Transcript TCF in North Carolina: Resourceful Communities

Big Ideas for Small Town
Economic Development:
Building on Your Assets
Mikki Sager
The Conservation Fund
P.O. Box 271 Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919-967-2223 x 126
[email protected]
www.resourcefulcommunities.org
Presentation Overview
• The Conservation Fund & Resourceful
Communities Program
– Who We Are & How We Work
• Asset-Based Approaches to Economic
Development
• Projects and Results
• Lessons Learned
The Conservation Fund
• National non-profit land and water
conservation organization
• Established 1985
• Dual Charter: Environmental Protection &
Economic Development
• Two major program areas:
– Land Protection: land acquisition &
conservation easements, with a special focus
on working lands
– Sustainable Programs: research, loan fund,
community forestry, leadership training,
Resourceful Communities Program, etc.
Resourceful Communities
Program
• Where We Work: Primarily in NC, in rural
socially and economically distressed
communities (map)
• Support a network of over 250 grassroots
organizations and 150 resource groups
• Employ non-traditional, asset-based
approaches
• Address issues of poverty, racism, etc. to
genuinely impact economic improvement
and sustainable environmental change
• Emphasize the “Triple Bottom Line”:
sustainable economic development, social
equity and environmental stewardship
Where We Work:
Connection Between Economics & Environment
NC 2009 County Wage Standards and Natural Resources
Poverty & the Environment:
Root Causes of Environmental Degradation
“Conventional
Wisdom”: Attributes
environmental
degradation to
landfills, hog farms,
chemical plants, land
conversion, etc.
“Rural Reality”:
social and economic
stresses are the root
causes of community
decisions that lead to
landfills, etc.
• Poverty
• Racism, class-ism,
sexism & other
“isms”
• Power imbalances
• Disenfranchised
communities
• Low educational
attainment
• Lack of diverse
leadership
• Incompatible land
uses
A Partner-Driven Approach
Primary Program Areas
1. Capacity Building
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Direct Technical Assistance
Regional Workshops
Peer Learning Visits
Creating New Economies Fund
(CNEF) Grant Program
2. Movement Building
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Building & Connecting Partner
Network
E-mail Updates and Related
Communications
GrassRoots Convenings (GRCs)
3. Policy & Advocacy
Support local and statewide
approaches to environmental
protection and economic
development
4. Innovation & Demonstration
Support grassroots partners to
become leaders in developing triple
bottom line projects, including:
 Community Forestry
 Conservation-Based Affordable
Housing
Tool: Capacity Building
CNEF Grant Program
• Small grants of up to $15,000
• Focus on triple bottom line projects
• Technical assistance to build community
capacity
– Grant writing TA session
– Ongoing support
First CNEF
Grantees in 2001
CNEF Results….since 2001
• 188 grants totaling just
under $1.6 million
• $9.1 million leveraged
• Average grant size
$8,000 to $10,000
Asset-Based Approaches to
Economic Development
• Build on community assets to develop
sustainable development initiatives instead of
focusing on deficiencies
• Benefits:
– Built on natural / cultural / historic / human assets
that are specific to a community or region
– Leverages the best of economic development and
environmental strategies and resources
– Often entrepreneurial in nature
– Create jobs that are unlikely to be “outsourced”
– Jobs and small businesses are tied to protection
of resources
Tool: Asset Mapping
• Prepare a map of your
community to be
inventoried
• Identify one or more
leaders who will help
organize an asset
mapping meeting
• Engage leaders and
community members
• Get community members
to identify sites,
businesses, events, people,
stories, etc.
• Focus on natural, cultural,
historic, agricultural and
people assets
Asset Mapping: Sandhills Family
Heritage Association
• SFHA established to
– Preserve culture
– Protect landownership
– Promote sustainable
economic development
• History of land loss
• Countless African-American contributions to
land and forest stewardship
• Long history of oppression
• Community belief that they had no assets
Asset mapping revealed…
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Old Spring Lake Civic Center
History of Land Stewardship
Rich African American History
Legacy of Entrepreneurship
Farm and Garden Heritage
SFHA Building on Assets Results:
• Heritage Tourism
• Farmers Market
• Landowner Stewardship
Workshops
• Gleaning Project
• Sankofa Festival
• Documenting Oral
History & Traditions
• Recognition
Tool: Asset Mapping
Roanoke River Partners
• Unique and rich natural
resources
– Largest intact bottomland
hardwood swamp forest
east of the Mississippi
– Home to black bear, river
otter, deer, bobcat, beaver
and mink.
– Over 200 bird species
• Conversely, high economic
& social distress
Median Household Income
Poverty Rate
% Black
Black Poverty Rate
Roanoke Region North Carolina
$27,438
$39,184
21%
12%
53%
22%
30%
23%
Roanoke River
Partners – Results!
• Paddle/ camping trail along
the river and its creeks to
increase awareness of the
Roanoke and build
infrastructure for small
businesses
– Extensive paddle trail
– 14+ platforms
– Partnerships with private
(individual, corporate and
nonprofit) landowners
– Catalyst for small
businesses (kayak rentals,
B&Bs, restaurants, etc.)
Roanoke River
Partners (cont.)
• Rosenwald School
– Visitor &
education center,
cultural heritage
community “hub”
• Roanoke River
Mayors Association
– small towns are
now connecting
along the river
Hoke
Community
Forest
The First Community-Owned
and -Managed Forest in the
Southeastern US
Challenges currently facing Hoke County:
. Population Growth
. High Poverty Levels
. Economic Distress
. Proximity to Fort Bragg
. Loss of Tax Revenue
17.7% of residents live in poverty
Severe economic distress from agricultural
downturns and manufacturing job losses
3rd highest growth rate in the state, 2nd
highest projected growth rate
The Conservation Fund Collaboration:
Hoke
Community
Forest
Partners
Fort Bragg / US Department of
Defense
Hoke County / Parks &
Recreation Department / RaefordHoke Economic Development
Commission
Town of Raeford
Blue Springs-Hoke County
Community Development
Corporation
NC Rural Economic Development
Center
NC Community Development
Initiative
NC Association of Community
Development Corporations
Sandhills Area Land Trust
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Benefits of
Hoke Community Forest
• Recreation: first public
horseback riding trails in the
county
• Economic development:
converting loblolly pine stands
to longleaf will enable pine
straw raking / job creation and
generate 10 times as much as
property taxes
• Alternative energy production:
potential from adjoining 160acre closed county landfill
Funding Sources:
• Clean Water Management Trust
Fund to acquire riparian
(stream) buffer along Rockfish
and Nicholson Creeks
• Parks & Recreation Trust Fund
to acquire proportion of
remaining real property
interests
• US Army providing first
acquisition funds ever for
community forest
• NC DENR providing
transaction costs
• TCF providing in-kind support
to develop forest management
plan, establish local
management entity
Albemarle-Pamlico Conservation
& Communities Collaborative
• Partnership of conservation groups and
agencies and communities in the 36county Albemarle-Pamlico estuary region
• Challenge: A-P region predicted to be
third most severely impacted in the US by
sea level rise
• Purpose:
– Leverage resources and tools of
conservation and economic development
– “make lemonade”
Regional Green
Economy
Initiative
• Planning / outreach
effort led by Elizabeth
City State University;
initial funding from NC
Rural Center
• Project Goals:
– Encourage job creation
and business
development that will
reduce carbon footprint
– Create jobs and small
businesses that support
ecological and
community adaptation
to sea level rise
Lessons Learned
• Inclusivity and community leadership are key
• Requires patience, flexibility and excellent listening
skills
• A triple bottom line vision is essential
• Adapt tools and strategies to meet the needs of each
community
• Facilitate access to resources, power and decisionmaking
• Change takes time and long-term investments of
resources
• Focus on social, economic and environmental
improvement
• Need strategies that are specific to each community’s
needs