Fourth Quarter 2024
Philanthropic giving can make a big difference in small towns, if both sides can find each other.
Rural Spotlights
Many American small towns and rural areas are thriving. Others are struggling, held back by obstacles such as population loss, job loss, lower labor force participation, less access to investment capital, and lower median incomes compared to many urban and most suburban areas. The Richmond Fed seeks to understand obstacles to economic growth and labor market engagement, and to help in the search for solutions in furtherance of the Fed's employment and Community Reinvestment Act mandates. Of course, large parts of rural America also lie within our district.
Thus, the Richmond Fed has been studying the various barriers to employment and investment that rural communities face. Among employment barriers, rural areas contend with both skill-based barriers (including education and training) and non-skill barriers (including personal barriers like health or child care; infrastructure barriers like broadband and transportation; and incentive barriers like benefits cliffs). Investment barriers include both supply-side issues (such as fewer sources of capital and a lack of coordination) and demand-side ones (such as limited staff capacity to develop investment-ready community and economic development projects).
The Richmond Fed is committed to learning about these challenges — and potential solutions — from our communities and sharing them broadly. What we have seen is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to reaching economic potential in rural areas; the strategies and goals have to match the needs and desires of the community.
The map below highlights examples of communities and organizations deploying interesting or promising strategies that they are excited about. These examples come from our work in Fifth District communities and our relationships with community leaders. Click on the topics below to learn what communities are doing within key focus areas. Themes we've seen among these strategies have included:
- Play to your area's strengths: Though there are challenges, rural areas have tremendous assets — from natural resources to beauty to rich institutions — that can serve as engines of development.
- Tell a compelling story: We see communities working hard to share their stories as a way to attract new investment and new residents.
- Support strong local leadership: Community work takes strong, dedicated leadership, including from young leaders as communities age.
- Take a long-term view: Community change cannot be expected overnight. Successful communities keep at the work for the long haul and celebrate wins along the way to keep the ball moving.
- Embrace regional collaboration: Economic issues cross geographic boundaries. Communities can benefit from larger-scale approaches by working together.
- Prioritize quality of life: Jobs will go where the workers are, and workers will go where quality of life is high.
The Richmond Fed's rural work includes:
- Programming: Our Rural Investment Collaborative offers tools to rural leaders for improving their communities' access to capital. In other programs, such as the annual Investing in Rural America Conference, we convene to learn from rural communities, share what we've learned, and help them learn from one another.
- Engagement: Our work is centered on relationships with rural communities that help us understand issues at the ground level.
- Research: We turn what we learn into analysis to share insights and connect communities to strategies
Have ideas? Let us know!
Download Full List of Initiatives Last Updated on March 28, 2025
Featured Content
Sept. 30, 2024
Just 75 minutes from Richmond, Farmville and its surrounding counties are an idyllic setting for bargain hunters and outdoor adventurers alike. Recently, our Community Conversations Team made a visit to the area to learn more about their economic strengths and opportunities.
September 19, 2024
Although the communities surrounding universities experienced some shielding effects from previous recessions, the unemployment rate actually increased in these areas following the COVID-19 recession.
September 12, 2024
South Carolina's recruitment of a Boeing assembly plant to North Charleston in the late 2000s boosted the state's aerospace sector and Charleston's local labor market over the subsequent decade.
July 24, 2024
Jason Smith discussed the results of the first round of the Bank's Community Investment Training, which helps rural communities obtain funding for their economic and community development projects. He also shared his interview with one of the program's participants, Craig Sewell of the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission.
July 18, 2024
In May, our Community Conversations team visited the Winchester area to learn more about their economic strengths and opportunities.
May 16, 2024
In April, President Tom Barkin, Regional Executive Matt Martin and Regional Economist Laura Ullrich met with local community and business leaders in North Carolina's Surry and Yadkin counties to gain a fuller understanding of the economic strengths and opportunities facing the region as part of the Bank's Community Conversations program.
March 11, 2024
As our Community Conversations team learned on a recent trip to Southeastern Virginia, the pull between maintaining a rural, small town feel and embracing the potential benefits of urbanization hangs in the balance.
Jan. 24, 2024
Matt Martin and Erika Bell share what they learned about workforce development from conversations with business and community leaders in Pickens County and Oconee County, South Carolina.
December 14, 2023
Nicholas Haltom and Stephanie Norris
Proposal submissions are now open for the 2024 Investing in Rural America Conference poster session! Learn about the ways rural communities are addressing economic challenges in this virtual tour of posters from our 2023 conference.
Nov. 30, 2023
The Richmond Fed Community Conversations team visited two South Carolina counties that are partnering with schools to prepare a skilled workforce.
Oct. 25, 2023
The Richmond Fed Community Conversations team learned about the economic diversity in Virginia's Northern Neck during a recent visit.
Oct. 3, 2023
A recent Community Conversations visit to southern West Virginia revealed efforts underway to transform the economy from coal-based to one sustained by natural resources.
September 28, 2023
The STEM East initiative aims to show students in eastern North Carolina how they can stay and thrive in their home communities.
Aug. 31, 2023
A Community Conversations visit to two counties in rural western Virginia showcased inviting landscapes that offer opportunities for economic growth.
Aug. 28, 2023
Bank leaders spent time with leaders in Anne Arundel County in mid-July and Caroline, Talbot and Dorchester counties in mid-August.
August 11, 2023
A unique partnership between Compass Point Preschool and Northeastern Technical College in Cheraw, South Carolina, makes affordable, high-quality child care accessible to parents entering the labor force.
July 24, 2023
The Richmond Fed's Community Conversations team discovered a similar focus on workforce development and affordable housing in two regions of South Carolina.
June 8, 2023
The Richmond Fed's Community Conversations team met with civic, manufacturing and agricultural leaders in Johnston County and Wilson, North Carolina recently.
May 18, 2023
Carroll County, Virginia, worked closely with Virginia Housing and developer Landmark Asset Services, Inc. to repurpose the county's old high school building into affordable rental housing.
April 12, 2023
President Tom Barkin shares how small towns in the Fifth District are putting their best foot forward to attract talent.
February 03, 2023
$440 million in competitive economic development grants from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act have arrived in the Fifth District where the funds are expected to have an outsized impact in rural areas.
June 16, 2022
Sierra Stoney and Tiffany Hollin-Wright
The New River Valley Regional Commission is an example of how a regional development organization can galvanize innovative, sustainable regional and local housing strategies to serve its small towns and rural communities.
May 25, 2022
Kelly Bowers, economic development director for Hertford County, N.C., discusses the challenges and opportunities facing her community. She highlights the importance of collaboration across state lines and the need for infrastructure such as broadband and affordable housing to support growth.
May 11, 2022
Host Tim Sablik discusses his recent research on the value of entrepreneurs in the economic growth of rural places and small towns, as well as the obstacles that they face compared to more urban communities. Sablik also talks with Erika Bell and Laura Ullrich about what they have learned from their contacts in North Carolina and South Carolina about rural entrepreneurship.
May 5, 2022
Housing and transportation represent the two largest living expenses in most households, but local investment can address households' travel needs.
March 17, 2022
Intermediary organizations, including anchor institutions, rural development hubs, and collective impact backbone organizations, play an important role in rural capacity building.
March 16, 2022
Sierra Latham and Peter Dolkart discuss their work on the availability of affordable housing in small towns and rural communities.
Feb. 16, 2022
Tressa Gardner provides an overview of the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (SiMT), the business incubator and other programs that it operates, and its role in supporting economic development in northeastern South Carolina.
January 27, 2022
Tiffany Hollin-Wright and Jessica King
The GoodCare Program in Virginia helps aspiring workers complete career pathways in health care, addressing workforce shortages in a sector essential to equitable pandemic recovery.
Jan. 26, 2022
Mary Ann Gilmer of Goodwill Industries of the Valleys discusses the nonprofit's training program for healthcare workers and the importance of this work in rural communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
December 9, 2021
In Florence County, the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing Technology and its Gould Business Incubator are fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem and fueling small business development in South Carolina.
October 7, 2021
The Danville region in Virginia has moved the needle on early childhood education and now has an ecosystem in place to help address future challenges.
Oct. 7, 2021
Angela Wells discussed how Smart Beginnings Danville Pittsylvania prepares children in Southside Virginia for success in school and in life.
Sept. 29, 2021
President Tom Barkin shares innovative strategies and success stories from small towns around the Fifth District.
September 9, 2021
Focusing on a complete household's needs, Garrett County Community Action Committee's integrated "2Gen approach" links children to high-quality early education and their parents to services that build financial security.
Sept. 9, 2021
Duane Yoder, executive director of the Garrett County Community Action Committee, discusses how his organization adopted a holistic model for addressing poverty in rural communities.
August 26, 2021
Tiffany Hollin-Wright and Surekha Carpenter
Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) like Woodlands Community Lenders are uniquely positioned to help rural towns address unique challenges through place-based revitalization and by attracting investment.
Aug. 26, 2021
Dave Clark discusses the role of Woodlands Development Group and his organization's community development financial institution in driving economic development in north central West Virginia.
July 29, 2021
Laura Dawson Ullrich and Lucas Moyon
Vance-Granville Community College's early college high schools and workforce programs are improving education and job opportunities for area residents.
July 15, 2021
Alexander Marre and Alexander Nikolov
Choptank Electric Cooperative on Maryland's Eastern Shore is an example of how many electric cooperatives are providing broadband service in rural communities.
July 15, 2021
Tim McGaha of Choptank Electric Cooperative offers his perspective on the company's program to bring broadband Internet to rural communities in Maryland.
May 26, 2021
Alex Marré and Anna Read discuss how communities can maximize broadband resources.
March 25, 2021
K-12 remote learning exposes divisions in access to digital resources. A federal broadband service subsidy and new satellite technology may help bridge the gap.