New Partners, New Project on RIPPLE!

New Partners, New Project on RIPPLE!
Mar 19 // Beth Gilden // Portland, Oregon
CATEGORY: Small Town Economies

*Jumping for Joy*

We are bringing you new content for rural entrepreneurs, job seekers, and folks interested in the trends in rural economic development!

Over a year ago, Rural Development Initiatives was invited by Oregon Public Broadcasting to join forces with Sustainable Northwest, The Oregon Consortium/Workforce Alliance, and WorkSource Oregon to take on a project focused on Rural Economies. "The Rural Economy Project" was featured last week in a letter from OPB president Steven Bass. RIPPLE will be showcasing stories, resources, and blog posts from our project partners.

I am ecstatic to announce the start of this project. Often times we hear reports on the economy or about rural communities from a journalist's point of view, but this project allows us for genuine engagement and perspective from rural people and communities. Here's how you can lend your voice to these issues:

On The Radio
Tune into OPB to hear Kristian Foden-Vencil's five part radio series, and two Think Out Loud episodes from remote locations. Think Out Loud is a "town hall" style radio show and you can give your feedback about the topics they present by posting on the Think Out Loud blog, attending the taping, or calling in to the show.

The RIPPLE Blog
You'll see two new RIPPLE bloggers focused on rural economic issues. Look for the first posts from our new bloggers in the coming weeks. Please help us complete the picture of rural economies that they present by commenting on their posts.

RIPPLE Rural stories
We will be posting audio, video and writtten stories from "The Rural Economy Project" partners including dispatches from OPB in rural communities, home made videos from Rural Entreprenuers and more.

RIPPLE shared resources
Watch the shared resources section for project related resources, and add your own while you're at it. We will post a round up of project related resources for small business owners, unemployed, and economic developers each week.

I will be posting more updates about the project as it progresses.

See all posts by Beth Gilden.

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COMMENTS

Craig Smith says
03.22.10 // 05:05 PM

From our work in rural communities, we have been hearing about lots of best practices around Oregon and the northwest. I was in Banks last month for a celebration for their Ford Institute Leadership Program class project. They created 25 new designs for their main street banners. They are truly works of art and almost every banner has a unique design. This project has helped spruce up main street so that locals and visitors will be more likely to stop and spend money locally. We know from our work with Connecting Oregon for Rural Entrepreneurship (CORE) in five regions around Oregon where we have been helping to build systems to support developing entrepreneurs that getting people to buy local really makes a difference. Buying locally keeps more money circulating in the economy, making it stronger. So drawing people to main street is helping the economy in Banks.

Craig Smith says
03.22.10 // 05:06 PM

I was in Sweet Home this month to celebrate all the successfully completed projects from their RDI facilitated Strategic Plan and vision they created more than 18 years ago. Some of the projects include main street renovations with welcome sign entry portals, flower baskets fixing the median on Hwy 20 with plantings, renovating an old mill site, building a flexible manufacturing building and growing local entrepreneur businesses. Many other amenities like downtown murals, the restored Weddle Covered Bridge and the Sweet Home Jamboree bring people to Sweet Home that are spending money with local businesses. Molalla is working on a main street program too that will enhance their downtown. Other communities are starting farmers markets and other promotions to get folks to buy locally. The exciting thing about this project with OPB is that we get to hear from all of you about what best practices you are focusing on. We know rural matters and that is why we focus on building leadership networks and rural communities to help rural communities thrive. Please share on RIPPLE what you are doing to help your community thrive and let us know how we can help you.

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