This Golden LEAF grant provided funding to the NC Rural Center to support leadership training and capacity-building for potential applicants in the Sandhills region in advance of Golden LEAF’s 2019 Community-Based Grantsmaking Initiative. This was a continuation of work done by the Rural Center in the Northeast region. The primary goal of the program was to ensure that participating counties were prepared to pursue grant funding from Golden LEAF and other foundations to advance their region economically. The Rural Center worked within the region to identify and form a core regional leadership team. Members of the leadership team and key stakeholders from across the region participated in a two-day Homegrown Leadership training program designed to enhance participants’ knowledge and skill to plan and carry out comprehensive economic development initiatives. Leadership teams reviewed existing strategic plans and completed a gap analysis to identify regional needs and inform project ideas that had the greatest potential to improve economic opportunity in the county and region. The Rural Center helped the leadership teams explore state and national best practices in rural development and coached project teams in developing projects.
