USDA and National Rural Funders Sign Statement of Cooperation

The Natural Resources Conservation Service and several other USDA agencies have signed a Statement of Cooperation with the National Rural Funders Collaborative (NRFC), launching a unique public-private partnership. NRFC includes more than a dozen foundations such as the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation, Calvert Social Investment Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Fannie Mae Foundation, William Randolph Hearst Foundation, F.B. Heron Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Ford Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Lumina Foundation for Education

Under the agreement, the agencies and NRFC will work together on behalf of rural families and communities and identify ways to link programs, research, education, and outreach activities at the local, state, and national levels. This partnership aims to expand resources available to rural Americans and support comprehensive, locally-led community and economic development initiatives. Other partner agencies are USDA-Rural Development-Office of Community Development; Cooperative Forestry; Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service; and CSREES-Economic and Community Systems. For further information, contact Jose Acevedo, NRCS, telephone (202) 720-4527, email jose.acevedo@usda.gov, or Sally Maggard, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, telephone (202) 720-0741.