Nebraska Creates Strategy for Smaller Rural Communities.

Nebraska is evolving a remarkable development strategy for smaller rural communities (typically 5,000 in population or less) called Home Town Competitiveness or HTC. Initial field testing is quite promising. This strategy involves ways to mobilize more capital and leaders to support an entrepreneurial focused community economic development strategy.

(Thanks to The Center for Rural Entrepreneurship http://www.Ruralship.org for passing this along.- Russ)

Home Town Competitiveness or HTC is an outgrowth of a pilot project supported in part by the National Rural Funders Collaborative. Original work was undertaken in Valley County in North Central Nebraska. Core partners in this work include the Nebraska Community Foundation, the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship and the Heartland Center for Leadership Development. Work is now expanding to other areas within the state.

A new set of collaborative relationships are being built between HTC and private rural utility and banking interests. Two documents are available;

Rural Home Town Competitiveness http://www.ruraleship.org/content/pdf/hc1.pdf

Building Philanthropic Support for Entrepreneurship – Valley County Evaluation http://www.ruraleship.org/content/pdf/ordeval.pdf

For more information contact Jeff Yost at [email protected]