Kellogg Foundation Chooses Nebraska Initiative as One of only Six National Grants
REAP and two other Center for Rural Affairs’ programs are collaborative partners

HomeTown Competitiveness (HTC), a Nebraska initiative currently working in seven counties and communities in Nebraska, has been chosen as one of six recipients of grants provided through the W. K. Kellogg Foundation’s 75th Anniversary Entrepreneurship Development Systems (EDS) for rural America.

The $2 million award was approved by the Kellogg Foundation Board of Directors meeting at Battle Creek, Michigan last month. More than 180 applications were received for grants to develop six national models in rural entrepreneurship.

HomeTown Competitiveness (HTC) provides a framework for rural communities to help them identify reachable goals and strategies focused on the four pillars of reversing rural decline, including: 1) building leadership and community capacity, 2) engaging young people, 3) fostering local philanthropy, and 4) supporting entrepreneurship.

Core partners in the Kellogg-funded initiative will be the Nebraska Community Foundation, The Heartland Center for Leadership Development, the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, and the Center for Rural Affairs (CfRA). The Center will be involved in entrepreneurship development through REAP’s work in rural communities.

The Center’s policy and agriculture entrepreneur programs will also be involved. Chuck Hassebrook, CfRA director, and Glennis McClure, REAP co-director, participated in management team meetings to implement HTC.

The Kellogg EDS grants will allow recipients to promote entrepreneurial activity in their region, produce entrepreneurial models for other communities, leverage significant investment, and stimulate national and state interest in rural entrepreneurship policies and strategies. The funding stretches over three years.