Funding supports training, technical assistance for communities, leaders in Northwest Arkansas
The University of Central Arkansas Center for Community and Economic Development has received a three-year grant for $525,361 from the Walton Family Foundation to support the creation of a second Community Development Pipeline (CD Pipeline) Program cohort.
This grant award extends the relationship between the Walton Family Foundation and UCA. A previous grant was awarded in 2023 to create the CD Pipeline Program. The program, which concluded in October 2025, supported communities in Benton and Washington counties through training and technical assistance.
“At UCA CCED, we believe that community development facilitates economic development,” CCED Director Shelby Fiegel said. “Leading with this theology and leveraging our 40 years of experience in the field of community and economic development, we developed the Community Development Pipeline program to empower leaders and their communities.”
The vision of the CD Pipeline Program is to train community leaders on foundational community and economic development principles, positively impact and uplift the economies and quality of life of communities whose leaders participate in the program, and develop new relationships that build bridges across Arkansas communities.
The program aims to inspire and educate Northwest Arkansas leaders and support innovative, effective community and economic development efforts at the local level. UCA will accomplish this by providing a variety of training and technical assistance services such as: Community Development Institute (CDI) scholarships; regional training events; community building workshops; strategic planning; Strategic Doing workshops; surveying and data collection; brand development; leadership development; and economic and community development simulations.
The application to apply can be found here: uca.edu/cced/cd-pipeline-program
Leaders residing or working in Washington or Benton counties are eligible to apply. The deadline for applications is Feb. 13, 2026. More information about the CD Pipeline Program is available by contacting Fiegel at sfiegel@uca.edu or 501-450-5269.