Public investment is a key lever that rural and Native communities can use to help end the cycle of persistent poverty. However, federal programs that support housing and economic development in these communities are underfunded and oversubscribed.
Smaller rural and Native communities also often lack the capacity to compete for federal funding, leading to public funding flowing away from areas of persistent poverty and into larger communities. This helps to create a system where even though about 20 percent of the population lives in rural and Native communities, these communities do not receive 20 percent of available public funding.
By increasing public investment and working to ensure that rural and Native communities receive a proportionate share of available funding, we can begin to undo the history of chronic disinvestment and entrenched policy decisions that lead to persistent poverty.
You can learn more about how we can create a future where rural and Native communities are not defined by persistent poverty but by opportunity by reading Partners for Rural Transformation’s Policy Framework.