Rural Update


The "Rural Update" offers highlights of innovations & news important to improving the quality of life in small communities. The Update is one way to help you connect with many different projects and people working to sustain progress in rural areas.

The newsletter is designed to help you deal with information overload in the media and the Internet. In addition to some original reporting, we distill dozens of articles and announcements and let you know how to follow-up.

The Rural Update is produced by the Aspen Institute's Rural Economic Policy Program (REPP). For the past ten years, REPP has helped foster collaborative learning, leadership and innovation to advance rural community and economic development strategies in the United States. Our primary funding is provided by The Ford and W. K. Kellogg Foundations.

The Rural Update is delivered by E-mail twice per month. If you don't have an E-mail address, try to find a friend or colleague who will take delivery for you. At present, the Update is delivered to over 600 organizations through the Internet and the HandsNet network.

Archieves of Rural Update can be viewed at the Rural Issues Forum on HandsNet [ www.handsnet.org ] starting in the autumn of 1996.
SUBSCRIBING INSTRUCTIONS

Send an E-mail message in this format:

TO: ruralupdate@lists.aspeninst.org
SUBJECT: subscribe
BODY: your name, organization, mail address, phone & fax, e-mail address and Web site (if you have one).

Be aware this subscribing format varies somewhat from other listserves. You should receive confirmation within a few hours, and you'll also receive the last issue automatically.
Questions? Contact: Tim Walter, timothy@aspeninst.org Tel: 1-(202) 736-5834.


SOME TOPICS COVERED IN THE RURAL UPDATE:
  • Community capacity building, visioning and leadership
  • Business development strategies
  • Environmental stewardship
  • Rural social services & housing (child care, healthcare)
  • Development finance & microenterprise
  • Telecommunications
  • Major legislation (Farm Bill, appropriations)
  • Funding sources and deadlines

YOUR INPUT IS WELCOME
  • We'd be happy to consider including materials you send us (alerts, news & announcements). You can send them to Tim Walter at the address below. Also, please make sure we are on your organization's mailing list.

OUR TARGET AUDIENCE:
  • Economic development practitioners & Community planners
  • Local leaders and involved residents
  • Policymakers
  • Rural studies academics
  • Foundation staffs and boards

SOME OF OUR SOURCES
For each issue we cull from literally hundreds of articles and announcements representing many points of view. Our numerous organizational and media sources include, among others:
  • National Association of Towns and Townships, Regional Rural Development Centers, the Heartland Center for Leadership Development, Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, grassroots groups, National Association of Development Organizations, State Rural Development Councils, EZ/EC, Housing Assistance Council, Rural LISC, National Family Farm Coalition, Farm Bureau, National Telephone Coops, Southern Rural Development Initiative, Organizations Concerned about Rural Ed, Community Development Venture Capital Alliance, HandsNet, CDFI Coalition, TVA, Appalachian Regional Commission, major rural grantmaking programs, The Economist, NY Times, Wall St. Journal, Washington Post, many regional papers; Internet sources such as rural development WWW sites plus most community and economic development listserves.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Thanks for your interest! Please direct questions and feedback to:
Timothy Walter
Aspen Institute Rural Economic Policy Program
1333 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Suite 1070
Washington, DC 20036-1511
(202) 736-5834 tel; (202) 467-0790 fax
timothy@aspeninst.org
http://www.aspeninst.org/rural

Hari Srinivas - hsrinivas@gdrc.org
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