Earlier this week, the Council on Foundations convened the third Rural Philanthropy Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. While Michigan Rural Network was not able to attend in person, we have been following the conversations arising out of the conference. But from those not currently involved in this field, I usually get the question “What is [...]
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A partnership between the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Michigan Small Business Technology and Development Center will be bringing the SBA Small Business Outreach Tour to 15 sites in Michigan in the months of August and September. The Tour will highlight the many resources available to business owners through multiple state and federal agencies [...]
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We at the Michigan Rural Network hope everyone had a safe and relaxing 4th of July. This week’s Member Spotlight is on the Manistee Community Kitchen. The Manistee Community Kitchen is a nonprofit that serves Manistee County. They engage low-income residents through a variety of programs to help end hunger and obesity in the county. [...]
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Last week, I had the privilege to participate in the National Rural Assembly’s 2011 Gathering – “Building an Inclusive Nation”. Even though it was only a brief (two days’ worth of time) conference, I was blown away by the breadth and depth of expertise and passion of conference participants. From Dee Davis’s opening, through “Speaking [...]
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Late last week, the White House announced the establishment of the first White House Rural Council. According to the press release, the Council will coordinate programs across government to encourage public-private partnerships to promote further economic prosperity and quality of life in rural communities nationwide. Chaired by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, the Council will [...]
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This week’s Member Spotlight is on the Michigan Biopreferred Products Association (MBPA). The MBPA is a statewide association that promotes the advancement of Michigan’s biobased product industry. Biobased products are products that are completely or significantly composed of biological or agricultural materials. Types of these products include ethanol, bioplastics, wool based insulation and plant based [...]
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The Living in Michigan Coalition’s project Legislators Building Communities kicked off with a press conference at the Capitol this week. It is an exciting undertaking that will get legislators working on community development projects in their districts this summer. Throughout the summer we will highlight the projects being done in rural Michigan. Want to be [...]
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This blog post is brought to you by Charlie Kelley, Michigan Rural Network’s Program Assistant. We asked Charlie to reflect on his experiences at two recent conferences here in Michigan. This April was conference season for us at the Michigan Rural Network and CEDAM. After being a sponsor and organizer for the Michigan Conference [...]
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It is an exciting time for the Michigan Rural Network! We have recently adopted a two-year Strategic Plan designed to further our work throughout the State, we have launched a new model based on issue-driven working groups and we are getting new members almost every week. In an effort to establish and solidify our membership, [...]
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This is a guest blog written from our friends Amanda Blondeau and Dennis West at Northern Initiatives in Marquette, where the President recently spoke about his initiative to expand high speed wireless internet access to 98% of the population in the country. In Richard Longworth’s Book, “Caught in the Middle,” he exams the state of [...]
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