Rural eNews

August 2020

GREAT NEWS!

Lowe’s Expands Small Business Support to $55 Million for Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Adds Focus on Rural Communities.  In response to the overwhelming need to help support small businesses across the country, Lowe's Companies, Inc. has announced it is increasing its minority small business grants from $25 million to $30 million while donating an additional $25 million to its small business grant program, doubling the amount already committed. The additional funds will focus on rural communities, which have been hard hit by the pandemic. The total $55 million commitment makes Lowe’s the largest donor to LISC’s Small Business Relief & Recovery Program and COVID Rapid Relief & Resiliency Fund.

Funding & Finance Opportunities

Community

THE SORENSON IMPACT FOUNDATION is inviting proposals for solutions that can contribute to a more equitable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis. The Foundation is specifically targeting solutions that enable recovery through developing and growing businesses as well as the communities they're in to equitably rebuild coming out of the current social, health, and economic crisis.  Deadline: 8/30/2020.  Click here to review funding guidelines.

THE LAURA JANE MUSSER FUND supports projects that promote mutual understanding and cooperation between groups of community members of different cultural backgrounds. Project planning grants up to $5,000 or implementation grants up to $25,000 will be considered. New programs or projects in their first three years are eligible. Applications will be accepted online through the Fund’s website from 9/15/2020 through 10/15/2020.  The geographic areas for these initiatives are Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, Wyoming, and limited counties in New York and Texas. Eligible counties in New York include: Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan, and Ulster counties. Eligible counties in Texas are located in the Rio Grande River Valley (Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy counties), Deep East Texas (Angelina, Houston, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, and Tyler counties), and the Brazos Valley (Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson, and Washington counties).  Click here to review full application guidelines.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES is offering funding to operate Early Head Start programming within a community, leveraging existing local resources to provide a comprehensive array of health, mental health, nutrition, and social services for infants, toddlers, and their families.  Deadline: 9/21/2020.  Click here to review program guidelines.

HUD is offering funding for technical assistance and capacity building activities to help organizations implement HUD programs successfully and sustainably, as well as provide effective administrative and managerial oversight of HUD funding. This includes building the capacity of rural organizations that provide services in the areas of housing, housing counseling, economic empowerment, educational advancement, health, wellness, and family self-sufficiency.  Deadline: 9/21/2020.  Click here to review funding guidelines.

THE LAURA JANE MUSSER FUND is offering funding through the Rural Initiative, and encourages collaborative and participatory efforts among residents in rural communities that will help to strengthen their towns and regions. The applicant community must have a population of 10,000 or fewer. Program planning grants up to $5,000 and program implementation grants up to $25,000 will be considered. Applications will be accepted from 9/1/2020 through 10/1/2020.  Click here to review application guidelines.

The United States Conference of Mayors and Wells Fargo Foundation – CommunityWINS grant program is aimed at addressing the housing affordability crisis including transitional housing, rentals, and homeownership projects and programs.  Deadline:  10/9/2020.  Click here for more information and to apply.

COVID-19 Funding

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES is offering grants to implement and evaluate community interventions testing: the impacts of mitigation strategies to prevent COVID-19 transmission in NIH-designated health disparity populations and other vulnerable groups; and already implemented, new, or adapted interventions to address the adverse psychosocial, behavioral, and socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic on the health of these groups.  DEADLINE: 12/1/2020.  Click here for application guidelines.

Housing

HUD is offering rural capacity building for community development and affordable housing grants to fund national organizations that can provide technical assistance to local communities. Assistance will be targeted to help communities create thriving community development and affordable housing strategies that will result in healthier homes and communities.  Deadline: 9/28/2020.  Grant guidelines can be found here.

Native Americans

COMMON COUNSEL FOUNDATION and NATIVE AMERICANS IN PHILANTHROPY are offering Native Voices Rising Grants, general operating support grants designed to strengthen Native-led organizations that are improving the lives of their community members.  Deadline:  8/27/2020.  Click here to review funding guidelines.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR is offering grants through the Native American Business Development Institute Grant Program for technical assistance funding to hire consultants to perform feasibility studies of economic development opportunities located in designated Opportunity Zones.   Deadline:  9/15/2020.  Program guidelines can be found here.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service provides USDA foods to income-eligible households living on Indian reservations and to Native American households residing in designated areas near reservations or in Oklahoma. Application Deadline: 9/30/2020.  Click here for application guidelines.

Other Opportunities

THE WORKERS LAB'S INNOVATION FUND provides innovators with money and support to try out their ideas. For the Summer 2020 Innovation Fund cycle, The Workers Lab seeks applications focused on worker health and safety in the United States. Funding will be provided for early stage and pilot-ready ideas for supports that guarantee essential, low-wage workers' health, safety, and economic security. Ideas can take the shape of policy experiments, programs that build worker agency, multi-stakeholder partnerships, tools for relaying real-time information on safety rules and regulations, or technology enabled health and safety solutions. Award winners receive $150,000 for ideas ready to pilot, or $75,000 for early stage ideas not yet ready to pilot. Nonprofit organizations, public sector entities, for-profit entities, and social enterprises are eligible to apply. Deadline is 8/17/2020.  Click here to visit the website for program requirements.  https://www.theworkerslab.com/innovationfund

USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT is making $3 million in grants available to help socially disadvantaged groups develop business and strategic plans in rural areas. Application Deadline: 8/24/2020.  Click here for more information.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION’S Federal Transit Administration is making funds available to support planning, capital and operating assistance for tribal public transit services to help expand access to health, medical and social service providers.  Application Deadline: 8/24/2020.  Click here to review application guidelines.

USDA has announced approximately $15 million in available funding to help socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers own and operate successful farms. Funding is made through the USDA’s Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (also known as the 2501 Program).  Deadline to apply:  8/26/2020.  Click here for more information and to apply on Grants.gov.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST ASSOCIATION: FUND FOR A JUST SOCIETY provides grants to nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Canada that address issues of social and economic justice. The Fund supports organizations that use community organizing to bring about systemic change leading to a more just society; mobilize with those who have been disenfranchised and excluded from resources, power, and the right to self-determination; and have an active focused campaign to create systemic change. Consideration is given to projects that are less likely to receive conventional funding because of the innovative or challenging nature of the work or the economic and social status of the constituency. Deadline: 9/30/2020. Visit the Unitarian Universalist Association website here to review the funding guidelines.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION is offering grants to high schools and local educational agencies to propose technology education programs that use competency-based distance learning.  Deadline:  10/8/2020.  Click here for more information. 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health Prize elevates the compelling stories of places throughout the country where residents are working together to transform education, jobs, transportation, housing, and more so better health flourishes for all. Up to ten winning communities will each receive a $25,000 cash prize and have their success stories shared broadly, with the goal of raising awareness and inspiring locally-driven change across the United States. For the purposes of this prize, "a community" is defined as one of the following: county, parish, borough, city, town, village, or other municipality with a publicly elected governing body; federally recognized tribe or a state-designated Indian reservation; Native Hawaiian organization; or region defined as geographically contiguous municipalities, counties, and/or reservations. The Phase One application deadline is 10/15/2020; Phase Two applications will be due on 12/21/2020. Visit the Foundation's website here to review the call for applications.

Veterans

HUD Veterans Housing Rehabilitation and Modification Pilot Program will award grants to be used to modify or rehabilitate eligible veterans' primary residences or to provide grantees' affiliates with technical, administrative, and training support in connection with those services.  DEADLINE: August 18, 2020.  Click here to review grant guidelines.

Training Events and Conferences

WEBINARS, Online Events, and Calls

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will host a webinar, “Sustainability and the Path to Equity,” August 5, 2020, 3:00-4:00 PM EDT.  Click here for more information and to register.

National Association of Counties will host a webinar, “How Counties Are Using CARES Act Dollars to Support Local Economies and Workforces,” August 6, 2020, 2:00-3:00 PM EDT.  County leaders will discuss CRF plans that help those impacted by the pandemic obtain and maintain long-term, sustainable employment. Click here to learn more about this event and to register.

Co-hosted by Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and MASS Design Group, a virtual roundtable will present design strategies for the creation of safe and dignifying shared housing spaces for older adults in light of COVID-19, August 11, 12:00 PM EDT.  Click here to register.

Population Health Learning Collaborative will host “Innovations in Naturally Affordable Housing Virtual Summit,” August 11-12, 2020.  Participants will learn how communities can bring many partners together to implement high-value, economical, and practical strategies for housing that is "naturally" affordable without requiring large, on-going subsidies to make it affordable.  Click here to learn more about this virtual conference.

 “Leadership Today: Key Skills and Career/Job Tips” will be the focus of a webinar on Thursday, August 13, 2020, 12:00 - 12:45 PM EDT. This webinar shares a framework for reflecting on and building upon leadership and career trajectories.  Click here to register for this webinar, and find out about other free webinars.

NACo Tech Xchange will present a webinar,”FirstNet with AT&T – the COVID-19 Experience,” August 13, 2020, 2:00-3:00 PM EDT.  In this webinar, speakers will show how FirstNet – the nationwide wireless broadband communications platform dedicated to America’s public safety community – prepared for the escalating national crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics to be covered include applications, technical requirements, network utilization, as well as specific use cases of how FirstNet was deployed to hard hit communities and the USS Comfort and USS Mercy.  To register, click here.

OCC Rural Development Webinar: “Broadband Financing in Rural Areas and Indian Country,” will take place August 27, 2020, 3:00-4:15 PM EDT.  Join this webinar to learn how First International Bank & Trust in Watford City, ND, USDA Rural Utilities Service, and Reservation Telephone Cooperative located in the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, ND formed a partnership to finance broadband infrastructure on the Reservation and adjoining McKenzie County.  Click here to register.

Cleveland Federal Bank is offering “Investment Connection Orientation Webinar: Lexington-Eastern Kentucky,” Thursday, September 10, 2020, 10:00 am-11:00 AM EDT.  This event will provide community-based organizations and funders information on Investment Connection and the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).  Investment Connection is a tool that employs an online proposal portal and in-person events to allow community-based organizations to present projects that are likely CRA-eligible to financial institutions and other funders (foundations, CDFIs, and government entities).  Register and learn more here.

Center for Creative Land Recycling will present the second California Land Recycling Conference, September 22-24, 2020 in partnership with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and CA Department of Toxic Substances Control. This virtual conference will combine a variety of pre-recorded sessions, live discussions and panels, and facilitated conversations and networking to create an inspirational and event experience.  Register here.

Prosperity Summit 2020 will be held virtually September 30-October 2, 2020.  To see the agenda, and to register, click here.

 Webinar and Conference Recordings

“COVID 19: Industry Impact to Affordable Housing” is an On-Demand webcast hosted by Hanley Wood Resources.  The loss of millions of jobs due to the pandemic has created unprecedented changes in the affordable housing sector. Join a panel of industry executives for this On-Demand webcast to understand the impact on the Affordable market and how to comply with the new regulations.  To view the webcast, click here.

Webinar Series: Local Strategies for Housing, Wealth, and Job Equity.  You can now view materials from the Philadelphia Fed’s ROC Local series, which examines local solutions to housing, job, and wealth equity challenges. Through 11 webinars, leading researchers and practitioners provide expertise for community leaders on topics that include rethinking zoning, supporting small businesses, upskilling and reskilling, and affordable housing preservation. These webinars can help you frame, contextualize, and organize around challenges in your community.  Click here to review these resources.

Almost 5,000 people joined a special NLIHC broadcast to hear Pulitzer-Prize winning author Nikole Hannah-Jones and NLIHC’s Board Chair Marla Newman discuss “Racial Equity and Housing Justice during and after COVID-19.” Read a transcript here.

Save the Date...

The next Regards to Rural (R2R) conference scheduled for fall 2020 will transition to a virtual event.

Grounded Solutions Network National Conference will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 21-24, 2020.

Radically Rural: Remote will be a one-day online event designed to host panels of speakers and allow audiences to interact with their own questions. It will take place on September 24, 2020.

Prosperity Now will host The 2020 Prosperity Summit, at the National Harbor, Maryland, September 30-October 2, 2020.

The 2020 GIA Annual Conference, “Bigger, Bolder, Older: Promoting Innovation for All Ages,” will take place at the Austin Marriott Downtown, Austin, Texas October 14-16, 2020.

This October 26-30-2020, the Rural Assembly invites you to join our first-ever virtual gathering! Join us online for a diverse line-up of activities, speakers, and workshops crafted for rural advocates and allies. Conceived in the spirit of a festival, we welcome participation at all levels and encourage old and new allies to claim a spot at the table to help us chart the future of rural America.

Information and Other Resources

Articles, Information, and Reports

 “What Happens if 23 Million Renters Are Evicted?” Josh Cohen, Shelterforce.  Up to 23 million renters are at risk of eviction by the end of September. Researchers, advocates, lawyers, housing economists, and rental housing industry representatives were interviewed for this article.  Click here to read the article.

National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released its annual report, “Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing 2020.” The report compares rents and wages nationally and in every state, county, and metropolitan area in the U.S.  Get the report here.

A brief released today by Prosperity Now, “The Fragile Financial Stability of Immigrant Households in Light of COVID-19,” provides an overview of the structural barriers that have made LMI immigrant households particularly vulnerable to the public health and economic crises precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Get the brief here.

In a brief from Carsey School of Public Policy, prevention failures in the coal mining industry have resulted in the resurgence of black lung disease. Caused by the chronic inhalation of coal and silica dust, black lung is progressive, incurable, life-altering, and fatal. Despite it being a preventable disease, black lung is resurgent among coal miners in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.  Get the brief here.

Rural Matters - Coronavirus and the Navajo Nation presents a first-hand account of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Navajo Nation. The paper discusses the social and environmental factors that contribute to the spread of the virus.  Click here to get this report.

Stress Tests Can Help States Budget Amid COVID-19.  The recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic is clouding states' financial futures. Stress tests can help leaders plan for what comes next.  Click here to read the article from Pew Charitable Trusts. 

Affordable Housing Finance reports “5 Ways COVID-19 Will Change Affordable Housing Design,” in their online publication.  Leading architects reveal how new developments may adapt to the pandemic.  Read the article here.

Rural Health Information Hub has added “Rural Healthcare Surge Readiness” to its website.  Developed by the COVID-19 Healthcare Resilience Working Group, this new tool provides critical resources for rural healthcare facilities to prepare for and respond to a COVID-19 surge.  Visit the website here.

USDA Seeks Feedback to Launch Program to Create High-Wage Jobs in Rural Communities and Strengthen Regional Economies.  Under the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) program, USDA intends to make grants available to help eligible entities establish jobs accelerators and Innovation Centers to support the rural workforce by helping rural communities identify and maximize local assets and connect to regional opportunities, networks, and industry clusters. RISE will be delivered in accordance with the provisions of Section 6424 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the Farm Bill).  To read the full announcement, and to submit comments, click here. 

“How Digital Training Can Help States and Cities Build their Public Health Workforce” is an article in an Aspen Institute online newsletter that provides ideas for training public health workers and how digital education may support this effort.  Get the article here.

To realize our movement’s demands that CEOs and corporate leaders exert their outsized power and influence in service of racial equity and an inclusive democracy, PolicyLink, in partnership with FSG, JUST Capital, and Living Cities, is pleased to share, "A CEO Blueprint for Racial Equity."  Access the blueprint by clicking here.

NACo research finds the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to massive budgetary impacts for county governments and local taxpayers, with as much as $202 billion in lost revenue and increased expenditures through FY2021.  For more of this analysis from NACo, click here.

Housing Assistance Council has published “Guide to Federal Housing and Community Development Programs for Small Towns and Rural Areas.” The Guide provides brief descriptions of the uses of program funds and eligibility requirements for federal housing and development programs administered by USDA Rural Development (RD), the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and others.  Get the Guide here.

Next City has launched a new series of e-books, supported by the Kresge Foundation, entitled For Whom, By Whom. The first volume features stories from 10 communities, chronicling how creative placemaking can expand opportunities for low-income people living in disinvested communities.  Click here to download the e-books.

The UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy recently published a second installment in its Housing Justice in the Time of COVID-19 series. The new report, “Hotel California: Housing the Crisis,” outlines a policy strategy for acquiring hotels for use as affordable housing. The report describes Project Roomkey, a current California program that places individuals experiencing homelessness in hotels. The authors argue that Los Angeles County should acquire and convert hotels into social housing and describe challenges that arise from using hotels as emergency housing.  Read more of this article here.

Several new features on the USDA’s Farmers.gov website are designed to help facilitate the employment of H-2A workers.  USDA’s goal is to help farmers navigate the complex H-2A program that is administered by Department of Labor, Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department so hiring a farm worker is an easier process.  Visit Farmers.gov by clicking here.

NeighborWorks Conducts National Housing and Financial Capability Survey with Accompanying Resources.  Over several years of collecting national data on housing affordability trends and financial preparedness, NeighborWorks America has found that disparity in homeownership among minorities continues to grow and the majority of Americans continue to need help in understanding the homebuying process.  Click here to review more results from the survey.

Participate in the COVID-19 Survey of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).  The Federal Reserve and the CDFI Fund’s COVID-19 CDFI Survey will inform research and future policymaking. The survey data will also provide important benchmark information on how CDFIs are faring in the COVID-19 crisis and how they are serving low-income and minority populations. The 20-minute survey is open to all CDFIs, regardless of certification status. Submit a response for your CDFI here.  Survey responses are due by August 14, 2020.

Design Museum recently opened “We Design: People.Practice.Progress,” an online exhibition program designed to inspire young adults, particularly women and those from historically underinvested communities of color, to explore careers in creative industries. Supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the exhibition also includes a physical exhibition that can travel.  Click here to learn more about this program.

The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank published an article that says minority-owned firms are at significant economic risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis caused by stay-at-home orders and social distancing. This is largely because minority-owned firms are smaller, on average, in a weaker position financially, and have less access to credit and capital. Couple this with various reports that minority firms were less likely to receive access to stimulus funding, and the challenges for these firms during the crisis become clear. This article provides an overview of the vulnerability of firms owned by minorities prior to the crisis, and shares insights from organizations that work with minority firms on how these firms are being affected during the crisis.  Read more by clicking here. 

“Stem the Tide: Opioid Stewardship Measurement Implementation Guide,” identifies best practices for hospitals and health systems to use data to improve opioid stewardship. The guide addresses six elements that can support facilities through implementing a data-driven opioid stewardship program, and provides a list of quality improvement measures for hospitals and health systems to track progress. Get the American Hospital guide by clicking here.

The Center for Rural Affairs reports that tribal communities and Indigenous people have been presented with unique challenges across America due to Covid-19 that many of us may not be familiar with.  Read more here. 

“America at a Glance: COVID-19 and Disability in Rural Areas” from the Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities, summarizes the results of a survey exploring rural and urban differences in COVID-19 health risks, adherence to public health recommendations, and trust in different information sources among individuals with disabilities.  Click here to get the report. 

There is an exciting new recognition and cash award program intended to shine a spotlight on extraordinary public service volunteers throughout Rural America. The Small Town America Civic Volunteer Award (www.civic-volunteer.com) is being co-sponsored by Points of Light, the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Towns and Townships, the National Volunteer Fire Council and Main Street America. Click here for more information.

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COVID-19 Resources

COVID-19 Demographic and Economic Resources Using Census Data
The Census Bureau launched an interactive data hub featuring COVID-19 data to assist federal agencies, businesses and communities better plan with current information.

New Health and Human Services Coronavirus Data Hub provides access to data on the healthcare system from a wide range of sources to support data-driven COVID-19 response. The hub brings together information from federal, state, and local governments and the healthcare industry, and shares hospital capacity data at the national and state level, including inpatient beds occupied, inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and ICU beds occupied.  Click here to access the Coronavirus Data Hub.

North Carolina Rural Health Research Program has gathered a collection of reports and visualizations examining the impact of COVID-19 on rural areas, including rural hospital and community vulnerability, hot spots, and more.  Get the reports here.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Children and Families released strategies to support families experiencing homelessness and housing instability during the pandemic.

Community Development COVID-19 Resources:  tools and publications from the St. Louis Fed and other organizations that may provide assistance in the midst of the current pandemic.  Click here to access these resources.

National Housing Conference recently spoke with Cathy Alderman, vice president of communications and public policy of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) on CCH’s multi-pronged approach to addressing homelessness during the pandemic: housing, health care, supportive services, and advocacy. Cathy spoke on their work to create a clinical triage, contract with local motels to provide the necessary space for isolation/quarantine and more. Learn about all CCH implemented to meet the needs of homeless individuals during COVID-19 in this best practice feature here.

NACo has released a series of issue briefs that highlight ways in which COVID-19 has impacted America's counties and replicable county responses.  Click here to read the issue briefs, and send your county's COVID-19 solutions to research@naco.org.

The Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Health and the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at NYU recently added a “COVID Local Risk Index” to their City Health Dashboard. The index uses housing, health, demographic, and economic indicators from the American Community Survey (ACS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to report levels of COVID-19 risk across the 500 largest U.S. cities. The index allows users to identify which cities are at higher risk for coronavirus infection and for more severe cases.  Access the index here.

The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) and National Alliance on Safe Housing (NASH) published last week guidance for housing providers on protecting survivors of domestic and sexual violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released, “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Communication Resources.”  The resources are designed to help public health professionals, health departments, community organizations, and healthcare systems and providers communicate information about COVID-19. Includes guidance documents, public service announcements, a social media toolkit, images, videos, and more.  Access these resources here.

A group of national organizations and leaders has gotten together to give communities a template for their COVID-19 homelessness response; one incorporating a racial justice and equity approach. Get the template here.

HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) posted “Federal Funding Priority Order for Non-Congregate Shelter During COVID-19” on June 23. The document provides information to recipients of federal funds on how best to use specific federal resources for the operation of non-congregate sheltering (NCS) projects. Guidance focuses on funds from the FEMA Public Assistance (PA) Category B Emergency Protective Measures, Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG-CV), and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV) programs.

States are taking very different approaches in trying to curb recent spikes in COVID-19 cases—and face mask mandates can be a topic of contention for many state and local officials.  Get the Pew Charitable Trusts brief here.

What does a just and equitable path forward from COVID-19 look like?  To help answer this question, County Health Rankings & Roadmaps has added a new COVID-19 page to our website.  Go to the website by clicking here.

NLIHC’s most recent national call on coronavirus, housing, and homelessness took place on June 22. NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel announced a new partnership among several national organizations and leaders to help communities navigate their response to COVID-19 with a racial justice and equity lens. Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City and principal investigator at Princeton University’s Eviction Lab, introduced a new tool to track evictions during the pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released updated digital tools, guidance and other resources for conducting contact tracing. Newly added tools include the COVIDTracer, a spreadsheet-based tool that allows state and local level public health officials and policymakers to compare three different contact tracing/monitoring strategies.  Get these resources here.

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Job Opportunity

RUPCO has an opportunity for an accomplished professional to join the organization as Real Estate Development Project Manager to assume a significant leadership role in RUPCO's growing Real Estate Development portfolio. This position must have experience and be technically proficient in aspects of affordable housing real estate development, including finance, grant writing, entitlement, design, construction, lease-up and operations. RUPCO is a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency that has led the Hudson Valley region in creating and maintaining quality, sustainable housing, and rental opportunities; inspiring understanding and acceptance of affordable housing initiatives; fostering community development and revitalization; and providing an opportunity to people to improve their living standards. Our mission is to create homes, support people and improve communities. Our vision is for strong, vibrant, and diverse communities with an opportunity and a home for everyone.  Click here to visit RUPCO’s website for a full job description. 

Rural LISC works with 92 partner organizations creating sustainable rural communities across 45 states. Visit our website here and sign up for the Rural LISC RSS feed here. If this email was forwarded to you and you would like to sign up to receive the Rural eNews each month, click here.

Send information on funding opportunities, events, publications, resources, or rural-related issues to sfelzke@lisc.org. Announcements will be published at our discretion based on space and applicability.  Please do not copy this document without permission.