Search pages for "economic vitality"

When Facebook announced last year that it was building its third data center in Prineville, adding hundreds of more jobs to the 147 it already created, the region’s vigorous efforts to attract outside business were rewarded. The incentive...  Read More

Over the past five years, nearly a dozen Economic Vitality Summits have been delivered around the state by Rural Development Initiatives, in partnership with The Ford Family Foundation. Summits were held in communities such as Sisters,...  Read More

When Preston Thompson decided to re-launch his custom guitar-making business, he didn’t have to look too far from his Bend home for the right location. A musician-friendly environment, the right light-manufacturing site, and a supportive...  Read More

“If the viability of rural communities is to exist in a more sustainable way, then more has to be done in the area of economic development, and I don’t think there is any other organization [other than The Ford Family Foundation] in the...  Read More

It’s almost impossible to read the news and not find a story about a community in trouble. We hear about high unemployment rates and low graduation percentages, empty storefronts and crowded food banks.And yet, at the same time we hear...  Read More