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Rural Champions

A network of devoted rural champions working to strengthen Kansas communities

The Rural by Choice Champions program is designed to create a network of grassroots individuals who possess the necessary tools to resolve critical community needs in a quick and effective manner. These Rural Champions will receive strategic training, compensation, and paired with resources to assist them.

Developed by the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Office of Rural Prosperity (ORP), in partnership with the Kansas Sampler Foundation (KSF) and the Patterson Family Foundation, this program will address critical public needs in rural communities and build capacity moving forward.

Moving the needle towards rural prosperity.

The need for the Rural Champions program was identified in the Power Up & Go report through surveys and interviews of more than 400 rural Kansans under the age of 40 as something that would “move the needle” toward success for rural prosperity. Many of those individuals wanting to make a difference are volunteers who are passionate about their communities but unable to take on a community improvement project without receiving appropriate resources, training and/or compensation.

The Rural Champions program removes the funding gap for those passionate rural dwellers by connecting them with resources that will help them accomplish their critical community project.

In many cases for rural communities, lack of capacity in human capital prohibits critical needs from being addressed. The Rural By Choice Champions program was developed to provide the support needed to fill the gap in driving successes throughout Kansas when there is a lack of capital or the capacity of a dedicated individual to see a project through to completion. The Rural Champions program is creating a network of grassroots champions tackling critical needs that have been identified by the communities themselves.

In October 2022, 12 organizations were selected to take on identified projects in their communities that had been stalled due to lack of capacity. 

Over the past year, the Champions have been busy doing activities such as organizing community discussions, writing grant applications, developing new programs for various purposes, and getting plugged in with many additional resources and programs. This has all created many learning opportunities for these passionate community Champions to become great resources for their communities as well as others in rural communities across the state. With a year of learning behind us, Champions are now putting together guidebooks to share what they have learned. With this resource, others facing similar challenges will be able to read through their process, challenges, partners, etc., and have a better idea of how doing something like this could look in their own community. The goal of this initiative is to be able to repeat similar efforts in future years so that multiple communities across rural Kansas can produce community-focused and community-driven change.

Below are details about the Champions, their projects, and the tactics they employed. Each project also has been awarded a $25,000 implementation grant to support their project. Learn how these funds were used to strengthen their outcomes.

Champions will continue to utilize the #ruralbychoice social media campaign to highlight events and successes. Be sure to follow them and keep informed as projects continue to move forward.

Learn more about Rural Champion Projects

Community Development
Placemaking & Recruitment
Housing
Childcare
Wellness

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