Resource List

Welcome to Resourceful Communities Resources and Techniques Section!

Here, you’ll find information on a broad range of resources, including nonprofits, state agencies and think tanks. This information is updated periodically. Let us know if you have resources to add.

Agriculture/ Agritourism

American Farmland Trust, founded in 1980 by a group of farmers and conservationists concerned about the rapid loss of the nation's farmland to development, American Farmland Trust (AFT) is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting our nation's strategic agricultural resources. Provides legislative updates, conferences and e-news.
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, supports farmers and rural communities in the mountains of Western North Carolina and the Southern Appalachians by providing education, mentoring, promotion, web resources, and community and policy development.
Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, created to respond to the issues and concerns of Black farmers in the U.S. and abroad. Contact at 252-826-2800 or info@bfaa-us.org
Eastern Carolina Organics, a marketing and distribution service for local organic fruits and vegetables. ECO is a farmer-owned company
Heifer International works with communities to end hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. Heifer assists groups with organizational development and supports sustainable livestock and agricultural production projects. Heifer also partners with like-minded organizations to develop workshops or trainings that will promote various types of sustainable agricultural and livestock production projects.
Land Loss Prevention Project, dedicated to land retention and environmental justice by providing training and legal support.
Minority Landowner, a monthly periodical featuring articles and information specifically targeting minority landowners in the southeastern United States and the issues they face. Contact Victor L. Harris at 919-215-1632 or ccpublishing@earthlink.net
NC Department of Agriculture, a state agency that provides a broad range of information and services.
NC Humanities Council, dedicated to addressing fundamental questions about who we are and how we live in the world we share. The Council provides grants that support free, public programs addressing fundamental questions about who we are and how we live in the world we share.
US Department of Agriculture, a federal agency that provides education and outreach, funding, laws and regulations and more.
Value-Added and Alternative Agriculture ToolKit, from the NCSU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences providing an overview and on-line references.

Capacity Building and Organizational Development

Board Café, an electronic newsletter exclusively for members of nonprofit boards of directors. Short enough to read over a cup of coffee, Board Café offers a menu of ideas, information, opinion, news, and resources to help board members give and get the most out of board service. There are over 70 great issues in the archive!
Center for Participatory Change, providing support to rural communities in Western North Carolina through grassroots organizing, capacity building, networking and grantmaking.
Movement Strategy Center, works with grassroots organizations around the country to refine movement-building strategies and tools.
NC Center for Nonprofits, is dedicated to serving, promoting and representing the nonprofit sector; provides help line, workshops and webinars.

Community and Economic Development

NC Rural Center, works to develop, promote, and implement sound economic strategies to improve the quality of life of rural North Carolinians. The center serves the state's 85 rural counties, with a special focus on individuals with low to moderate incomes and communities with limited resources. The Rural Center operates a multi-faceted program that includes conducting research into rural issues; advocating for policy and program innovations; and building the productive capacity of rural leaders, entrepreneurs and community organizations.
Southern Growth Policies Board, provides policy guidance to member states by identifying goals and objectives that will create a higher quality of life in the region. Provides a number of publications, including electronic newsletter Southern Compass.

Community Engagement

Movement Strategy Center, works with grassroots organizations around the country to refine movement-building strategies and tools.

Conservation

American Farmland Trust, founded in 1980 by a group of farmers and conservationists concerned about the rapid loss of the nation's farmland to development, American Farmland Trust (AFT) is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting our nation's strategic agricultural resources. Provides legislative updates, conferences and enews.
Black Family Land Trust works to promote landownership and retention among African-Americans.
The Conservation Fund, the nation’s foremost environmental nonprofit dedicated to protecting America’s most important landscapes and waterways for future generations.
Conservation Trust for NC, a non-profit statewide conservation organization dedicated to protecting North Carolina’s land and water through statewide conservation and cooperative work with land trusts. The Conservation Trust works directly with landowners, local land trusts, and government agencies and provides conservation information, training, and connection to local land trusts.
Land Loss Prevention Project, dedicated to land retention and environmental justice by providing training and legal support.
Landowner Assistance Programs and Grants Tool Kit contains information about programs and grants available through the government and private organizations for landowners. Download the .pdf version here. (Note: This file is 5.2 MB. If this is too large to download, please contact us and we will send you a copy via mail.)
Voluntary Conservation Easements, published by Conservation Trust for North Carolina, provides an overview of easements and how they work. Download the .pdf version here.

Entrepreneurship

Good Work, nurturing entrepreneurship, meaningful work and economic security, building communities that support economic justice
HandMade in America, working to implement environmentally sustainable economic solutions that emphasize the craft industry, enhance opportunities in the marketplace, and develop entrepreneurial strategies for the region's crafts artisans.
Natural Capital Investment Fund, provides debt and equity financing to small and emerging natural resource-based businesses that will advance sustainable economic development throughout West Virginia and Western North Carolina. NCIF provides critical, timely capital that supports business expansion, creates employment opportunities and develops the rural tax base. NCIF also provides targeted technical assistance to build the non-financial capacity of our clients.
NC Rural Center, works to develop, promote, and implement sound economic strategies to improve the quality of life of rural North Carolinians. The center serves the state's 85 rural counties, with a special focus on individuals with low to moderate incomes and communities with limited resources. The Rural Center operates a multi-faceted program that includes conducting research into rural issues; advocating for policy and program innovations; and building the productive capacity of rural leaders, entrepreneurs and community organizations.

Environmental Justice

Center for Diversity and the Environment, providing information about organizations, people, research, and strategies that are diversifying the environmental movement.
Land Loss Prevention Project, dedicated to land retention and environmental justice by providing training and legal support.
NC Environmental Justice Network, dedicated to promoting health and environmental equality for all people of North Carolina through community action for clean industry, safe work places and fair access to all human and natural resources. NC EJN accomplishes these goals through organizing, advocacy, research.

Forestry

Communities Committee, supports efforts in community forestry. The Communities Committee is a nonprofit organization who believe local participation in stewardship of natural resources is critical to both forest ecosystem health and community well-being.
National Forest Foundation, congressionally-chartered nonprofit partner of the U.S. Forest Service.
NC Division of Forest Resources, a state agency that protects, manages and develops the forest resources of the state. Contact the Division’s Outreach Coordinator, Alton Perry, at 877.205.0056. Perry helps minority landowners manage forest resources; recruits minorities into the forestry professions; and connects practitioners within Forest Resources with minority landowners.

Fundraising/ Grantwriting

Association of Fundraising Professionals works to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education and certification programs-
Chronicle of Philanthropy, provides the most recent edition of the periodical on the web.
Finance Project, provides research, technical assistance and training to finance and sustain initiatives that better children, families, communities.
Foundation Center, provides online background on many foundations.
Grantsmanship Center (TGCI) provides a free quarterly magazine and comprehensive fee-based grant writing trainings
GuideStar, providing information on most foundations and nonprofits.
Kim Klein, a nationally known nonprofit fundraising author and lecturer. Look for Grassroots Fundraising Journal at www.chardonpress.com or 888-458-8588.
NC Giving, provides the most comprehensive overview of all NC foundations including location, trustees/decision makers, grantees and the foundation’s geographic and issue focus. Capital Development Services publishes NC Giving and can be reached in Raleigh at 1-800-729-4553 or 919-854-9775 or www.capdev.com. Capital Development also provides free online counseling, a free online newsletter and other fee-based services related to capital campaigns.
Philanthropy Journal, a free weekly e-newsletter published by the A.J. Fletcher Foundation.
National Rural Funders Collaborative, a collaborative philanthropic initiative that provides useful information via website.
Tax Exempt World, online information on foundations.

Housing

NC Community Development Initiative, a statewide public-private partnership that provides leadership and capital investment to high-performance community development corporations (CDCs) as well as other community based economic development endeavors, (i.e. social enterprises) to improve the well being and quality of life for people in low resource communities.
NC Housing Coalition, dedicated to ending the affordable housing crisis in North Carolina and helping people across the state find a place they can call home.

Land and Water Issues

The Conservation Fund, the nation’s foremost environmental nonprofit dedicated to protecting America’s most important landscapes and waterways for future generations.
Conservation Trust for NC, a non-profit statewide conservation organization dedicated to protecting North Carolina’s land and water through statewide conservation and cooperative work with land trusts. The Conservation Trust works directly with landowners, local land trusts, and government agencies and provides conservation information, training, and connection to local land trusts.
NC Rural Communities Assistance Project, a nonprofit organization that partners with rural areas to build community capacity to address public health, environmental quality, and community development issues pertaining to water, wastewater, and affordable housing needs.

Poverty

AssetBuilding.org, a web-based resource that provides information on assets related news, policy, and research.

Rural Issues

Carsey Institute, conducts research and analysis on the challenges facing families and communities in New Hampshire, Northern New England, and the nation, providing information to policymakers, practitioners, the media and the general public. Provides reports and publications on issues affecting rural America.
Center for Rural Affairs, one of the nation’s leading rural organizations advocating for federal policies that support rural community development; providing loans, technical assistance and training to small entrepreneurs; providing comprehensive rural community development services. Enews available.
Southern Rural Development Center, seeking to strengthen the capacity of the region's 29 land-grant institutions to address critical contemporary rural development issues impacting the well-being of people and communities in the rural South. Provides publications, enews, training, funding.

Social Justice Issues

Center for Diversity and the Environment, providing information about organizations, people, research, and strategies that are diversifying the environmental movement.

Dismantling Racism, a process designed to help leaders and organizations that want to proactively understand and address racism, both in the organization and in the community where the organization is working.

People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, providing workshops, technical assistance and consultations, PISAB helps individuals, communities, organizations and institutions move beyond addressing the symptoms of racism to undoing the causes of racism so as to create a more just and equitable society.

Tourism

HandMade in America, working to implement environmentally sustainable economic solutions that emphasize the craft industry, enhance opportunities in the marketplace, and develop entrepreneurial strategies for the region's crafts artisans.
VisitNC, official State of NC tourism website. Monthly news link available on website or by contacting Publications Director at 919.733.8302.

Triple Bottom Line

Bioneers, a forum for connecting the environment, health, social justice, and spirit within a broad progressive framework. Provides information, enews and conference.

Youth

Oasis Center, providing life-changing opportunities through youth leadership training and crisis intervention.
Question Why Youth Empowerment Centers of NC, encouraging empowerment of youth as leaders. Question Why offers a series of train-the-trainer programs for youth leaders and quarterly workshops for adult leaders.

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