News

Center announces $10.5 million Small Towns Initiative to revitalize towns grappling with economic hardship
The Rural Center launched a major initiative on Nov. 4 to bring greater prosperity to North Carolina’s small towns with a broad-based plan to boost resources, investments, information and local leadership in towns with fewer than 10,000 residents. The $10.5 million Small Towns Initiative is designed to help towns overcome major economic challenges, including the loss of manufacturing plants and family farms, damages from natural disasters and persistent poverty. The initiative’s three-year plan of work includes two programs that will invest millions in qualifying small towns for economic development projects. Its strategies range from increasing the capacity of local leaders to plan and implement initiatives to stimulating job-creating investments and developing public policy recommendations. The Rural Center will convene the Small Towns Action Council, an 18-member panel made up of key economic and community development leaders who will meet twice each year to address small town issues and develop a public policy agenda with recommendations for action on the federal, state, and local levels. To find out more about the Small Towns Initiative, visit the center’s website. For questions on the initiative, contact Robin Pulver, vice president for community and human resource development, (919) 250-4314.

Initiative’s programs to help small towns find greater prosperity, improve quality of life
Small towns across North Carolina will have an opportunity to develop and accelerate economic revitalization projects through two programs offered through the center’s Small Towns Initiative. The N.C. Small Towns Economic Prosperity Demonstration Program (NC STEP) will give 20 small towns across the state access to grant funding, leadership training and technical assistance. Grantees will receive $20,000 in planning funds to develop their initiatives and will be eligible to receive up to $200,000 in grants to implement their projects. Application guidelines will be made available Nov. 28 on the center’s website. Applications are due to the Rural Center on Jan. 23, 2006. The state’s smallest towns will get a hand in creating jobs and boosting business development efforts through the center’s Building Reuse and Restoration Grants Program. The center will invest $5 million over two years, with priority on towns of less than 5,000 for the productive reuse of vacant buildings through the program. Pre-development grants of up to $25,000 and development grants of up to $400,000 will be awarded to eligible projects. Guidelines and applications will be available on the center’s website on Nov. 28.

Expansion of home protection program to help dislocated workers in 26 counties
A pilot program to help dislocated workers stave off home foreclosure after losing their jobs has been expanded to cover an additional 18 rural counties. The Rural Center called upon lawmakers earlier this year to expand the N.C. Home Protection Pilot Program and Loan Fund as part of its Dislocated Worker Action Agenda – a 10-step plan to help thousands of laid-off workers in North Carolina get back on their feet in the wake of widespread industry closings and downsizings. The program originally covered Cabarrus, Cleveland, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Guilford, Rowan and Rutherford counties. The program’s expansion now covers Anson, Bertie, Bladen, Caldwell, Caswell, Halifax, Mitchell, Montgomery, Northampton, Richmond, Robeson, Scotland, Tyrrell, Vance, Wilson, Warren, Washington, and Yancey counties. According to the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, which operates the program, homeowners who have lost jobs due to economic restructuring are eligible for up to $20,000 in loans to help them make mortgage payments. To qualify, homeowners must show an ability to resume making their mortgage payments after the assistance ends and a stable employment and credit history prior to losing their jobs. To find out more, contact the Housing Finance Agency at (919) 877-5606.

Reports and Research

Center releases North Carolina Small Towns Fact Book
In conjunction with the announcement of its Small Towns Initiative, the Rural Center has released a publication that documents small towns in North Carolina – the history of their development; an overview of key trends and issues; a summary of small town concerns expressed as part of 21 focus groups; and a set of data tables that include economic and social indicators for all municipalities in the state. Based on two years of center research, the North Carolina Small Towns Fact Book documents vital information on the rural places that are home to nearly 920,000 North Carolinians. Among the report’s findings: North Carolina has 478 towns with fewer than 10,000 residents and 437 with fewer than 5,000; the assessed value of property in small towns is more than $83 billion; 28 percent of the state’s small towns lost population between 1990 and 2000; and the smallest towns have the highest poverty rates. To download a PDF version of the Small Towns Fact Book, click here. A printed copy may be purchased for $10 by contacting Cynthia Spencer at (919) 250-4314, or by e-mail at cspencer@ncruralcenter.org.

Center releases Small Towns Resource Directory to provide small town leaders with vital information
In developing its Small Towns Initiative, the Rural Center conducted research to identify resources that would provide small town leaders with vital information on community and economic development issues, technical assistance and financial support. The result of that research is the recently released Small Towns Resource Directory. Designed to help small town leaders find the help they need on a wide range of issues, the directory includes information on governance and management, leadership development, planning, design, downtown revitalization, housing, historic preservation, building reuse, brownfields redevelopment, infrastructure, transportation, environment and land use, water resources, tourism, and other topics. The directory will be available online in February 2006 through the center’s website. A printed copy may be purchased for $20 by contacting Cynthia Spencer at the center, (919) 250-4314, or by e-mail at cspencer@ncruralcenter.org.

top of page

Meetings and Events

Center to host series of regional workshops in December with focus on small town economic development
The Rural Center, in partnership with the UNC School of Government, will conduct five regional, one-day training and grant workshops in December for small town officials and community leaders. These workshops will provide practical information on readiness, visioning and planning, and community leadership for small town economic development. The workshops will overview the guidelines and application procedures for the Building Reuse and Restoration Grants Program and the North Carolina Small Towns Economic Prosperity Demonstration Program (NC STEP). The grant programs are part of the Small Towns Initiative launched by the center this fall. Small towns interested in the NC STEP Demonstration should bring a local official and a community representative to the workshops. The workshops will be held Dec. 5 at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock; Dec. 7 at the Rural Center in Raleigh; Dec. 13 at Southeastern Community College in Whiteville; Dec. 14 at Martin Community College in Williamston; and Dec. 16 at Mitchell Community College in Statesville. To register, visit the center’s website.

Energizing Entrepreneurship in Eastern North Carolina conference to be held Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in Kill Devil Hills
The Rural Center’s Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship will lead a team of business service providers in adapting a national curriculum on stimulating rural entrepreneurship for eastern North Carolina communities during a three-day conference in Kill Devil Hills. “Energizing Entrepreneurship in Eastern North Carolina,” which will be held Nov. 30-Dec. 2 at the Ramada Plaza, is part of a two-year initiative by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to build an effective entrepreneurship development system in the state. Eastern communities will recruit a diverse team of four-to-five people who will work together to learn about comprehensive entrepreneurship development strategies and then take that knowledge home and help put it into action. The fee to register is $275 and includes meals and course materials. To book a room at the Ramada, call (800) 635-1824 and request the Rural EDS Partners room block by Nov. 18. To find out more or to register for the conference, contact Michelle Hall at the Rural Center, (919) 250-4314, or by email at mhall@ncruralcenter.org.

SEBIO investor conference to be held Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in Charleston, S.C.
The seventh annual SEBIO Investor Forum – the Southeast region’s premiere life sciences venture capital conference – will be held Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in Charleston, S.C. The conference connects emerging life science companies with potential investors in a forum that provides important networking opportunities. Of the 30 emerging companies that will be featured this year, 12 are from North Carolina, which is ranked third in the nation for biotechnology. Led by North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, the Southeast ranks third in concentration of life science companies among U.S. regions, with 32 public companies and 188 private biotech companies. Since its inception in 1999, SEBIO participants have raised more than $1.2 billion in venture capital funding. More than 400 attendees are expected at this year’s event, which will be held in historic Charleston at Charleston Place. To find out more or to register, visit SEBIO’s website at www.sebio.org.

Nov. 23 is nomination deadline for Southern Growth’s Innovator Awards
Southern Growth is seeking nominations for the 2006 Innovator Awards. Each year, Southern Growth honors innovative Southern initiatives that are improving the quality of life in the region. The 2006 Innovator Awards will be chosen in the context of the Southern Innovation Initiative - a year-long series of events that focuses on the importance of Innovation to the South's economy. One award winner will be chosen from each of Southern Growth's member states. Each nominated initiative must use technology as an integral component to accomplish goals, must be truly unique – something more than a new product, process or service, in other words – and be measurable in terms of proven success. The 2006 award winners will be recognized at the Southern Innovation Summit on June 4-6th in New Orleans. For a complete list of award criteria and to nominate a program online, visit the website.

top of page

At the Rural Center

Grants enable a second phase of center’s successful dislocated worker program, Project New Start
The N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission has awarded the Rural Center’s Project New Start $300,000 for a second phase of the jobs assistance program for dislocated workers. The commission’s funding, along with $25,000 from health insurer Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina, will enable the project to expand service to dislocated manufacturing workers with an emphasis on tobacco workers in Wilson County, which has been hit especially hard by layoffs in the tobacco industry. Other funding is being sought to expand services to additional counties, as well as to textile, apparel, furniture, and other manufacturing workers affected by the state’s ongoing economic restructuring. Project New Start uses a community-based approach to help workers that have been hard hit by layoffs map out an employment transition plan, search for a new job and receive basic education and job training skills. During Phase I, the program served more than 600 dislocated tobacco workers in Vance, Wilson, Transylvania and Buncombe counties, helping secure new jobs for 243 workers. Roughly half of the funding from the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission will be used to conduct research that will benefit workforce development efforts throughout the state, with an emphasis on tobacco dependent counties, while the other half will support the Opportunities Industrialization Commission of Wilson’s successful dislocated worker program. To find out more about Project New Start, contact project director Anne Scharff Bacon at (919) 250-4314.

Funding Sources

Dec. 15 is deadline to apply for water and sewer infrastructure funding through center’s Supplemental Grants Program
The Rural Center is now accepting applications for water and wastewater infrastructure projects through its Supplemental Grants Program. The center will award qualifying projects up to $100,000 to match funds already dedicated to a water or sewer project. Only rural counties are eligible, and priority is given to the most economically distressed counties as defined by the N.C. Department of Commerce. Projects in non-distressed (Tier 4 and 5) counties are eligible if located in areas of high poverty and unemployment, but must provide a dollar-for-dollar match to the center’s grant. Qualifying projects will remedy a critical public health, environmental or economic development need in the community. For funding guidelines or to download an application, visit the center’s website. For questions, contact the center’s water and sewer division at (919) 250-4314.

From the N.C. Press

Mainichi Daily News: Dolly Parton lends support to brother's theater in eastern North Carolina
Dolly Parton stepped to a microphone to cheers from an audience of thousands who came for the groundbreaking of a theater being developed by her brother in eastern North Carolina. Along with her brother, Randy, sister, Stella, and a few members of the Grand Ole Opry, they sang a few country songs and the gospel tune, "I Saw the Light," on Friday. For much of the time before that, they were making a sales pitch for the planned 300-hectare Carolina Crossroads Music and Entertainment District in the poor, rural northeastern corner of the state. "I wouldn't have missed this for anything in the world," Dolly Parton told crowd -- estimated by police at more than 10,000 -- that gathered in an open field where the theater will be built. "You're definitely going to be in for some great entertainment." The Randy Parton Theater is the cornerstone of a district that seeks to rival Branson, Missouri, and Gatlinburg, Tennessee, as a hub of country, pop, beach and gospel music. The development could also help reinvigorate an area that has suffered economically in recent years as the state's textile and tobacco fortunes continue to tumble. The $129 million project could create more than 12,000 jobs over the next five years, according to a University of North Carolina study. The first phase of the project, which includes Randy Parton's 1,500-seat theater, is to open in April 2007. That phase could create more than 2,595 jobs, officials said.

top of page

Copyright by N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, Inc. 2002. We encourage you to share this UPDATE with interested individuals, organizations, or agencies. Material may be reproduced in electronic or print form. We ask that you please cite the Rural Center as the source.

Your subscription to this electronic newsletter is for Rural Center use only. We will not distribute or share your email identification with others. To be removed from this mailing list, please send an email to ruralpartners@ncruralcenter.org with unsubscribe in the subject line.

The mission of the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center is to develop, promote, and implement sound economic strategies that improve the quality of life of rural North Carolinians, with a special focus on individuals with low to moderate incomes and communities with limited resources.

N.C. Rural Economic Development Center
Michelle Taylor, UPDATE editor
Kelly Tucker Griffin, UPDATE production manager
Elaine Matthews, vice president for communications and development
4021 Carya Drive, Raleigh, NC 27610
(919) 250-4314 Fax: (919) 250-4325
www.ncruralcenter.org