Rural Prosperity Nebraska is the community development division of Nebraska Extension at the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Founded in 2018, Rural Prosperity Nebraska has one goal: to help Nebraska's communities thrive.
Think of the family-owned bakery on Main Street. Imagine the bustling farmers market on Saturday mornings. Picture the sprawling cattle ranch just outside of town. No matter the setting or situation, rural communities make Nebraska prosper. At Rural Prosperity Nebraska, Extension educators work with community leaders, and university faculty and students, to merge research with on-the-ground experience that brings prosperity to your front door.
Through our four focus areas, you can participate in cumulative and collaborative programs that strengthen your community’s culture, create new economic and leadership opportunities, establish stronger ties to local foods, and turn your community into a place where people want to live, work, and play. Rural Prosperity Nebraska also offers you the tools you need to inform your community about improvement opportunities, plan and act on projects, and facilitate open discussions that invigorate your community.
Rural Prosperity Nebraska team members have their fingers on the pulse of rural Nebraska. Contact us to help you, your neighbors, and your communities :
Live Better in Nebraska
Focus Areas
COMMUNITY
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
By participating in economic and entrepreneurship programs, your community can take the leap from hopes and dreams to thriving brick-and-mortar businesses that create long-term growth and prosperity in your community.
Contact: Shawn Kaskie shawn.kaskie@unl.edu
Contact: Jason Tuller jason.tuller@unl.edu
COMMUNITY
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
As your community leaders identify local strengths and assets through the leadership programs, they also learn to develop those assets into innovative actions that elevate your community for growth and betterment.
Contact: Jamie Bright jamie.bright@unl.edu
Contact: Lindsay Hastings lhastings2@unl.edu
PLACEMAKING &
PEOPLE ATTRACTION
Your community has a one-of-a-kind culture that makes it not only a place to live, but a place to love, and the people attraction programs help you augment those unique qualities to retain residents as well as attract newcomers who want to live, work, and play there.
Contact: Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel cburkhartkriesel1@unl.edu
NEBRASKA REGIONAL
FOOD SYSTEMS INITIATIVE
From the local market to the fresh vegetable stand outside of town, regional food system programs help your community link together a network of local food connections that create a more stable and healthier food environment for you and your neighbors.
Contact: Ben Jewell bmcshane-jewell2@unl.edu
Rural Tools
Rural Prosperity Nebraska brings you the Rural Tools, a set of informative resources that can help inform you on how to plan projects, assess community and statewide well-being, create entrepreneurial environments in your community, and secure grants that will strengthen your culture and bring more prosperity to your town or region. By creating partnerships between the state’s communities and the University of Nebraska system, the Rural Tools can help build a support system for rural and urban alike, opening doors to value-added ag producers, more prosperous communities, and overall a more vibrant and thriving Nebraska.
RURAL POLL
An annual survey compiling 20 years of Nebraskan’s views on policies and quality-of-life issues.
SOURCELINK NEBRASKA
A database connecting individuals to services and programs the help build Nebraska businesses.
Rural Prosperity News
Upcoming Events
Impact
138 employees added to Nebraska businesses
$2.4M increase in revenue for 129 supported businesses
20 communities in 12 counties participated in entrepreneurship programs
$25M USDA grant awarded to create the Heartland Regional Food Business Center
