Our Towns Civic Foundation

04/11/2023

“How do you do an intentional community engagement process that makes certain that you’re hearing from everybody?”

Ben Speggen reports on how the Arras Foundation in Lancaster, South Carolina, is using resident input and data to empower whole-of-region progress.

https://www.ourtownsfoundation.org/driving-regional-transformation-through-inclusion/

Community Heart & Soul Kershaw Heart & Soul Great Falls Heart and Soul Fort Lawn Community with Heart & Soul Fort Lawn Community Center

The Arras Foundation in Lancaster, South Carolina, is using resident input and data to empower whole-of-region progress.

03/31/2023

Great Falls, South Carolina is reimagining its identity through nature-based tourism with the launch of a new whitewater attraction, interpretive center, and plans for more.

Ben Speggen reports on how community partnerships and resident input are helping write the town’s next chapter as an outdoor recreation destination.

https://www.ourtownsfoundation.org/great-falls-reimagines-its-identity-through-nature-based-tourism/

📸: Steven C. Price Photography

Great Falls Home Town Association Arras Foundation Chester County Chamber of Commerce Chester County Economic Development Community Heart & Soul Great Falls Heart and Soul Duke Energy

Through community partnerships and resident input, Great Falls, South Carolina town is plotting its future with nature-based tourism.

03/31/2023

03/30/2023

Our Towns co-founders Deborah and James Fallows discuss the ongoing story of Our Towns with Andrew McKeever on GNAT TV's ‘The News Project: In Studio’.

Watch the full interview here:

Deb and Jim Fallows explore the Our Towns journey with on Greater Northshire Access Television's ‘The News Project: In Studio’.

03/21/2023

A ‘simple yet trailblazing’ collaborative partnership between a funder, a start-up, and Habitat for Humanity will ‘save dozens of low-income Virginia families thousands of dollars on their electric bills.’

Read Elizabeth McGowan's report for Energy News Network, republished by Our Towns Civic Foundation here: https://www.ourtownsfoundation.org/carbon-offset-pact-will-put-solar-on-dozens-of-habitat-for-humanity-homes/

The American Institute of Architects Central Valley Habitat for Humanity GiveSolar

The District of Columbia-based American Institute of Architects is offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from a major renovation with a $500,000 donation that will cover the cost of solar panels on an estimated 72 homes.

03/20/2023

The latest is out! In it, we explore 4 ½ Surprising Local Institutions, including:

🍊 A Collaborative Community Farm
🎨 An Inventive Community Center
💡 A Transformational Community Foundation
🎤 A Community Space for Ideas and Conversations & more.

How does an urban farm on a college campus promote a community? How does a community foundation transform the well-being of residents? Those are some of the stories we’ll tell here.

03/16/2023

Ever wonder why people make a change and what that change means to them?

Watch this panel discussion, moderated by James Fallows, with panelists sharing lessons around, and reflecting on, change at the local-level and beyond.

A panel of residents, business owners, and community stakeholders discuss Redlands, California city then, and now.

03/08/2023

Graphic journalist Nhatt Nichols reports for The Daily Yonder on how the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Broadband project is bringing connectivity to some of the most remote corners of the country.

A fresh round of funds was pumped into the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Broadband project when the infrastructure bill passed a year ago. That investment is bringing connectivity to some of the most rugged and remote corners of the country.

03/06/2023

As Kathiann M. Kowalski reports for Energy News Network, about two decades after cadmium telluride solar panels were commercialized in Ohio, the maturing technology is finding momentum thanks in part to its domestic manufacturing and supply chain.

About two decades after cadmium telluride solar panels were commercialized in Ohio, the maturing technology is finding momentum thanks in part to its domestic manufacturing and supply chain.

03/01/2023

How does a community foundation move from being transactional to transformational?

Ben Speggen talks with The Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation in to discuss the foundation's mission, evolution and impact in the region.

Watch the full conversation here: https://www.ourtownsfoundation.org/how-a-foundation-transforms-the-well-being-of-residents/

02/24/2023

Residents of Fort Lawn, South Carolina used a community development model to identify 51 actionable goals to improve their town. Today, they’re checking off the list, one by one.

Read Ben Speggen's latest report here: https://www.ourtownsfoundation.org/how-a-community-center-helps-a-town-rise-again/

Community Heart & Soul Fort Lawn Community with Heart & Soul Fort Lawn Community Center Arras Foundation

Residents of Fort Lawn, South Carolina used a community development model to identify 51 actionable goals to improve their town. Today, they’re checking off the list, one by one.

02/21/2023

🎙Erin Sanborn discusses service and sustainability and the role the University of Redlands plays in the community and beyond with Evan Sanford in the latest episode of the podcast.

Listen here: https://www.ourtownsfoundation.org/inside-our-towns-erin-sanborn/https://www.ourtownsfoundation.org/inside-our-towns-erin-sanborn/