RIPPLE is maintained by Rural Development Initiatives (RDI), a regional non-profit dedicated to helping rural communities achieve the visions and goals they set for themselves.

No, RIPPLE is a free service.

A high-speed internet connection is not required to use RIPPLE.

RIPPLE aims to represent the diversity of rural voices, perspectives, and experiences in the Pacific Northwest, so we encourage you to submit ideas or topics for blog entries, community stories or working groups. Please contact our community manager, Alison Cassin at acassin@rdiinc.org.

A rural resource is a piece of information and/or a tool that helps support the vitality of rural communities in the Pacific Northwest.

Go to the Rural Resources section. There, you can look for a specific resource in a variety of ways. You can filter, sort, and search for resources by Topic (from Community Leadership and Economic Vitality to Health and Tribal), Type (from case studies and best practices to special programs and funding opportunities), and Location. Each resource also has associated keywords for more specific filtering. 

You can also locate a resource on an interactive map.

As part of RIPPLE's vision to become the "one-stop" shop collection of resources for rural communities, we invite everyone to submit a resource.

You can fill out a comprehensive web form, which includes instructional help. You can always email us for help, at ripplehelp@rdiinc.org.

Joining MyRIPPLE lets you become a member of the RIPPLE community. The idea behind MyRIPPLE is that anyone can be a potential resource for others. It’s free and provides you with benefits — including the ability to showcase your experience and expertise, save content as bookmarks, get notified of new resources, and network via participation in Group discussions about important rural topics.

Absolutely. You don’t need a MyRIPPLE profile to read and comment on the RIPPLE blog, enjoy and share a community story, or post and browse through the collection of rural resources.

Log in to your MyRIPPLE account. Once logged in successfully, you will be on your profile page, where you can change settings.

Yes. You can control how people can see your information on RIPPLE.

In “Settings & Notifications” on your profile page, you can set your Settings to either “Public” or “Private.” When your settings are set to “public,” other members can view that information. When your settings are set to “private,” only your name, location, and picture are displayed. All settings default to Public.

You can also hide your profile completely. To do this, check the “Hide my profile” box under your profile picture.

No. RIPPLE will not share your email address with anyone or a third-party service. See our Terms and Privacy Policy.

At the moment, the RIPPLE team has organized each Group around select topics to help focus and guide discussions. If there’s a vital rural topic that you feel is not adequately represented, please contact our community manager, Alison Cassin at acassin@rdiinc.org.

All sorts of great things! RIPPLE exists to promote vibrant rural communities, so this is your chance to participate in a dialogue, get input, help solve problems, and add value to others’ projects and efforts.

RIPPLE Groups are governed by community guidelines that are designed to encourage civil and constructive discussions. Send the RIPPLE community manager an email if there is an inappropriate comment: acassin@rdiinc.org.