Team Building to Be Featured at Next Delta Communities Meetings

GREENWOOD, MISS. â€• The right relationships and the right team are key to making community development projects successful. That’s why team building is the subject of the next Delta Communities meetings focusing on life in the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta.

The Delta Communities project hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis continues Sept. 15 in Greenwood, Miss., and Sept. 16 in Helena, Ark. The theme will be Building the Right Team and Relationships for Community and Economic Development.

“The secret sauce in any successful community and economic development initiative is people,” said Kathy Moore Cowan, of the St. Louis Fed’s Memphis Branch. “Residents and community groups who understand their community’s needs and have a stake in its success are an indispensable requirement for community transformation.”

Community engagement, leadership, and collaboration are needed to address the complex issues communities face, said Cowan, a senior community development specialist. “This session presents information and best practices for how to use these three principles.”

Participants at this session also will learn about a new resource from the St. Louis Fed—Coming Up with the Money: Core Principles for Launching a Successful Community Development Initiative.

This set of meetings is identical in format, so registrants are encouraged to attend either the Helena or the Greenwood meeting. For more information or to register for one of these meetings, visit https://www.stlouisfed.org/events/2016/09/cd-deltacommunities3.

The Delta Communities series began in June and is presented by the Community Development department of the St. Louis Fed, which addresses challenges confronting low- and moderate-income communities in the Federal Reserve’s Eighth District. Earlier meetings identified challenges and opportunities of living in the Delta and focused on how credit affects small businesses.

Future meetings include:

• Making a Plan for Financing Community and Economic Development, Oct. 20 – Greenwood | Oct. 21 – Helena
• Sourcing Financial Resources for Community and Economic Development, Dec. 1 – Greenwood | Dec. 2 – Helena
• Tapping the Community Reinvestment Act for Community and Economic Development, Jan. 19 – Greenwood | Jan. 20 – Helena