U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Success Stories

Smith Island, Maryland

Investing in Wastewater Infrastructure is Key to Preserving Smith Island, Maryland

For the people living on Smith Island, the water matters. But it’s about more than the beautiful views of the Chesapeake Bay from the picturesque island ten miles from the mainland. The multi‐generational residents depend on the surrounding Chesapeake Bay for their livelihoods. For many, crabbing, oystering, and ecotourism are what puts dollars in their bank accounts, and food on their tables. In rural communities…
Read More

Find Stories

Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 729 Stories
Image of kitchen incubator in Cache Valley

Tech College Supports Kitchen Incubator to Jump-Start Business

Cache Valley, Utah, has a number of small “agribusinesses” that have unique products but no commercial kitchen to prepare them in. Many businesses rent spaces in restaurants but the accompanying fees are burdensome. In order to prepare products according to local and federal… [Read More]
Business
Molalla Telephone

Telecom Company Helps Rural Businesses Compete in Global Marketplace

Many rural communities lack the necessary infrastructure to provide broadband services, creating myriad challenges for local residents, businesses, schools, and other essential community services. In contrast, residents of Molalla and Mulino, Oregon, are gaining access to… [Read More]
Broadband

Texas Rural Development Loves Repeat Customers

In September 2013, Ms. Anne Hall, 71 years of age, applied for a USDA Rural Development Section 504 loan and grant to install a handicap ramp to her home in Farmersville, Collin County, Texas. The grant was approved and construction commenced. A typical grant, a typical USDA RD… [Read More]
Home RepairHousing

The Minidoka Spillway

The Minidoka Dam’s history seems almost as long as its 2,237 foot long concrete pier and spillway.  Talk of building the dam in south-central Idaho to help early settlers do more than just scratch out a living goes back to the 1880’s, but finally came to fruition after Teddy… [Read More]
Community Facilities
The Wright House Apartment

The Wright House At The Right Price

When a mobile home park in Shelburne, Vermont went up for sale, community leaders came together to ensure affordable housing would still exist downtown. After six years of hard work, affordable housing is accessible once again in Shelburne. “Wright House is a little living… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousing
Able, Inc

Thrift Store Helps Disabled

Able, Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides services to individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities. To help with the cost of providing those services, the organization operates a thrift store in Dickinson. The store sells donated used goods while providing… [Read More]
Economic Development
Gascoigne Family

Together, a Father and Daughter Make Homeownership a Reality

Father and Daughter, Charles and Heidi Gascoigne purchased a home together with the assistance of USDA Rural Development and their partners.  The Gascoigne’s have worked for two years to make homeownership a reality.  Even though they both have limited incomes and thought they… [Read More]
Homeownership
Solar Panel array

TPI Solar Projects

Today’s Power Inc. (TPI), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Cooperative, Inc. (AECI).  AECI is a utility service company owned by all 17 electric cooperatives in Arkansas.  TPI was created to develop renewable energy.  TPI focuses on selling, installing, financing or… [Read More]
ElectricRenewable EnergySolar Energy

Triumph by the Bay in Small Town USA by Janice Waddell

Down on California’s central coast, the small town of Los Osos has been on a journey. For the past thirty-three years, they’ve been looking for a sustainable solution to a critical problem: How do we protect the environment we live in while growing our community? Los Osos, a… [Read More]
Wastewater
Solar panels and drought-tolerant landscaping at Calistoga Family Apartments, a farm labor housing camp in Calistoga, Calif.

Uniting Farm Worker Families in Calistoga

A good home can bring people together in more ways than one. That’s what happened for the Sibbu family, when they moved into Corporation for Better Housing’s brand new Calistoga Family Apartments. Albert Sibbu worked for the same farm in Napa Valley for 15 years and lived in a… [Read More]
Housing

Additional Success Stories