Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group

In their Oct 23 webinar, co-hosted by The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and Jobs to Move America, you'll hear from experts and practitioners about their experiences implementing Community Benefits Agreements and leveraging them to improve job quality in their communities. https://lnkd.in/edruCgQB

This week, 35 members of the NC Inclusive Disaster Recovery Network sent a letter to the NC General Assembly, sharing a framework we hope will guide the legislature's immediate response and mid-term planning. We look forward to conversations with elected officials and agency leaders to ensure people and communities inform policy priorities and build systems our state needs to be resilient. To view the letter, visit: https://lnkd.in/geJrJMWt 📸: NC Department of Transportation #InclusiveRecovery #NCGeneralAssembly #DisasterRecovery #WesternNC #NCIDR #HurricaneHelene

In the last national election cycle, Aspen CSG partners John Molinaro and Solveig Spjeldnes wrote a blog investigating the Electoral College and the "Rural-Urban Divide." In recent years, much has been written about the disproportionate influence that rural voters and rural states have on the outcome of national elections. Some have proposed the elimination of the Electoral College as a solution to this perceived problem. However, Solveig and John argue that perhaps there are better questions than "Will abolishing the Electoral College fix our democracy?" Two of those better questions may be "How can we address the domination of rural media by a few highly partisan ultra-right-wing media conglomerates that systematically manipulate the rural electorate to achieve their self-serving goals?" and "How do we rebalance the economic playing field so that all Americans, whether rural or metropolitan, are protected from economic exploitation and receive a fair share of the wealth generated through their labor?" Read the full blog on how we got here and their three arguments why electoral reform isn't the silver bullet to strengthen our democracy. https://lnkd.in/ep5AMew7

Eden Vardy is the founder and executive director of The Farm Collaborative, a non-profit organization in Aspen, CO that aims to connect children and community through farming and food. Eden is a member of the inaugural class of Food and Society at Aspen Institute's Food Leaders Fellows, a group of the country’s most promising emerging food leaders who come together to ignite personal transformation, promote cross-sector collaboration, and create scalable change. We caught up with Eden at this summer's Aspen Ideas Festival where he shared his thoughts on leadership and what inspires him. This is Leading Voices, a new series from the Aspen Institute where every Wednesday you’ll hear directly from leaders about what it takes to lead and how they got to where they are. 💡 Follow us to make sure you don't miss any leadership lessons along the way.

What's your definition of equitable prosperity? For Aspen CSG, it means that communities and Native nations across the rural United States are healthy places where each and every person belongs, lives with dignity, and thrives. Our new report highlights how aligning the fields of rural health and rural community & economic development can help us get there. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gMvf4r4p

A Message from the North Carolina Inclusive Disaster Recovery Network: If past experiences predict future ones, the need for volunteers and donations will long outlast the attention of national reporters. It is the people and organizations rooted in western North Carolina, especially in our most rural places, who were working to support their communities long before this storm and will be there long after. And they will need allies and advocates.  Si las experiencias pasadas predicen las futuras, la necesidad de voluntarios y donaciones durará mucho más que la atención de los periodistas nacionales. Son las personas y las organizaciones arraigadas en el oeste de Carolina del Norte, especialmente en nuestros lugares más rurales, las que estaban trabajando para apoyar a sus comunidades mucho antes de esta tormenta y seguirán allí mucho después. Y necesitarán aliados y defensores. Resource: "The Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) is the first national hotline dedicated to providing year-round disaster crisis counseling. This toll-free, multilingual, crisis support service is available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters." https://lnkd.in/es8RuxU Recurso: "La línea de ayuda para situaciones de desastre (DDH) es la primera línea directa nacional dedicada a brindar asesoramiento en situaciones de crisis durante todo el año. Este servicio gratuito de apoyo en situaciones de crisis, multilingüe, está disponible las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana para todos los residentes de los EE. UU. y sus territorios que estén experimentando angustia emocional relacionada con desastres naturales o provocados por el hombre".  https://lnkd.in/es8RuxU Call or text 1-800-985-5990. For Spanish, press "2." For ASL, use your preferred relay provider. Llame o envíe un mensaje de texto al 1-800-985-5990. Para español, presione "2". Para ASL, utilice su proveedor de retransmisión preferido.   The work is heavy, the day is short, and the road ahead very long. El trabajo es pesado, el día es corto y el camino por delante es muy largo. And as always, take care of yourself. Y lo más importante, cuídate.

Our hearts go out to the families and communities across the ten states impacted by Hurricane Helene, especially western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. While Aspen CSG is not a disaster response organization, we are committed to sharing resources and elevating the needs of rural communities impacted by natural disasters. We have worked with many of you to identify effective practices and policies (https://lnkd.in/eGK-QsQB) to move disaster recovery away from a costly “patch it again” cycle and focus on advancing community prosperity outcomes. As we've seen with previous disasters, the surest way to ensure equitable and targeted support is through the local organizations on the ground who have been doing the work before the disaster hits and will be there long after the cameras and national organizations recede. Below is a curated list of local resources and organizations aiding relief and recovery: —Local and regional community foundations are on the frontline for immediate disaster relief and longer-term recovery. If you are inclined to make a donation, consider supporting the philanthropic efforts of the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky and Appalachia Funders Network, you can contribute to their Appalachian Helene Response Fund, which aims to help local people, organizations, and businesses – and to fill gaps for those left out of the broader relief effort: https://lnkd.in/egVw4NPY —There are many open-source response and recovery resources for locals who want to help or need assistance. These documents have resources for affected people and drop-off locations for community donations and support. Please feel free to share this with your networks. These lists will continue to be updated as relief efforts grow:  https://lnkd.in/e8sBzKPk & https://lnkd.in/eA7AWZ2A —Aspen CSG partner Fahe works with a network of nonprofits across the Appalachian portion of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Alabama, and Maryland. See and consider donating to the Fahe member communities within the storm path. —Aspen CSG partner MDC hosts the NC Inclusive Disaster Recovery Network, a collaborative of public, non-profit, and faith-based organizations seeking avenues for community voice and equitable access to resources in our disaster recovery system. If you're an NC organization in need of connection to resources such as volunteers, donations, legal help, etc., see their living resource guide (https://lnkd.in/et8WXkDg) or reach out to Andrew.Shoenig@MDCinc.org. It’s only together that we can create stronger rural and Indigenous communities — even in the face of more intense climate disasters.

Misalignment between government permitting agencies at the broadband buildout stage can be costly and challenging. When multiple jurisdictions (e.g., federal, state, local, tribal) need to provide permits for building infrastructure, delays at one level can derail an entire project. Misalignment within a single agency can also be a major barrier; for example, the United States Department of Agriculture may fund a broadband project through its ReConnect program but withhold permitting for that same project through its US Forest Service. Learn more about where we are and what it will take to achieve true digital equity for rural communities and Native nations in our case study: https://lnkd.in/e6_DJBcq

At this year's Aspen Ideas: Climate, Aspen CSG's Chris Estes joined Catherine Coleman Flowers, Founder of The Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, and NPR’s Kirk Siegler for a discussion on the opportunities and challenges in rural energy economic development. Catherine and Chris emphasize community engagement, trust, and the need for policymakers to address the specific needs of rural communities for a just energy transition. The conversation also delves into challenges like accessing funding and technical assistance. Watch for more on how equitable rural economic development can help address past wrongs and celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of rural communities: https://lnkd.in/eytwjCmR

In this week’s installment of the Funding Rural podcast, Chris Estes, co-executive director of the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group, talks about the Thrive Rural Framework, a tool they developed for communities to support their own equitable rural prosperity.  Chris also talks about how rural funders can approach investments in affordable housing and how their approach can contribute to long-term economic sustainability. “The way I used to present it, when I would travel around the state and then nationally, was that housing was the hub of a wheel. And the outside of the wheel is where all the issues that we spend a lot more time historically talking about whether it was education, or what's happening with seniors or people with disabilities, or open space or traffic, or jobs. And that housing the spokes were essentially all this interconnectedness between those issues and housing, because where you live and what you live in, ultimately determines a huge part of how healthy you are, how safe you feel, and how far goods and services and opportunities are from you. And, and that's only more exacerbated in rural spaces.” — Chris Estes Learn from Chris in Season 2 of Funding Rural. Available wherever you get your podcasts. #fundingrural #ruralfunding #rural #philanthropy #systemschange #housing