural Development Initiatives (RDI)

Despite its name, the Farm Bill impacts far more than just farmers and ranchers. It’s a complex package of federal legislation signed into law every five years that has sweeping effects. Rural Development Initiatives explains what’s in the Farm Bill and what it could mean for rural communities if the Farm Bill is not extended.

Report
EquityJobs & Workforce Development
Transforming Persistent Poverty in America – How Community Development Financial Institutions Drive Economic Opportunity

Partners for Rural Transformation (PRT)

Eight out of 10 US counties in persistent poverty are nonmetro, and the majority of people living in persistent poverty counties are people of color. PRT examines structural exclusion that affects the nation’s most distressed communities and proposes recommendations to create conditions that advance social and economic opportunity.

Blog
Equity
Honing in On Home: Breaking Barriers in BIPOC Homeownership

Partners for Rural Transformation (PRT)

A cornerstone of the “American Dream” is owning a home. For many in rural America, this vision seems nearly impossible, especially for people of color. PRT and HOPE examine policies and lending practices to help address the challenges they face and close homeownership gaps.

Blog
Equity
Resilience and Recovery: Insights from the July 2022 Eastern Kentucky Flood

Housing Assistance Council (HAC)

Reflecting on the Eastern Kentucky flood in 2022, the Housing Assistance Council highlighted challenges limiting the resilience of rural communities, including the prohibitive cost of flood insurance, affordable housing shortages, and floods affecting the labor force.

Blog
Equity
Identifying Policies That Advance Racial & Economic Justice in Rural Places

ChangeLab Solutions

Tailoring policies to rural BIPOC communities’ unique conditions is crucial for advancing racial and economic justice. Inclusive decision making that considers local assets, priorities, and challenges can drive impactful change.

Blog
EquityJobs & Workforce Development
Person looking through binoculars is birdwatching near a body of water
Growing Equitable Outdoor Recreation Economies

Discussion with rural leaders on the opportunity equitable outdoor recreation economies pose to rural areas.

Tool
EquityJobs & Workforce Development
Connecting to Family, Community, and Heritage in Eagle Butte, South Dakota

Brookings Institution

In a podcast episode, Brookings Senior Fellow Tony Pipa visits Eagle Butte, South Dakota, to hear how local business owners, tribal administrators, and leaders from the Four Bands Community Fund are working to build credit and center local voices in development.

Case Study
EquityJobs & Workforce Development
Practitioners with name tags sharing to a group off camera
Communicating to Connect: West Virginia Community Development Hub

This short case study has insights and tips on how rural development practitioners can move beyond neutrality and still communicate effectively with community members from across the political spectrum.

Blog
Equity
Who Lives in Rural America? The Geography of Rural Race and Ethnicity

Center on Rural Innovation (CORI)

How are racial and ethnic groups distributed across rural America? What are the historical factors that have influenced the current geography? Learn more about who lives in rural America from CORI’s Rural Aperture Project.

Blog
EquityHealth & Wellbeing
Promoting Health Equity in Rural Communities

ChangeLab Solutions

Health equity in rural areas demands acknowledgment of racial diversity and past injustices. Engaging communities and building local partnerships are key when developing policy to address disparities in rural health. ChangeLab Solutions discusses lessons they have learned that can benefit policymakers and partners seeking to address health equity.

Tool
EquityHealth & WellbeingInfrastructure
Building on a Legacy of Community Resilience in Sunflower County, Mississippi

Brookings Institution

In a podcast episode, Brookings Senior Fellow Tony Pipa visits two towns in Sunflower County, Mississippi, to hear how local leaders and homecomers—those returning to their rural hometowns—describe their efforts to build communities where people want to live. They highlight the role of beauty and leisure in achieving their visions.

Blog
EquityHealth & Wellbeing
Medical practitioner walking patient through information
Weaving Health Equity and Rural Development Through Data

Learnings, insights, and resources to better understand where progress is needed on weaving health equity and rural development and what wins we all can celebrate.

Case Study
Equity
Group of Black practitioners smiling at camera
Using Relational Leadership to Build Power Together

This short case study has insights and tips on how communities that have been historically and systematically excluded can develop authentic and effective leadership that builds power to challenge the status quo.

Blog
EquityInfrastructure
Broadband Connection in Rural Communities

ChangeLab Solutions

Improving rural broadband is key to enhancing health, education, and economic equity. It helps ensure access to health and emergency services and reduces the digital divide that disproportionately affects BIPOC and low-income families. Explore how increasing capital access and flexible policy strategies can advance rural life.

Blog
EquityInfrastructure
Strategies to Address Rural Flooding

Insights from practitioners in rural places experiencing repeated disasters on what it will take to for rural communities to drive their own solutions.