NC Rural Center

Business North Carolina will hold its Rural Economic Summit on October 6-7 at the Murphy Center at East Carolina University. The event is an opportunity to share ideas and resources around strengthening rural North Carolina communities.

Program topics include:
– Coastal Resilience Development
– Workforce & Child Care Infrastructure
– Broadband 2.0: Adoption & Digital Skills
– Housing, Main Streets & Retention
– NextGen Rural Entrepreneurship
– Healthcare & Hospital Sustainability
– Industrial Recruitment, Logistics & Ports

To view the agenda and register, please visit: https://ow.ly/J2uv50ZTEr4

Rural Center Director of Strategic Partnerships & Special Projects Jenal Austin and Chief Program Officer Chris Estes at the Investing in Rural America Conference hosted by the
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's Center for Rural Economies.

USDA Rural Development is making $2.5 million in grant funding available for centers that provide services to agricultural producers wanting to develop and market value-added products.

Applications for the Agriculture Innovation Center Program will be accepted now through January 31, 2027. The maximum grant amount is $1 million.

Commercial organizations, Indian tribes, higher education institutions, local governments, nonprofits, and state government may apply for this funding.

Find out more here: https://ow.ly/bS7H50ZSPZh

We hope you'll join us for the NC Rural Center’s 2027 Rural Summit on March 24-25, 2027, at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park!

In 2027, the Rural Center will celebrate the 40th anniversary of our founding — 40 years of working together to build vibrant communities in North Carolina. This year's Summit will honor the people, ideas, and communities that have shaped our history and continue to build places where all people can live and thrive.

Early-bird registration will open on Wednesday, January 6, 2027.

📣 We're also accepting Summit breakout session proposal through October 30 and would love to hear your idea! 📣

Breakout sessions will be categorized around the Rural Center's four foundation pillars:
🔹 Leadership
🔹 Capital
🔹 Advocacy
🔹 Capacity Building

To learn more about what makes a strong proposal and submit your own, visit our Request for Proposals: www.tfaforms.com/5233106

NC RURAL BUSINESS UPDATES: Recent economic development news from across rural North Carolina

🔹 The Davie County Enterprise-Record shared that Aluma-Form will open a new manufacturing operation in Mocksville and create 100 new jobs to the county: https://ow.ly/jRYN50ZRuKF

🔹 Aviation startup Beta Technologies is considering North Carolina for a significant manufacturing expansion: https://ow.ly/SuH750ZRuKH

🔹 Lee County officials have authorized up to $46 million in tax rebates to create incentives for an unnamed manufacturing company planning to invest $1 billion in a Sanford facility: https://ow.ly/lYe550ZRuKG

Aluma-Form selects Mocksville for new manufacturing operation, plans more than 100 jobs - Davie County Enterprise Record Aluma-Form, a longtime U.S. manufacturer serving the electric utility and communications industries, is establishing a new manufacturing operation in Mocksville, bringing an expected $6.7 million capital investment and more than […]

The NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center reported last week that since the start of the state's Main Street program in 1980, designated Main Street and Small Town Main Street communities have leveraged more than $6.6 billion in public and private investment in their downtown districts.

This investment supported more than 8,700 building rehabilitations and a net gain of more than 8,000 businesses and nearly 42,000 jobs.

To learn more about the NC Main Street Program and the Small Town Main Street Program, including information about the programs' 2025-2026 work, visit: https://ow.ly/OlZa50ZShMl

Business North Carolina's NC Rural Economic Summit is happening Oct. 6-7 at East Carolina University. Sessions include:
▶️ Broadband 2.0: From Access to Adoption & Digital Skills
▶️ Housing, Main Streets & Talent Retention
▶️ Healthcare Workforce, Behavioral Health, & Hospital Sustainability
▶️ NC Coastal Resilience
▶️ Data Centers: Richmond County's AWS Journey

You can learn more about the event, view the agenda, and register here: businessnc.com/rural-summit-2

The deadline to apply for the $1 million Broadband Satellite Resiliency Program has been extended to Wednesday, September 30 at 11:59 p.m.

Program information, including eligibility requirements and a link to the application, can be found here: https://www.ncbroadband.gov/satellite.

The Broadband Satellite Resiliency Grant program will award $1 million in North Carolina for equipment that can deliver satellite internet service.

State agencies, local government units, volunteer fire departments, and community anchor institutions are eligible to apply.

The program provides funding for satellite “resilience in a box” tools to preserve essential communications when other networks go down during emergencies and natural disasters.

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on September 23.

To learn more about the program, eligibility, and how to apply, visit: https://ow.ly/l9GC50ZO4y7

NC Rural Center leadership and board members visited West Jefferson and Ashe County this week for a quarterly Rural Center board meeting.

On Wednesday, they visited several area businesses, among them American Emergency Vehicles, the largest employer in Ashe County. Later that afternoon, they attended two panels: one about collaboration in Northwest NC and the other on healthcare workforce and aging in rural NC.

Photographs, first to last: American Emergency Vehicles, GE Aerospace, Ashe County Cheese, Old Barn Winery, and the collaboration panel (Alleghany Educational Foundation, Inc Executive Director Melissa Vestal; Napco Security Technologies, Inc. Founder and CEO Rocky Profitt; Town Of Sparta, NC former Town Manager Bryan Edwards; Boone Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO David Jackson; and Rural Center President and CEO Patrick Woodie)