The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF) Board of Directors voted in September to provide a $105,000 grant to the UCA Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED) to support its efforts to engage public sector leaders of small municipalities in targeted community and economic development training.
“There is very little training available for rural municipal government officials,” said CCED Director Kelly Lyon. “This reality means that these municipalities are often left out on potential development opportunities offered through the county, state or federal government.”
With WRF’s support, CCED will expand its outreach and engagement efforts to small municipalities by developing and providing training and technical assistance focused on scaled development efforts for cities in Arkansas with populations under 5,000.
CCED is one of the state’s leading providers of training for community development professionals. CCED focuses on identifying community assets, setting goals, encouraging collaborations and partnerships with stakeholders, and bringing together groups of people to respond to a broad range of economic and quality of life issues.
“Engaging small city leaders in community and economic development training provides tremendous opportunities for our state’s most neglected communities,” said Dr. Sherece Y. West, President and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. “Through CCED, trained leaders will have the skills to reduce poverty and increase economic opportunity in the communities where they live.”
For over 35 years, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation has worked to make a difference by helping to build and sustain the organizations that serve and strengthen Arkansas. Through grantmaking and strategic partnerships, we are working even harder to help close the economic and educational gaps that leave too many Arkansas families in persistent poverty. The needle can and must move from poverty to prosperity for all Arkansans. For more information on the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, go to www.wrfoundation.org.
