Next Delta Communities Meetings Will Focus on Ways to Finance Community Development

GREENWOOD, MISS. â€• Navigating complex financing for community and economic development is the subject of the next Delta Communities meetings, a series that focuses on life in the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta.

The Delta Communities project hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis continues Oct. 20 in Greenwood, Miss., and Oct. 21 in Helena, Ark. The theme will be Making a Plan and Sourcing Financial Resources for Financing Community and Economic Development.

Attendees will walk away with a better sense of:

• What lenders will evaluate, such as data, sources of capital and trends in community development finance;
• Funding sources available at the local, state and federal levels; and
• The concept of “strategic doing,” or how to quickly form collaborations and move them toward measurable goals.

“Creating an attainable and action-oriented community and economic development plan for your community can often be overwhelming,” said Drew Pack, senior community affairs specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

“In this upcoming session, attendees will gain more information about how to leverage the concept of ‘strategic doing’ into their community planning process and about a variety of funding sources to fund community and economic development projects in the Delta region” Pack said.

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, visit https://www.stlouisfed.org/events/2016/10/cd-deltacomm1016.

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, focused on how credit affects small businesses and gave tips on building the right team.

Future meetings include:

• The Role of Housing as an Asset for Families and an Economic Development Driver for Communities in the Delta
  Dec. 1 – Greenwood  |  Dec. 2 – Helena
• Tapping the Community Reinvestment Act for Community and Economic Development
  Jan. 19 – Greenwood  |  Jan. 20 – Helena

Media interested in additional information or who would like to attend should contact Maria Hasenstab at 314-444-8321 or maria.e.hasenstab@stls.frb.org.