We're continuing the Rural Visibility Project focus on small businesses and downtowns this February. You can help amplify the message by sharing and engaging with RDI's social posts that spotlight small businesses as the backbone of rural America, and highlight practical ways to support them. Programs like Business Oregon's Rural Opportunity Initiative and the Shop Harney digital gift card program demonstrate how investing in entrepreneurs and the ecosystems around them drives long-term stability and prosperity for rural communities. The Rural Visibility Project is a policy advocacy campaign designed to center rural priorities through community-driven dialogue and elevate rural voices in state-level policy conversations. Our focus is on priority topics to impact specific policies and legislation that will move through the Oregon State Capitol during the short session in 2026, with the hopes of creating our own rurally inclusive policies for the 2027 session. Click here to register for a virtual Community Conversation on February 24 to talk about the monthly topic of rural small business and downtowns, and brainstorm rural-oriented solutions for success models across the Pacific Northwest.

The Regards to Rural conference is sold out. Click here to join the waitlist. We're excited to see you for the conference, held April 16 and 17 in Bend, OR, with two days of networking opportunities, keynotes, breakout sessions interpreted or offered in English and Spanish, plus optional mobile workshops and pre-sessions on April 15. Thursday's keynote speaker, Amanda Weinstein, Director of Research, Knowledge, & Evaluation at the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI), will speak to the state of rural, with a focus on the picture for the rural West. Breakout session topics include community leadership and engagement, economic vitality and wealth building, policy and influence, and access to resources. Click here to learn more about the conference, preview the agenda, find lodging options, and more.

¿Te gustaria aprender de como ahorrar para tu jubilación, aprender lo básico para empezar a invertir y construir bienes y riqueza? Este entrenamiento de dos sesiones está diseñado para ayudar a los participantes a tomar la iniciativa en la generación de riqueza y fortalecer su conocimiento sobre la diversificación de activos y las distintas opciones de inversión. Se abordarán temas como el ahorro para el retiro, el emprendimiento, la propiedad de bienes raíces y otras estrategias para el crecimiento financiero. La mayoría de las personas aspiran a generar riqueza, pero a menudo enfrentan desafíos para encontrar un camino claro para ellas y para las futuras generaciones. Este espacio busca brindar herramientas prácticas, información accesible y orientación para comenzar ese camino con mayor seguridad. Entregado en asociación con Migrant Education Oregon, and FHLB Des Moines Member Impact Fund.

Regístrate hoy para el entrenamiento Apodera tu liderazgo para las Comunidades Rurales de Sherwood Trust localizado en Milton-Freewater, Oregon. Este curso está diseñado para empoderar a líderes emergentes y establecidos, proporcionando las herramientas y conocimientos necesarios para marcar una diferencia en comunidades rurales.

Register today for the Spanish-language Empower Your Leadership training program offered by Sherwood Trust in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. This course is designed to empower emerging and established leaders by providing the tools and knowledge needed to make a difference in rural communities.