Over time, existing infrastructure needs can go unaddressed, people with the resources to do so move can away, and rural and Native innovation lacks the capital to get off the ground. The local tax base and available resources continue to shrink, and the cycle continues.  

We can disrupt this cycle by catalyzing the flow of private capital into rural and Native Communities facing persistent poverty.   

Tools like Opportunity Zones , tax credits, and other incentives build the foundation of moving private capital into the communities we serve. However, these tools are built on a system that can struggle to serve rural and Native communities that lack local financial infrastructure. The benefits of these systems also tend to flow toward wealthier communities that have capital to invest in projects that are ready to get off the ground, which can leave the most economically distressed populations these tools are meant to serve behind.   

We can improve this system to better serve rural and Native communities facing persistent poverty. By incentivizing the flow of capital, we can enable projects that attract new businesses, more people, and increase the local tax base and available resources over time.  

This is how rural and Native communities facing persistent poverty can drive their own path to financial stability and empower the local leaders and innovation that is abundant in rural and Native places across the country.  

This is how we can disrupt the cycle of persistent poverty.  

The post Policy Perspective – Catalyze the Flow of Private Capital appeared first on Partners for Rural Transformation.

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. 

The post Policy Perspectives – Public Investment in our Communities appeared first on Partners for Rural Transformation.

Tuesday, May 26 2026 – Partners for Rural Transformation (PRT) Tuesday released its policy framework to unlock economic opportunity and address decades of underinvestment in rural and Native communities facing persistent poverty across the country.  

PRT President Farah Ahmad said: “Too often, rural and Native communities facing persistent poverty are denied access to resources because they do not fit the mold of programs that were designed with cities in mind. Our policy framework elevates community leadership and decision making, incentivizes the flow of capital, and understands that unique challenges facing rural and Native communities need locally lead and innovative solutions.” 

The framework elevates public policies and private frameworks that encourage, incentivize, and increase investment into rural and Native communities facing persistent poverty while building local capacity. Its four priorities include:  

• Secure a fair share for Rural and Native communities: 1 in 5 people live in rural and Native communities across the country. However, these communities do not receive 20 percent of available public, private, or philanthropic resources.  

• Investments must reach rural and Native areas facing persistent poverty: The mainstream financial system has not worked for or reached rural and Native areas experiencing persistent poverty. These communities need tools and resources that are tailored to their community needs, wants, and strengths.  

• Resource the people and institutions that make rural and Native investment work: Dollars alone are insufficient without investment into the local and regional systems, governance, and the institutional capacity required to translate funding into impact.  

• Design every dollar to maximize local impact: Capital investments into rural and Native communities should be long-term, flexible, and innovative to meet the needs of rural and Native Communities.  

Unlocking Rural and Native Prosperity — PRT Policy Perspective Blogs

PRT is posting a series of blogs elaborating on our policy framework. See the current blogs below:

Public Investment in Rural and Native Communities Facing Persistent Poverty: 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. Learn more here.

Catalyze the Flow of Private Capital: Tools like Opportunity Zones, tax credits, and other incentives build the foundation of moving private capital into the communities we serve. However, these tools are built on a system that can struggle to serve rural and Native communities that lack local financial infrastructure. Learn more here.

PRT is working toward a future where rural America and Native communities are no longer defined by persistent poverty, but by opportunity. You can read our policy framework here and learn more about our work to end persistent poverty here.

# # # 

Partners for Rural Transformation is a coalition of six community-rooted organizations with national reach and more than 250 years of experience in rural development. We are working to build a future where rural America is no longer defined by persistent poverty, but by opportunity so people can live, work, learn, and raise a family in the communities they call home. Our Partnership spans some of the most diverse and underinvested regions in the country – from the Mississippi Delta to Appalachia to Native American Communities, the Deep South, The Rio Grade Valley, and beyond. We share a common history of chronic disinvestment that leads to persistent poverty and impacts health, education, and economic opportunity in the communities we call home. Learn more here.     [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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The Federal Reserve, under the Bank Holding Company Act, has the responsibility to consider the convenience and needs of the communities to be served by actions like the Enova-Grasshopper merger. PRT contends that this merger fails that test because it could allow Enova to expand high-cost lending through a national bank charter, potentially overriding stronger state consumer protections in places that currently limit predatory interest rates. Many states with such protections are rural. If this merger is approved, it would be an unprecedented move to grant a bank charter to a lender dedicated to triple-digit interest rate loans. 

The letter highlights the real-world consequences of these practices for families and small businesses in rural and Native communities. Unaffordable loans can trap borrowers in cycles of debt, drain wealth from local economies, and create barriers to homeownership, entrepreneurship, and long-term financial stability. Low-wealth and low-income communities are especially vulnerable to these harms. 

PRT is calling on the Federal Reserve to reject the merger application and prevent a new wave of predatory lending from flooding rural and Native communities. The full letter outlines the coalition’s concerns and reinforces PRT’s commitment to building a future in which persistent poverty is replaced by lasting opportunity and shared prosperity. 

PRT is a coalition of six community rooted organizations that stretch across the country with deep expertise in persistent poverty communities. PRT is working to dismantle the historic and ongoing disinvestment in our communities and end cycles of persistent poverty by strengthening local economies, generating local wealth, and building power within the community.   

The post PRT Urges Fed to Reject Predatory Lender Bank Bid appeared first on Partners for Rural Transformation.

The post JUST IN: PRT Releases Support Letter for Newest Biden Exec. Order appeared first on Partners for Rural Transformation.

PRT believes in the prompt enactment of this bill. Programs that rely upon mandatory funding, such as social security, Medicare/Medicaid, Veteran programs, and nutrition programs such as SNAP and WIC are merely being sustained by short-term extensions keeping the status quo. The systems that support several persistently poor regions are, yet again, being disproportionately negatively affected by the actions (or inactions) of Congress to pass a robust Farm Bill. 

Our ideal Farm Bill will capitalize on the potential of Rural America by investing resources that allow communities to thrive. To achieve this, there are a few policies we believe must be included:  

• Establishing Baseline Funding for Rural Development The proposed $50 million in baseline funding for Rural Development (RD) within a Farm Bill would be a historic first for rural communities. Rather than having to rely on the political climate of any given Congress, baseline funding would allow communities to receive the investment they need.  This baseline funding would need to grow in the future to meaningfully invest in our communities, but PRT is eager to see this start. Two of the three proposals specifically designate new mandatory funding for RD, which would be a gamechanger in serving regions of persistent poverty. PRT supports a Farm Bill that does not overlook rural communities who are the backbone of our national economy.  

• Rural Partnerships and Prosperity Act PRT is championing a Farm Bill that includes the Rural Partnerships and Prosperity Act, or RPP. RPP will not only address rural America’s current needs, but it would also allow partners with deep, genuine and trusted relationships with communities to do more. This is a welcome change from short-term, under-funded programs that are mere band aids for our communities who are still hemorrhaging from historic extraction, chronic disinvestment, and racial discrimination.  

• Emphasizing Native Inclusion Native communities face several exacerbated disparities across sectors, but especially when accessing basic needs. Department of Energy’s 2023 Report to Congress found that 14.2% of Native American households on Reservation lands lacked access to electricity, compared to all U.S. households, which is only 1.4%. 36.7% of Navajo Reservation and Trust Lands lack access to electricity, including many other reservations (Hopi Reservation and Trust Lands, 28.6%; Standing Rock Reservation, 18.1%; Mescalero Apache Reservation, 15.1%; and Salt River Reservation, 11.9%). These communities frequently cannot access the basic needs that other Americans can, making it difficult for them to capitalize on the assets they do have. Specific provisions and language in this Farm Bill can begin to address this gap. Each version differs in the amount of Native eligibility to federal programs. For example, the House proposal reflects this by allowing the Secretary of Agriculture to enter self-determination contracts with Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations to operationalize SNAP, a critical resource to regions of persistent poverty. PRT supports efforts to provide Native Tribes and Tribal Organizations with the most flexibility and autonomy in how federal programs are operationalized in their communities. This focus on Tribal agency should be the guiding light of efforts to increase Native inclusion.  

• Investing in Partnerships PRT supports federal programs that work with communities and advocates for the institutionalization of the Rural Partners Network (RPN) and the Rural Partnership Program (RPP).  The Rural Partnership Network (RPN) increases the capacity of rural communities through investing in organizations that already have trusted and established roots within their communities. With similar spirit, the Rural Partnership Program (RPP) would allow deeper and more effective relationships to develop over time. The Senate Republican framework includes a program that invests in local partnerships, allocating funds for partners to assess economic needs of low-income areas and assist communities with application processes for federal funds. These are just two examples of the systems approach PRT hopes to see from federal agencies. It is going to take a whole of government approach at every level to rectify injustices to rural communities, and partnerships will be the engine to this work. PRT hopes to see a prioritization on place-based partnerships in the Farm Bill. While the Rural Partnership Program (RPP) is not specifically mentioned in each proposed outline, a form of rural capacity building investments that coordinate and encourage partnerships should be reflected in the next Farm Bill. PRT knows this is fundamentally at the core of all effective rural community work. 

• Office of Small Farms The establishment of the Office of Small Farms would allow smaller rural and Native farmers, ranchers, forest landowners and operators to have more power and influence over the land they live on, and the land that sustains the rest of the country.  Rural and Native communities have a deep cultural and generational attachment to land. PRT will support a framework that understands all types of capital, not just monetary, and emphasizes the connection of people, place and equal opportunity.   

• Making Dollars Really Work There are many programs that have good intentions to serve rural communities, but the program design, eligibility, or policies ingrained create a disconnect between implementation and reality. For example, USDA’s Decentralized Revolving Loan Program has a cap on lending for individual water wells and septic systems currently set at $15,000. This is not useful for high-cost states with rural and Native pockets within them. To maximize the impact of program dollars across Titles in the Farm Bill, there needs to be an increase to caps like these to make the dollars work for Rural and Native communities. Otherwise, there will be thousands of dollars that are locked up and inaccessible to the communities it is intended to serve.  

• Focus on Community-Driven Solutions In the House (Republican) proposal, there are beneficial updates to critical watershed programs, with an emphasis on streamlining data and increasing transparency of that data to the public. In the same proposal, there are several improvements to essential rural services related to clean water and rural community infrastructure. These are examples where the Farm Bill proposals are taking existing dollars that are currently inaccessible and allowing them to work for the communities who need it most. PRT desires that the next version of the Farm Bill does not only support rural regions of persistent poverty in acquiring basic needs, but that it gives communities the tools and flexibility to allow Rural and Native Communities to be the drivers of the work.  

The Farm Bill carries a lot of responsibility. The Partners for Rural Transformation want to ensure that the final legislation reflects the prioritization of persistently poor communities and regions who stand to benefit the most. When you invest in rural America, you are investing in food, fuel, textiles, and materials that the rest of the country depends on. Rural America has shown its resilience and strength despite historic and systemic discrimination, chronic divestment and limited access to capital for decades. Partners for Rural Transformation seeks to not imagine, but to experience, a rural America that is allowed to reach its full potential.  

The post Where Do We Stand? | PRT’s Official Take on the Farm Bill appeared first on Partners for Rural Transformation.

• Consider Native and Rural communities for maximum impact
• Ensure a similar application experience across the nation, regardless of FHLB Region
• Consider streamlining other applications within the FHLB System
• Create more aligned scoring systems and resources for applicants

The post PRT COMMENT: FHLB | Affordable Housing Program Application appeared first on Partners for Rural Transformation.

1. Increase and strengthen their targets to all 3 underserved markets, with emphasis on a few specific objectives
2. Address Native-specific housing needs and have objective targets proportionately meet their needs in a culturally competent way
3. Add Colonia-specific Activities and Objectives to both GSE Plans
4. In addition to increasing targets, there should be less “outreach” as a goal – the GSE’s have been provided with sufficient ideas and examples from PRT and countless others, it’s time to get to work and finance and purchase loans

The post PRT COMMENT: DTS Plans appeared first on Partners for Rural Transformation.

The Partners have shared their voice on the much-needed updated to the CDBG Section 108 program and the I-CDBG programs. PRT wants the Housing and Urban Development Department to hear our points clearly.

The post MUST READ: PRT CDBG Review appeared first on Partners for Rural Transformation.

PRT has interminably advocated for the infusion of flexible capital in rural areas. We adamantly believe that the proposed rule, which allocates HUD resources more effectively, substantially expands the flexibility of grants, and significantly reduces barriers to access, is absolutely necessary to ignite economic growth in rural America.

Check out our blog’s website to read PRT’s entire comment. We urge our stakeholders to share our upcoming full comment. Together, we can advocate for the proposed rule to advance economic justice, empower communities, and build more equitable futures across rural America.

Stay tuned for our full comment on Wednesday, March 13th!

The post PRE-COMMENT: HUD Program Updates appeared first on Partners for Rural Transformation.