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“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”
General Orders, Number 3; Headquarters District of Texas, Galveston June 19, 1865
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19th, commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in Texas in 1865. While it marks a day of liberation, it also highlights the lasting impact of slavery on Black Americans’ generational wealth. It is important to recognize a crucial aspect of this struggle is the need for affordable housing. Access to safe and affordable housing is a fundamental human right, and yet many people continue to face housing insecurity and homelessness. On this day to commemorate freedom, let us recommit ourselves to the fight for the eradication of systematic barriers that prevent marginalized communities from accessing safe and stable housing.
Take Action: Together, we can work to achieve a truly inclusive economy and proactively address racial income and wealth divides. Juneteenth serves as a call to action, urging us to work toward economic equity and financial empowerment. Building better communities.
RURAL LISC SEMINAR 2024
#RuralTalks: Maximizing Your Partnership with LISC
Date: December 3-4, 2024
Place: Little Rock Marriott, Little Rock, Arkansas
Prepare to be inspired, motivated and empowered by engaging speakers and an innovative networking structure.
Stay tuned - more-details to come!
2023 LISC National Annual Report is Now Live!
Dive into the details of the achievements, milestones, and impact across the LISC organization over the past year. From innovative projects to community initiatives, it's all captured in this comprehensive overview. Click the link below to explore the report and join us in celebrating another year of growth and progress!
Don't Forget to Check Out the Delta Trues Series!
Rural's 'Cowboy Carter' Joins TLL Temple Discussion
Rural LISC chief, Nadia Villagran, recently joined P.I.N.E. Summit, a group of rural leaders collaborating to strengthen Deep East Texas. Special thanks to TLL Temple Foundation for hosting this "Big Think" and allowing attendees to refill their heart coffers.
WaterSMART Environmental Water Resources Projects 2024
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation
Deadline: June 18, 2024
LISC and DICK's Sporting Goods Foundation have announced a second round of funding to fuel the renovation of indoor and outdoor athletic spaces that serve young athletes, especially in under-resourced communities. The deadline to apply for the $50K-100K grants is September 5. There are no geographic restrictions beyond being a U.S. based organization so this funding opportunity it open to all LISC offices.
- Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) Round 6: A Grant Initiative for the Appalachian, Delta, and Northern Border Regions, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
June 20, 2024 - T-Mobile Hometown Grant Application Q2 2024, Main Street America and T-Mobile Indigenous Fellowship: The NDN Changemaker Fellowship is a two-year fellowship designed to invest in the visions, leadership, and personal and professional development of 21 Indigenous Changemakers working in their communities. The application deadline is July 1.
- Artist Residency: Ignite Rural 2024 is an “at-home” artist residency for folks who reside within Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, or the 23 Native nations that share that geography. Rural artists will connect, have virtual learning exchange opportunities, and receive support in their social and civic work within their communities
- Designing Scalable Co-Funding Solutions For Broadband And Digital Equity: This ROADS event recap blog from Rural LISC highlights how rural communities can better understand and participate in the new federal funding for high-speed broadband internet. Read event highlights or watch the recording on why broadband presents unique capacity challenges compared to other rural investments. The event panel – Benya Kraus Beacom, co-founder of Lead for America, broadband planning consultant Brian Rathbone, principal of Broadband Catalysts, Jerry Kenney, program officer for the T.L.L. Temple Foundation, Zaki Barzinjii, senior director for Aspen Digital, and Christa Vinson, moderator, and Rural LISC’s broadband lead – emphasize the deep need for fresh thinking and strategies from ecosystem players to better marshal local capacity to maximize capital absorption for broadband.
- Rural Disaster Preparedness: Partnering For Resilience & Resources: This ROADS event recap blog from RCAP features insights from panelists on the key issues facing rural communities related to disaster preparedness and unique strategies for overcoming these issues based on previous experiences. Moderated by Olga Morales-Pate, CEO of RCAP, with panelists including Alan Nazzaro, Disaster Recovery Services Program Manager with the Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), the Western RCAP; Rafaela Monchek, Deputy Administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience with the US Small Business Administration; and Kristyna Jones, K Jones Advisors with the Ironton Reconstruction and Development Committee in the rural community of Ironton, Louisiana.
- Field Based Rural Placemaking: Rural placemaking, arts, and local design can catalyze renewed community and economic development in small towns and rural places. Placemaking celebrates and invests in the uniqueness of each community. This ROADS webinar recording and event notes provide concrete placemaking strategies and takeaways relevant to rural communities of every size—even the most isolated and least resourced.
ARPA-E & USDA Rural Energy Innovation Webinar
The Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) and the USDA Rural Development Innovation Center will host a public webinar about Dept. of Energy’s ARPA-E projects on emerging energy technologies. Both agencies believe that focused engagement with rural stakeholders--including, but not limited to, electric cooperatives and enterprises involved in the agricultural sector--will enhance their ability to deliver innovation that advances economic development and energy security in rural America.
The ARPA-E is a DOE agency that advances high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment. ARPA-E awardees are unique because they are developing new ways to generate, store, and use energy.
Register to attend the Monday, June 17, 2024, Webinar at 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT!
The following projects will be featured in the June 17th Webinar:
The Power of Rural Collaboration and Coalition Building: Lessons Learned and Paths Forward
Monday, June 17, 4-5 pm ET
Multiple partners across the rural space came together over the last few years to curate Rural Opportunity and Development Sessions (ROADs). Please join us in the culminating event of the ROADs partnership where Aspen CSG, the Housing Assistance Council, the International Economic Development Council, the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, and Rural LISC will recap previous events and share learnings and next steps from this multi-year rural-focused experience.
You are invited to join Rural LISC for the latest "Raising the Roof" webinar on June 20, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. EST where we will focus on federal rural affordable housing and community development policy.
This informative session will cover the status of key bills and funding levels for federal rural housing programs, with insights from staff of Sen. Smith and Sen. Rounds on the Rural Housing Service Reform Act. Rural LISC partner GROW South Dakota will also discuss how these policy initiatives can benefit rural communities.
The webinar will conclude with a Q&A session, offering an opportunity to engage with experts. Don't miss this chance to gain valuable information and participate in the discussion. Register now to secure your spot and be part of this important conversation.
National Association of Counties
June 24, 2024
NEWS RELEASE: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Actions to Strengthen Tribal Food Sovereignty, Co-Stewardship, and Knowledge of Tribal Agriculture Policy
Budget and Appropriations Update
The House Appropriations Committee approved top line funding levels for the FY 2025 annual government spending bills. Defense funding will receive an increase of nearly $9 billion over FY 2024 levels; non-defense programs will be cut effectively by 6 percent. With these top-line funding allocations – known as 302(b)s – in place, House Appropriations Subcommittees can now draft their FY 2025 spending measures. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet released their subcommittee allocations.
On May 16th, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) released the markup schedule for the FY 2025 appropriations bills. The goal is for the Committee to pass all 12 bills during the summer, despite a late start on consideration of the federal budget this year.
In addition, the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee advanced the FY 2025 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill on June 5th. The full Appropriations Committee will mark up the legislation on June 13th. Key highlights include:
Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund - $276.6 million (decrease of $48.4 million from FY 2024). The bill does not provide funding for the Economic Mobility Corps or the Healthy Food Financing Initiative.
Small Business Administration (SBA) - $854.1 million (decrease of $187.6 million from FY 2024).
For more information, check out the summary and bill text.
Section 4 Advocacy Campaign
Due largely to the outreach efforts of the LISC Local Offices and Rural LISC, 44 Senators signed a Dear Colleague letter calling for $50 million of funding for the Section 4 Program in FY 2025. The letter was sponsored by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Todd Young (R-IN). This complements the House Dear Colleague letter that closed in early May with a record high 100 signatures.
In a recent Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation-Housing and Urban Development hearing on the President’s FY 2025 budget request for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Ranking Member Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) mentioned the importance of HUD programs like Section 4 that facilitate collaboration with the private market and nonprofits.
Heirs Education and Investment to Resolve Succession (HEIRS) of Property Act Introduced
On May 1st, Representatives Sanford Bishop (D-GA) and Don Davis (D-NC) introduced H.R. 8198, the Heirs Education and Investment to Resolve Succession (HEIRS) of Property Act. This bill aims to assist families by providing legal services to resolve heirs’ property issues for faster agriculture production. If passed, the legislation would amend existing law by directing the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to work with nonprofit organizations to provide pro-bono legal or accounting services in resolving ownership and succession
of farmland for underserved and marginalized heirs. The measure would also reauthorize the Heirs Property Intermediary Relending Program.
Farm Bill Update and New Blog
As reported last month, the Senate and House Agriculture Committees announced their respective Farm Bill proposals. The House’s Farm Bill was approved by the House Agriculture Committee recently, and the Senate’s version is awaiting committee action. In a new blog, LISC Policy’s Mark Kudlowitz and Nicole Barcliff examine where
things stand in Congress and how the legislation can support the needs of families while also revitalizing communities that have long experienced capacity constraints that hinder community and economic development opportunities.
LISC and Other Advocates Request House Leadership to Support Rural Housing Reform Bill LISC joined the Council for Affordable Rural Housing and other housing advocates in sending a letter to House leadership asking for support of the Rural Housing Service Reform Act of 2023. If passed, the legislation would provide USDA with increased affordable rental housing preservation authorities and increase their capacity process such transactions.
White House Holds Rural Communities In Action Event
On May 14th, the White House held a Rural Communities In Action event that highlighted how the Administration is investing in rural communities. The event also featured perspectives from rural community leaders and remarks from Administration officials, such as White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, White House Office of Public Engagement Director Stephen Benjamin, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Check out the webcast for more information.
During the event, the Administration also announced a new Rural Innovators Initiative to highlight stories of extraordinary rural leaders who are taking action and ensuring their communities thrive for generations to come. Nominations are due by June 14th, and selected individuals will be recognized later this year.
