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Rural Development

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Creating Community in the 

21st Century

USDA Rural Development's Office of Community

Development (OCD) administers the Rural

Community Development program. This effort promotes self-sustaining, long-term economic and community development in areas of pervasive poverty,

unemployment, and general distress. The program

works by helping distressed communities develop and

implement innovative, comprehensive strategic plans,

which are supported by partnerships among private,

public, and nonprofit entities. This assistance is available through USDA Rural Development field offices to

rural communities throughout the United States. This

help includes technical assistance and support in

obtaining additional financial resources and assistance in forging local and regional partnerships.

USDA's Office of Community Development administers three

rural community empowerment efforts: Empowerment

Zones/Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC), Champion

Communities (CC) and the Rural Economic Area Partnership

(REAP) Zones. OCD also administers the Rural Community

Advancement Program (RCAP) and other supported communities.

Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities

The Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC)

Program provides economically depressed rural areas and communities with real opportunities for growth and revitalization. Its

mission is to help create long-term economic and community

development and assist communities in empowering themselves

to improve local conditions and become self-sustaining.

EZ/EC efforts begin at a grassroots level, where communities, in

cooperation with state and local governments, work together to

write strategic plans to address the economic and social problems

they face. The strategic plan also identifies partnerships and ways

to combine private and public resources to implement their plans.

The EZ/EC program works by focusing community efforts on

achieving four basic principles:

1. Economic opportunity;

2. Sustainable community development;

3. Community-based partnerships; and

4. A strategic vision for change.

Key features of the EZ/EC program include:

Rural EZs receive substantial flexible grant dollars to help

implement their strategic plans. Rural ECs receive somewhat

less for the same purpose.

Rural EZs are eligible for tax credits, such as the Work

Opportunity Tax Credit and Section 179 tax deductions, as

well as tax-free facility bonds.

Both rural EZs and ECs receive primary consideration for

many other Federal and State programs.

In 1994, the Round I EZ/EC designations named three rural

Empowerment Zones and 30 Enterprise Communities. In 1998,

five Round II rural Empowerment Zones and 20 Enterprise

Communities were designated. A third round of two additional

rural EZs will be named in December 2001. 

Champion Communities

In 1999, USDA formalized the Champion Communities (CC)

program by inviting all communities that submitted strategic

plans for Round I and II EZ/EC designations to continue implementing their plans through a partnership agreement with USDA. 

Key features of the CC program include:

USDA Rural Development has funded more than $431 million

in development projects in Champion Communities from

1995 to 2000. 

USDA and other Federal agencies have targeted funds and

other assistance to Champion Communities.

USDA sponsors conferences to train Champion Community

leaders and promote idea-sharing and networking among communities.

Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP)

Zones

While poverty-related issues are the main challenge for some

rural communities, many others face economic and community

development issues of a very different character. Often, these

challenges are due to geographic isolation, low population density, over-dependence on agriculture, population loss, out-migration, and economic distress. To address these issues, USDA advocated a pilot concept for rural revitalization and community

development called Rural Economic Area Partnership Zones. 

Two zones in North Dakota were designated in 1995 to be the

first participants in the REAP initiative. In 1999, two areas in

upstate New York were added, and in 2000 an area in Vermont

was designated as the fifth zone. The North Dakota zones and the

Office of Community

Development
Vermont zone cover multi-county areas, while the two in New

York are basically single counties. 

Each REAP Zone developed a strategic plan for economic revitalization. Through grassroots efforts in strategic planning and

community action, millions of dollars in State, Federal, private,

and nonprofit assistance are being brought to these areas.

Key features of the REAP Zone program include:

REAP Zones follow strategic planning and benchmarking procedures similar to EZ/EC and Champion Communities.

USDA provides REAP Zones with technical assistance and

resources to develop and implement their strategic plans.

With assistance from USDA Rural Development, REAP Zones

have obtained over $110 million in funds from Federal, State, and

local governments; the private sector; and nonprofit organizations.

Rural Community Advancement Program

(RCAP)

The 1996 Farm Bill established the Rural Community

Advancement Program (RCAP). RCAP features strategic planning assistance, grants, loans, loan guarantees, and other assistance to meet the development needs of rural communities.

Special emphasis is placed on the smallest communities with the

lowest per capita income.

Key features of the RCAP Program include:

USDA provides technical assistance to RCAPs in the development and implementation of their strategic plans.

RCAPS can be assigned a higher priority in project applications for USDA Rural Development financial assistance.

USDA Rural Development sponsors conferences to train community leaders and promote networking among communities.

National Rural Development Partnership

The National Rural Development Partnership builds collaborations among key rural institutions, enabling them to work more

effectively and efficiently. The Partnership brings together partners from local, State, Tribal, and Federal governments, and from

the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, through State Rural

Development Councils. Councils are operating in 40 States.

Rural Community Empowerment Program

Operations: They All Start Locally

The Office of Community Development's goal is to create

empowered communities -- no longer beset by hopelessness, pervasive poverty, unemployment, and general distress. These communities should be able to implement self-generated strategic

plans that solve some of their most difficult economic and social

challenges. OCD promotes Federal, State, and local agencies, private sector, and not-for-profit organizations working cooperatively and in partnership with communities. 

We're Here to Help

For more information, please call USDA Rural Development's

Office of Community Development, at 202-619-7980 or 1-800-

645-4712.

Email: ocd@ocdx.usda.gov

Further information can also be obtained at the following Web

sites: 

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ocd

http://www.ezec.gov

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/nrdp

Or write:

USDA Rural Development

Office of Community Development

Reporters Bldg., Room 266

300 7th St., SW

Washington, DC 20024

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color,

national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited

bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who

require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact

USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director,

Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and

Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or

call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

PA 1699

Revised April 2001

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