Resilient Communities
Croatan Institute is deeply engaged in helping urban and rural communities develop more resilient approaches to place-based economic development. The Institute’s work involves rigorous research, analysis, and mapping of regional value chains, developing frameworks for place-based investment, convening complex community meetings to develop new insights about common connections, and providing technical assistance and training in these areas. The Institute brings a strong sense of both social and environmental purpose to all of our engagements, and we have rapidly developed a reputation for being a trusted partner and ally in wide-ranging intiatives across a diverse array of sectors.
Projects
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REEFS is an initiative coordinated by Croatan Institute with a growing group of advisers and partners seeking to address structural racism within finance and to integrate racial equity as an explicit factor of analysis and engagement within total portfolio approaches to investing for social impact.
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Croatan Institute is developing the concept of Rural Regenerative Organic Agricultural Districts, also known as ROADs, to help agricultural producers and landowners finance soil wealth using land-secured financing mechanisms and other place-based investing approaches.
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Croatan Institute has conducted an assessment of the capital needs of the regenerative grain and livestock sectors, with an emphasis on small to medium scale post-farmgate supply chain businesses. Many businesses have needed to pivot their business models during COVID19, and capturing new customers in a post-COVID19 world may take additional time, resources, equipment and capital. The full report on Regenerative Agriculture and COVID-19 Capital Needs is now available, highlighting the greatest needs in the regenerative meat and grain sectors to direct the capital flows required to support these emerging sectors.
Thank you to the farmers, processors and other businesses that participated by taking the survey and sharing their experiences.
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Re-envisioning organic food and agriculture as an inclusive economic development strategy for revitaling rural places.
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Developing resources for hospitals to create sustainable returns and strong communities through place-based investment.
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Exploring the relevance of the growing movement for fossil-fuel divestment and fossil-free reinvestment to the “Appalachian Transition.”
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Providing technical assistance, research, and capacity building to attract sustainable investment into rural value chains.
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Identifying impact investment opportunities to support high-performing, affordable housing in rural Appalachian communities.
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Encouraging local giving in Appalachia and the Deep South through crowdfunding and giving circles.
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Offering an interactive virtual training, technical assistance, and capacity building to nonprofits, small businesses, and other organizations so that they can design, launch, and run a crowdfunding campaign to support their work.
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