Community
Community building is in our DNA
We Commit to a future where rural communities are vibrant places that provide opportunities for everyone to thrive.
The Ford Family Foundation is a community building organization. We support rural residents as they work together to develop a shared vision for their community’s future and implement plans that enable them to attract and retain a diverse population, especially working-age families.
![Three employees of Overhead Door Company in Roseburg, Oregon Community Strategy Area](https://www.tfff.org/wp-content/uploads/community-intro.jpg)
What we prioritize
Community building catalyzes efforts by rural residents to address needs and improve their communities. Community building fosters leadership, relationships, capacity and collective action to create well-being for all, especially children and families. From scholarship alumni to business leaders, community builders are everywhere. Learn more about the rural Community Building Approach.
Community economic development builds a vibrant rural economy, improves the economic well-being of families and makes the community a place where people choose to live. Rural business retention and expansion is at the heart of our work in this area.
Organizational capacity building across the region supports a range of stable and effective organizations that contribute to more resilient rural communities. Nonprofits are the backbone of providing essential services to rural families.
![Growing Rural Oregon Growing Rural Oregon](https://www.tfff.org/wp-content/uploads/growing-rural-oregon.png)
Growing Rural Oregon
More to explore
![Pathways to Securing Rural Federal Funding Pathways to Securing Rural Federal Funding](https://www.tfff.org/wp-content/uploads/pathways-to-secure-federal-funding.jpg)
Pathways to Securing Rural Federal Funding
This report highlights the challenges rural communities and organizations experience when pursuing federal funding and includes recommendations for increasing access.
![Buen Vecino Group Buen Vecino Group](https://www.tfff.org/wp-content/uploads/BuenVecinoGroup.jpg)
Neighbors working together
Bilingual public education, traffic safety and a vision for more inclusive, united communities motivated residents in Molalla to get involved. The path to creating the change they wanted?
![Between the Listening and the Telling Between the Listening and the Telling](https://www.tfff.org/wp-content/uploads/between-listening-telling.png)
SelectBooks: Between the Listening and the Telling
“Southern Oregon community builder Mark Yaconelli invites vulnerability by being vulnerable and courage by being courageous.”
— Max Gimbel, Director – Rural Community Building