A record-setting moment for the future of tech-based economic development in rural America

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Rose Reza didn’t skip a beat when she heard the news on Oct. 5.

“I’m getting a team!”?

Now, for context, what you need to know about Rose is that she’s a force of nature with the energy of dozens. And for the past three-plus years she’s needed all of that energy in her role as executive director of the?University of New Mexico-Taos HIVE, guiding the entrepreneurship center from idea to reality and its own purpose-built space — all as a staff of one.?

Where others would’ve seen a potentially overwhelming task, Rose saw an incredible opportunity. With the HIVE, Taos could begin to create tech opportunities capable of transforming the region and the prospects for its diverse people. A staff, for local leaders like Rose, is nothing short of rocket fuel for their impact in the community.?

That’s why the?news of Oct. 5?wasn’t just life-changing for Rose. Her delightfully understated excitement wasn’t because she gets to hire a team —?it was because she knows what that team can do for Taos.?

And that’s the power of the U.S. Economic Development Administration Build to Scale Venture Challenge. It’s also why the first Wednesday of the month proved to be such a monumental day for several communities in our?Rural Innovation Network. Of the eight rural Build to Scale grants announced this year, seven are members of the Network, and six went to applications submitted as part of our Rural Innovation Initiative (RII) cohort this spring, a 100% success rate for the program.

Together,?those RII communities?— Aberdeen, South Dakota; Portsmouth, Ohio; Red Wing Minnesota; Randolph, Vermont; Rutland, Vermont; Springfield, Vermont; and Taos —?are set to receive a combined?$12.9 million?in federal and local matching funds. Four of them secured “build” grants of roughly $1.5 million, while Springfield, in a joint bid with Randolph, and Red Wing were awarded larger “scale” grants to grow their ongoing efforts. (Links to details on each project are available below.) Another $4 million is going to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where the team at Codefi assembled a successful bid for a scale grant to expand its groundbreaking work.?

To think back and realize that before our first RII cohort in 2019, funded by a cooperative agreement with the EDA, there had only been one rural place a year receiving funding from this program… This really is a record-setting moment for the future of tech-based economic development in rural America. This progress would not have been possible without the early and continued support of our funders like Siegel Family Endowment, Vermont Community Foundation, and Land O’Lakes who have let us grow our offerings and serve more rural communities. Each of these communities then put in the hard work to craft plans that, with this funding, ensure the creation of five new tech accelerators in rural places and the expansion of others already in operation.

Many of these forward-looking accelerator programs have been the launch pad for the exciting and diverse early-stage tech startups across the Network taking part in our second annual “Small Towns, Big Ideas” virtual pitch event on Nov. 10. Our team has been busy preparing for the occasion, assembling an impressive panel of investors to judge their pitches and coordinating with mentors and others to help the founders hone their pitches. This year’s event is made possible by generous sponsors like the?Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation?who, like us, believe in the power of tech entrepreneurship in rural communities.?

Register now?to join us for a first-hand look at the next generation of rural entrepreneurs, and to see which pitch wins the $10,000 cash prize!

-Matt Dunne, CORI founder and executive director, October 2022

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