Cooperatives for a Better World, a Manchester, NH, nonprofit known as Start.Coop, knows that there is no easy path to entrepreneurship. Its innovators—using extensive backgrounds in education, housing, agriculture, finance, social justice and other essential sectors that thrive under diverse participatory coordination—are always looking for more and better ways to serve its members. Through training and technical assistance (TAT), Start.Coop facilitates a development process to help co-ops scale their business.

Since Naturalist Franklin Fairbanks opened the doors of the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, Vermont in 1891, it has been a popular place of learning and wonder for thousands of visitors. In 1961, the Museum built the state’s first public planetarium, and in 2018 began a project that would once again create new ideas and widen educational avenues for the explorers wandering its aisles: a 21st-century science annex built with Mass Timber (MT).

Food Connects is a Brattleboro, VT-based nonprofit that ‘builds healthy families, thriving farms, and connected communities’ by delivering regional food and providing educational and consulting services aimed at transforming the local food system. The organization has grown significantly since Executive Director Richard Berkfield founded it in 2009, and took on an exponential level of importance during the COVID pandemic. As supply chain issues impacted distribution networks, Food Connects’ customer base of producers and consumers doubled.

The Value-Added Producer Grant or VAPG program can help emerging industries take the next steps to becoming viable and expand their markets.

USDA Rural Development awarded a Community Facilities Grant worth $133,200 to a childcare center in Rensselaer, Indiana. This grant will fund Appletree Rensselaer, a licensed childcare center providing services to 72 children between six weeks and five years old. The center will cater to a community that previously did not have access to licensed childcare services.

Patrick Johnson had always envisioned a day when he could own a home, but he felt that it was beyond his reach due to his circumstances as a renter. However, during a conversation with a close friend who resided in a USDA self-help home, Patrick became aware of a program that could help him achieve his dream.

With the support of the Warrick County Habitat for Humanity Restore and USDA Rural Development Indiana, Patrick secured a loan and began constructing his new home. The feeling of joy and pride that he experienced when he finally became a homeowner was indescribable.

Rush Memorial Hospital is at the heart of the close-knit community of Rushville, Indiana. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the hospital faced unprecedented challenges, but they rose to the occasion and worked tirelessly to provide the medical care that their community needed.

In 2017, Union City, Indiana, started working on a project to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility. A visit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management revealed that the city's treatment facility was not in compliance with several health and sanitation policies, prompting the need for improvements. After a long and arduous journey, the city secured a loan of $8,344,000 and a grant of $4,685,000 from the USDA Rural Development for the Water and Waste Disposal Project. This was a much-needed relief for the city and a huge victory for everyone involved.