Rural Investment Collaborative Announces 2025 Community Investment Training Cohort

Twenty-five community leaders have been selected to participate in the 2025 cohort of the Community Investment Training program, an opportunity offered through the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Rural Investment Collaborative. This program provides training to community leaders from small towns and rural areas that assists them with developing investment-ready project proposals.
The 2025 cohort participants were selected by the Rural Investment Collaborative’s steering group and project development workgroup members from among more than 40 applications received. Applicants came from rural regions within the Richmond Fed’s service area (Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia). Each applicant was required to identify a community or economic development project to serve as their focus during the training and identify partners who could confirm that the project would support a broader community strategy.
Too often, funds available to small towns and rural communities go untapped because of limited resources or capacity to turn great ideas into investable proposals. One of the primary goals of the Collaborative’s partners is to improve access to capital that rural communities need for them to flourish.
About the Community Investment Training program
The Community Investment Training program is a 16-week course that equips rural leaders with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to produce a viable community or economic development proposal. The Richmond Fed partners with Invest Appalachia, which provides the core curriculum for the training.
Training sessions are taught by Collaborative leaders and guest speakers who provide guidance to participants on how to match different types of capital to their projects based on community impact, risk, and repayment ability. The course includes fundamental information about community development finance opportunities, skills needed for a project leader and how to build financial acumen for different types of projects.
At the conclusion of the training, cohort members participate in a project pitch exercise and receive constructive feedback on how to improve upon their projects with the goal of securing funding. Participants who complete the training receive a mini grant funded through the Collaborative’s national and regional philanthropic partner organizations to be used to work with their communities and further develop their proposals while seeking technical assistance and investments.
“For some people, the training may not be a steep learning curve, but for me it was. I had very limited insight into the playbook for rural investing,” said Jamila Jones, CEO and founder of Innovative Community Solutions in Martinsburg, West Virginia. “I didn’t have insight into how an investor thinks and this program puts you in the shoes of an investor. It is a very rigorous program and cohort members will gain a lot of useful information in a relatively short amount of time.”
“We’re excited to see the increase in participation in this valuable training. Graduates from the 2024 cohort have already used what they learned in the training to secure over $100,000 in external technical assistance,” said Jason Smith, Richmond Fed’s senior community development advisor, who is leading the Rural Investment Collaborative. “In November, we’ll announce an additional $150,000 in technical assistance awards to graduates who applied to the steering group for assistance through the program.”
The 2025 Community Investment Training cohort includes participants from Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Their proposed projects span a variety of focus areas, including supportive workforce housing, lodging for tourism, developing entrepreneur and remote work hubs and repurposing vacant properties.
The 2025 Community Investment Training participants are:
MARYLAND
- Aten Cesante "A.C." Alrey, Public Affairs & Rural/Urban Development Professional (or Consultant), Union Lodge #33, Prince Hall Masonic Lodge, Somerset County, Maryland
- Keith Cornish, President, Maces Lane Community Center, Dorchester, Maryland
- Martin Proulx, Value Added Agricultural Specialist, Maryland Department of Agriculture, Southern Maryland, Maryland
NORTH CAROLINA
- Robin Payne, Director - Destination Bertie, Bertie County Government, Bertie County, North Carolina
- Sara Coplai, Partnership Officer, WNC Bridge Foundation, Graham County, North Carolina
- Stacey Knox, Chief Growth Officer, One Place, Onslow County, North Carolina
- Toni Thayer, Resource Development Manager, Transylvania Habitat for Humanity, Transylvania County, North Carolina
SOUTH CAROLINA
- Emma DeVenny, Communications Director, Arras Foundation, Lancaster County, South Carolina
- Kenneth Harvin, Rural Program Director, South Carolina Association Community Economic Development, Clarendon County, South Carolina
- Paola Gutiérrez, Director of External Engagement, South Carolina Office of Rural Health, Chester County, South Carolina
- Teresa Goodman, Executive Director, Community Initiatives, Inc., Greenwood County, South Carolina
VIRGINIA
- Jenna French, Director of Tourism & Economic Development, Shenandoah County, Virginia
- John Bateman, Economic Development Director & Assistant County Administrator, County of Lancaster, Lancaster County, Virginia
- Karl Heck, President & CEO, Franklin Southampton Economic Development, Inc., City of Franklin and Southampton County, Virginia
- Kirsten Self, Vice President, Warsaw Richmond County Chamber, Richmond County, Virginia
- Kyra Cook, Director of Special Projects, Colonial Behavioral Health, James City County, Virginia
- Linda Couch, Mayor, Town of Cleveland, Russell County, Virginia
- Michael McGirr, Co-Founder, VI Forward, Bristol County, Virginia
- Rebecca Adcock, Executive Director, Patrick County Chamber of Commerce, Patrick County, Virginia
- Sean Campbell, Housing Program Director, West Piedmont Planning District Commission, Martinsville, Virginia
- Wendi Everson, Executive Director, Danville Neighborhood Development Corporation, Danville, Virginia
WEST VIRGINIA
- Ansel Ponder, Brand Strategist, Co-Founder, Blue Appalachia, Mercer County, West Virginia
- Crystal Cook Marshall, Owner/Proprietor, Big Four Motel and Gallery, McDowell County, West Virginia
- James Birt, Founder/President/CEO, Housed-Up, Inc., Fayette County, West Virginia
- Rosemarie Wilson, Member, BRW Real Estate LLC, Harrison County, West Virginia
The Richmond Fed does not fund or otherwise award grants or participate in the selection of grantees, or selection of communities receiving training or technical assistance.
Receive an email notification when News is posted online: