Automation, shifting demographics, COVID-19 and increased tele-work opportunities are reshaping the workforce landscape amid shifting industry needs. Counties, through local and regional partnerships and workforce development boards, are working...

Through data analysis supported by stakeholder interviews and case studies, this research from the National League of Cities identifies factors that support local engagement in regional economies, how these factors vary for urban and rural places,...

During this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series, experts explain how rural communities can embrace the challenges of financing high-speed internet for the economic and societal gains provided by broadband.

This guide was created by the USDA in 2021 for community leaders and other local entities. The guide highlights four key assistance types necessary to building a stronger rural workforce: 1) Workforce development planning; 2) Infrastructure and...

Recognizing the urgency of the pandemic and related crises, on June 7, 2021, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York approached the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance to write a report about the current landscape of capital sources for community investment...

The USDA Rural Development published a final rule outlining changes to the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) on June 7, 2021. The program provides loans and grants to microenterprise development organizations to help them establish...

During this installment of the CDFA Rural Development Finance Webinar Series, learn about essential financing sources employed by rural communities to complete projects in today’s economy.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the City of Adelanto, California. It was produced through collaboration between the City, San Bernardino County, and Local Equity LLC.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the Town of Apple Valley, California. It was produced through collaboration between the Town, San Bernardino County, and Local Equity LLC.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the City of Barstow, California. It was produced through collaboration between the City, San Bernardino County, and Local Equity LLC.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the City of Colton, California. It was produced through collaboration between the City, San Bernardino County, and Local Equity LLC.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the City of Fontana, California. It was produced through collaboration between the City, San Bernardino County, and Local Equity LLC.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the City of Grand Terrace, California. It was produced through collaboration between the City, San Bernardino County, and Local Equity LLC.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the City of Hesperia, California. It was produced through collaboration between the City, San Bernardino County, and Local Equity LLC.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the City of Highland, California. It was produced through collaboration between the City, San Bernardino County, and Local Equity LLC.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the City of Loma Linda, California. It was produced through collaboration between the City, San Bernardino County, and Local Equity LLC.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the City of Needles, California. It was produced through collaboration between the City, San Bernardino County, and Local Equity LLC.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the County of San Bernardino, California. It was produced through collaboration between San Bernardino County and Local Equity LLC.

This is an Opportunity Zone Prospectus for the City of Yucaipa, California. It was produced through collaboration between the City, San Bernardino County, and Local Equity LLC.

The Resilience in New Mexico Agriculture Strategic Plan provides broad recommendations are coupled with specific, actionable strategies. The implementation of this plan is critical to achieving greater agricultural and natural resource resiliency,...

After the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, it guaranteed direct relief to all 19,000 cities, towns, and villages in the United States. NLC has identified frequently asked questions about the...

Federal economic adjustment assistance (EAA) programs were established, in part, to help workers adjust to these economic disruptions. Experts in the GAO's roundtable identified a range of challenges to using EAA programs to effectively respond to...

This report from Drexel University's Nowak Metro Finance Lab provides a guide to federal funding in the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The authors place a special emphasis on formula funds received by local anchors, competitive grants, and funds...

This table includes all the federal-to-local funding streams in the American Rescue Plan that reach cities and their residents. It does not include appropriations to Tribal Governments or Agency appropriations focused on program operations at the...

During the first installment of the CDFA Rural Development Finance Webinar Series, hear about a new technical assistance program from CDFA designed to support rural communities that have recently experienced a natural disaster. Experts discussed the...

The Plan estimates that additional public and philanthropic investment is needed over the next ten years: approximately $9.7 million in one-time funding and $23.3 million in recurring funding. This level of funding will ensure sufficient land access...

As part of the American Rescue Plan's $362 billion in federal fiscal recovery aid for state and local governments, $65.1 billion is provided in direct aid to counties and an additional $1.5 billion for public land counties. This analysis by the...

The federal programs and tools available today to help generate social and economic development in rural communities serve as a reminder of active and broad federal involvement in the 20th century, and the possibilities for federal leadership to...

The Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program, administered by the National Park Service in partnership with the State Historic Preservation Offices, is the nation’s most effective program to promote historic preservation and community...

The 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure reveals we’ve made some incremental progress toward restoring our nation’s infrastructure. For the first time in 20 years, our infrastructure is out of the D range. While this report grades 17...

The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority authored this affordable housing needs assessment in 2020. Housing markets in New Mexico vary widely between larger metro areas, many of which are growing and stable, and rural areas with declining...

This resource guide from the Build America Bureau covers the objectives and provides an overview of how the TIFIA and RRIF credit programs operate. This includes details about the required terms for individual credit instruments, how these...

This report by Chamberlin/Dunn offers an evaluation of two consecutive years (FY19-FY20) of the Appalachian Regional Commission's POWER Initiative. The report aims to understand successes, challenges, and lessons learned through implementation, and...

This evaluation was designed to help ARC and its stakeholders learn from the POWER Program's implementation successes and challenges; identify technical assistance needs; and report on the qualitative impact of investments made, to date, with POWER...

This guide, authored by CDFA and Skeo, provides an overview of various development finance tools and suggestions for how communities could use these tools to finance projects in Opportunity Zones. Each section includes additional resources to learn...

Public-Private Partnerships, or P3s, have been used across the country to finance broadband. As part of our collaboration with Ice Miller LLP, this video will cover best practices of the P3 model and provide case studies that explore the various...

COVID-19 has highlighted the need for broadband and the gaps in broadband access. As part of our collaboration with Ice Miller, this video is designed to provide a review of the various approaches to expanding broadband access and how to assess...

CDFA's first publication of the CDFA Charter Schools Financing Initiative series, funded with support from the National Alliance For Public Charter Schools. This paper demonstrates how charter schools can access development finance tools and public...

This is the sixth and final white paper in a series examining the potential creation of a food systems asset class that supports the market growth of local and regional food systems. This paper presents three replicable strategies for restoring...

More than 30 USDA grant and loan programs provide support and assistance for local and urban food producers and producer groups. These grant and loan programs may be grouped into several broad program categories, including marketing and promotion;...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is committed to supporting robust regional food economies across the food chain. This graphic is designed to be a guide for which programs are best suited for different parts of the supply chain.

There are several existing agricultural lender initiatives that can inform the development of lending programs or products for resilient agriculture. This report derives five key lessons from these initiatives, including the need to understand the...

USDA’s Forest Service (FS), Rural Development (RD), and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) have developed this resource guide for rural communities to identify resources that develop the recreation economy.

The Roadmap to Redevelopment Report was developed through a 2-day process that included interviews with numerous stakeholders from the government, agriculture, business, and non-profit sectors. The plan provides a framework for the financing of the...

During the fourth installment of the CDFA-ARI Rural Finance Webinar Series, we discussed resources for community facilities and other accessible capital for rural community development.

During the fourth installment of the CDFA-ARI Rural Finance Webinar Series, we discussed resources for community facilities and other accessible capital for rural community development.

On February 13, 2019, the American Broadband Initiative was launched with the release of the Milestones Report, detailing the Administration’s strategy to drive changes across Federal Agencies to identify and remove barriers to broadband access and...

During the third installment of the CDFA-ARI Rural Finance Webinar Series, we discussed the development finance tools that can support rural economies as they rebuild to be stronger than ever.

During this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series, we explored financing programs that support healthcare development and showcase successful projects that have increased access to healthcare for rural communities.

During the second installment of the CDFA-ARI Rural Finance Webinar Series, we continued to explore what responses and resources are available to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on rural America.