Community Strategies Group

Turn on the radio or TV. Open a newspaper or website. COVID-19 is front and center. What’s harder to grasp is the health and economic effects of our shared crisis on rural regions and tribal nations across the United States.

Thrive Rural will work closely with community and economic development, health and civic engagement experts across the nation to create a shared vision and understanding about what it will take to create dynamic, sustainable rural communities where all people can realize their full potential and live healthy lives.

Nearly 200 CEOs of world-leading corporations have now signed on to the notion that their reason for being includes not just shareholders, but how well their employees, host communities, the environment and supply chains benefit.

This executive summary explains why Rural Development Hubs are important, how they work, and what it takes to do that work. It also discusses policy levers and enabling environments that can strengthen Rural Development Hubs, and that foster community and economic development that advances both equity and prosperity.

This case study sets forth both the spellbinding story and the guiding principles which have undergirded Tupelo’s journey of transformation.