Join Us - RuralRISE

Stay in Touch

Join Us on Social Media

Join a Working Group

In May 2018, over 175 people convened in rural Appalachia to look at how entrepreneurship functions in rural communities. As a part of that event, the following working groups surfaced to help drive initiatives for rural communities.

The all-volunteer working groups are designed to work towards the development of initiatives and programs to help support rural communities across the US.

The following two groups are still active:

RuralRISE Summit Planning Working Group

This group will focus on developing the upcoming RuralRISE summit. Activities will include but are not limited to:

Identify programming that can add value to the RuralRISE summit.
Determine speakers that can provide unique insights.
Determine activities and ways to increase attendees’ participation and engagement.
Volunteer at the event in various roles.
Identify potential sponsorships and funders to support RuralRISE.

For more information, please contact connect@ruralrise.org

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Working Group

Rural communities are more diverse than outside narratives would lead you to believe. This group works on various projects throughout the year, including DEI programming for all RuralRISE events.

This group aims to bring together and highlight the unique contributions of diverse communities in rural locations and the significant role they play in the development of entrepreneurial opportunities. Activities will include but are not limited to:

Identify specific successful rural DEI programs to use as models.
Distinguish ways, methods, and means to bring about more inclusive activities and programs to help drive entrepreneurial activities in historically under-served communities.
Highlight the regional and local flavors of unique and diverse rural communities.
Amplify the stories of diverse and under-represented entrepreneurs and ecosystems.

For more information, please contact dei@ruralrise.org

The following working groups are no longer active, but were identified as priorities for RuralRISE during the inaugural Summit in 2018. If you are interested in starting up one of the following groups again, please contact Tina Metzer at connect@ruralrise.org.

Education Working Group

Education in rural communities is often one of the largest drivers of employment. In addition, as an institution, educational systems can be some of the largest “mindset” change agents, empowering youth to engage in entrepreneurial programs, events, and learning. This group will focus on the unique role that grades kindergarten through 12 can play in helping drive entrepreneurship in rural communities. Activities will include but are not limited to:

How to drive entrepreneurial mindset within the K-12 programs.
How greater alignment can be driven through increased collaboration with local colleges and universities.
Identification of successful programs that can be replicated.
Overview of all programs being offered for entrepreneurship in education.
Stories of programs making an impact.

Funding Working Group

The funding working group will explore ways to increase funding for rural entrepreneurship. Among other things, this group will explore options with philanthropy, public grants, angel investors, foundations, traditional loans, business loan programs, etc. Activities will include but are not limited to:

Coordinate efforts for funding initiatives.
Inventory funding programs and opportunities.
Identifying sustainable funding sources.
Recommending programs and models that work for funders to consider.
Assist with ending the grant-to-grant cycle of survival.
Identify new and innovative ways to fund models.
Identify new funding issues, methods, and models for success.

Public Policy

This group will help drive greater connections to public policy-makers with rural challenges and opportunities. Activities will include but are not limited to:

Making connections for agencies to work together.
Identifying public policy initiatives that can help drive rural entrepreneurship development.
Establish clear connections between national, state, and local agencies.
Make recommendations for opportunities for new programs that can help spur rural entrepreneurship.

Stay in Touch

Subscribe to our mailing list