Announcing Rural Welcoming Initiative 2024 participants, peer learning partnerships

Welcoming America is thrilled to announce the 10 participants of the Rural Welcoming Initiative (RWI) for 2024:

  • Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation – Brattleboro, Vermont
  • Catholic Charities of East Tennessee & HOLA Lakeway (partner participants) – Morristown, Tennessee
  • City of Garden City – Garden City, Kansas
  • City of New Ulm – New Ulm, Minnesota
  • City of Willmar – Willmar, Minnesota
  • Hello, Range! – Eveleth, Minnesota
  • Meeker-McLeod-Sibley Community Health Services – Litchfield, Minnesota
  • Nooksack Valley School District – Everson, Washington
  • Northwest Minnesota Foundation – Bemidji, Minnesota
  • Uniting Cultures/Uniendo Culturas – St. James, Minnesota

Since 2021, the Rural Welcoming Initiative has offered a competitive application process where selected nonprofits and local government entities with less than 50,000 people an opportunity to join the Welcoming Network and receive coaching and technical assistance, peer learning, and access to the Welcoming Interactive conference this year in Dallas, Texas.

This year, the initiative includes a new dimension, the Rural Local-to-Local (L2L) Community Partnership program. Rural Welcoming Initiative participants will be paired with one of the following organizations, many of which are former RWI participants, to gain additional insights into welcoming work within a rural context:

  • Central District Health Department – Grand Island, Nebraska
  • Centro Hispanos – Columbus, Nebraska
  • City of Crete – Crete, Nebraska
  • City of Gunnison – Gunnison, Colorado
  • Emporia Spanish Speakers – Emporia, Kansas
  • Empowering Families – Scotts Bluff, Nebraska
  • Project FINE – Winona, Minnesota
  • Region 9 Development Commission – Mankato, Minnesota
  • West Central Initiative – Fergus Falls, Minnesota
  • YMCA at Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, Virginia

Congratulations to all of the organizations!