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Community Economic Development

Help communities recognize their strengths, build local capacity, and turn opportunities into action.

Why it Matters

Community economic development is about more than attracting investment. Communities are often already rich in assets, ideas, skills, organizations, and local knowledge. Making those strengths more visible and connecting them with funding, support, and coordinated action can help communities build resilience, strengthen local economies, and create opportunities that reflect local priorities.

Can residents, businesses and community organizations find local development initiatives and understand how to contribute?

When it's working well

Local development initiatives, such as support-local programs, community improvement projects and partnerships, are described on one page. Each initiative explains its purpose, who can take part and how. Residents, businesses and organizations can propose ideas through a short form.

Where to start

Create one page that lists current development initiatives, with the purpose, a contact and how to take part for each. Link to partner organizations such as the chamber of commerce or regional development agency. Keep the page current as initiatives start and finish.

If you don't have this yet

A page of current initiatives, with an online form for proposing ideas, can usually be added to your current website. If a regional partner already promotes local programs, link to its listings instead of duplicating them.

Ideas that help

Community Assets & Opportunities

APPROACH

Help communities understand what they already have and where new opportunities may exist.

Community economic development often starts with identifying local strengths. Businesses, organizations, public spaces, infrastructure, skills, cultural assets, and natural features can all contribute to local opportunity when they are understood and connected more intentionally.

Asset information should:

  • Highlight important local assets and strengths.
  • Make community resources easier to understand and explore.
  • Identify gaps or opportunities for future development.
  • Connect related organizations, places, and initiatives.
  • Help communicate local potential to residents, partners, and investors.
A summary of community assets, with counts of halls and spaces, parks and trails, heritage sites and local businesses, beside a map with pins for each.

Funding & Capacity Building

APPROACH

Help local organizations and initiatives find the resources they need to move ideas forward.

Community projects often depend on more than funding alone. Grants, training, technical support, partnerships, and practical guidance can all help local groups strengthen their capacity and turn promising ideas into achievable projects.

Capacity-building support should:

  • Make grants and funding opportunities easier to find.
  • Connect organizations with training and practical guidance.
  • Highlight relevant support programs and resources.
  • Help groups identify partners or expertise where needed.
  • Make eligibility, deadlines, and next steps clear.
A list of grants for community groups with amounts and deadlines, beside a free workshop on writing a strong grant application and an offer of help from the grants officer.

Development Initiatives & Progress

APPROACH

Show how community economic development priorities are moving from ideas into action.

Local development often involves multiple projects, partners, and stages of work. Clear information about active initiatives, milestones, and outcomes can help people understand what is underway, where progress is being made, and how different efforts connect to broader community goals.

Development initiatives should:

  • Highlight current projects and priorities.
  • Show key milestones and progress over time.
  • Identify partners and organizations involved.
  • Share outcomes, updates, and next steps.
  • Connect initiatives to broader community goals.
A progress page for community development initiatives, including downtown revitalization, a housing strategy, rural broadband and a trail extension, each with a progress bar and status.

Also consider

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