By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture
LITTLE ROCK — An upcoming conference, co-hosted by the Cooperative Extension Service, will offer participants the chance to learn how to access state, federal and private funding resources for rural development projects.
FIND THE SOURCE — "Investing in Rural Prosperity: A Forum on Blending and Braiding Federal and Private Funds" is a project of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Arkansas Community and Economic Development Alliance. The event is free to the public and can be attended in-person or virtually. (Division of Agriculture graphic.)
"Investing in Rural Prosperity: A Forum on Blending and Braiding Federal and Private Funds" is a project of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Arkansas Community and Economic Development Alliance. The event is free to the public and can be attended in-person or virtually. The in-person event will take place at the Cooperative Extension Service’s state headquarters, located at 2301 S. University Ave., Little Rock.
The Cooperative Extension Service is the outreach and education arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Brandon L. Mathews, economic development program associate for the Division of Agriculture, said attendees can expect to hear directly from representatives of several state and federal agencies involved in rural development programs.
“We’ll also get to hear from several communities across Arkansas that are leveraging these resources and others to really promote economic development in their communities,” Mathews said. “We’re really focusing on non-metropolitan areas of the state — not just Little Rock or Northwest Arkansas.”
The deadline for registration is Oct. 10, and registration is available online. Individuals who plan to attend virtually must also email communitydevelopment@stls.frb.org in order to obtain the Zoom link.
The conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at 1 p.m. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis will provide lunch for attendees. A complete event agenda is available online.
Mathews said the conference is intended for rural chambers of commerce, economic developers and other community-based organizations and individuals.
“But really, any kind of economic workforce practitioners or leaders,” he said. “Anyone who’s really trying to do that work in their community. This is taking a hard-to-reach group of assets and services and trying to bring them to a broader audience across the state.”
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’s participation in this cosponsored activity does not constitute or imply an endorsement, recommendation, or approval by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis of the views, opinions, products or services of any cosponsor or other person or entity.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.