The Challenge
Assessing persistent poverty in America reveals the lack of economic opportunity across geographies, which is exacerbated by historical and present disinvestment.
As rural economic development experts and CDFIs, PRT is uniquely positioned to meet local people’s and places’ needs, address regional strengths and challenges, and uplift programs, policies, and products that work nationally.
What is persistent poverty?
Persistent poverty is a term used to describe counties and parishes where 20% or more of the population has lived below the poverty line over the past three decades.
More than 20 million people across the U.S. live in communities designated as persistently poor. These communities lack the conditions that enable people and places to thrive, such as steady employment opportunities, access to responsible financial services, quality affordable housing, safe drinking water and more.
Purpose
The Partners work collaboratively across geographies and cultures to collectively influence policy and simultaneously lead, advocate, innovate, and finance individual and community solutions to poverty so that our neighbors can build sustainable and promising futures.
Our dedication to the places we call home is unmatched.
The Partners have over 200 years of collective experience focused on high and persistent poverty regions. Our reach extends to the most forgotten or ignored corners of America, and our dedication to these places is unmatched. Members of the steering committee are governed by the people and regions we serve, requiring a solidarity of purpose, and making our assets a powerful part of the wealth creation to these same communities.
Together, we have records of accomplishment spanning decades. In the last 10 years alone, we have deployed over $2 billion reaching millions of people who reside in persistent poverty communities. With a shared ethos of investing in both people and places and informed by the voices of local people, we seek to unify around opportunities in diverse communities at a time of great division in our nation.
Strategic Objectives
Together, we can reach our ambitious goal of ending persistent poverty in America. Below are the ways we’re working in partnership to make that a reality. We hope you will join us.
Read our Strategic Plan here.
Capital Mobilization
$10 billion in capital raised and deployed in rural regions of
persistent poverty by 2030
Systems Change
Adoption of policies and practices by private, public, and philanthropic sectors that more agilely deploy capital in rural communities
Community Empowerment
Investments that deliver community-driven outcomes and
empower communities to be self-led and independent