NW Rural Investment Strategy Summits (NWRISS)

Through 2023 & 2024 NW Rural Investment Strategy Summits, over 250 rural champions, including Tribal, state, local, philanthropic, CDFI, banking, technical assistance, and federal agency leaders were brought together to discuss the urgent need for innovation in six key areas:

Developing Attainable Rural Housing

Transforming Local Food Systems

Expanding Access to Rural Childcare

Developing & Improving Agricultural and Municipal Water Systems

Bridging the Rural Digital Divide

Constructing Community Resilience Centers and Emergency Facilities

iSector has partnered with USDA Rural Development in Oregon and Washington, and nonprofit Partners for Rural Washington (PRWA) to hold three NW Rural Investment Strategy Summits (NWRISS). Theses Summits explore how cross-sector collaborations can best position rural communities to overcome project and funding barriers and seize opportunities for change.

There is a need – and timely opportunity – to strategically build partnerships and processes to launch sustainable rural community investment models with collaboration at their core. With so many rural-serving organizations and resource providers working toward the same goals, it is essential that we communicate and coordinate to maximize impact.

Summit attendees identified community-led needs and solutions to common rural funding and resource challenges, those solutions can be found on page 6 of the 2023 after-action report, Northwest Rural Investment Strategy: Catalyzing Collective Change. 

Read the latest 2024 After-Action Report
2024 Summit Speakers & Presentations
2024 Summit Photos

“In too many places, rural leaders are starved for the investment they need to support their community's social and economic transformation. From my perspective, this kind of innovation is a lesson in maximizing the impact of USDA Rural Development's (RD) financial, intellectual, and social capital within the local ecosystem of partners and stakeholders."

 

Tony Pipa, Reimaging Rural Policy Initiative – Brookings Institute

“The summit is one of the few places where the strengths and attributes of rural communities are respected and recognized. It is the first of its kind to recognize that giving them the capacity to harness the inherent strength, ingenuity, and passion of rural communities is what will help push Oregon further economically and sustainably."

 

Patty Mulvihill, Executive Director – League of Oregon Cities

"This particular event exposed me to several ideas and spawned at least two partnership possibilities. The partnership concept is the key! Value RECEIVED! "

 

Gust Tsiatsos, Founder – GCT Land Management

"I’ve only been to a couple of workshop/conference/summits where I felt like I was in a giant room full of people like me, and this was definitely one of them."

 

Shawn Irvine, Economic Development Director – City of Independence

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Thank You to Our 2024 Sponsors