Rural Community and Economic Development Case Study Review
     Prepared for the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation

In 2003, the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development was contacted by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation to conduct a review of community and economic development (CED) in rural communities. Together with the NCRCRD, the Benedum Foundation wanted to look at rural communities both domestically and abroad to see how external financial investments impact community and economic development (CED). The
purpose was to learn how the Foundation could make better use of limited funds to elicit positive outcomes for rural communities in West Virginia.

Since rural communities in general have different kinds of assets—not all of which are financial—the Benedum Foundation and NCRCRD agreed the study should focus on ways these rural communities can use external financial investments to build social, cultural, human, political, economic and environmental assets to improve their overall well-being. Ultimately, the Benedum Foundation wanted to know how financial investments in rural communities could be maximized to bring about the greatest outcomes. Thus, all of the communities reviewed in this study used external funding to engage in successful CED.

• Rural Community and Economic Development Case Study Review: A Summary Report. Prepared by Cornelia B. Flora, Corry Bregendahl, Susan Fey, Lily Chen and Jennifer Friel. July 2004. PDF format (164 kb)
• Rural Community Economic Development Case Study Review. Prepared by Cornelia B. Flora, Susan Fey, Corry Bregendahl and Jennifer Friel. PDF format (1,081 kb)

North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
Iowa State University
107 Curtiss Hall
Ames, IA 50011-1050
(515) 294-8321, (515) 294-3180 fax

For questions, comments or concerns about the NCRCRD website, contact khetland@iastate.edu.

Last updated June 6, 2005