This group has totally reinvigorated the town of Falls City. From the first meet and greet meeting held a year ago to the three part class they presented (Ready, Set, Grant), these folks and their organization are first class. Eager to help, upbeat, well-educated, and organized, they've helped members of my community get involved. We're healing, growing, and feeling better about ourselves and our future. Thanks, RDI!
Dani Haviland
RDI and Ford Family Foundation joined together to make an experience like no other. They took their combined expertise and offered training opportunities that many rural communities have never had the chance to be a part of.
They came in to our community, allowed our local people in our community to choose learners and release unused potential from people of all ages and backgrounds, trained us, expose us to real life projects, constantly equipped, engaged, cheered and challenged us, then they stepped aside and let us try our new found leadership skills.
The results have been projects that each community is very proud of. Three Murals depicting the towns history and repairing and developing a portion of the museum of the Cow Creek Indians and community.
I have personally been challenged, equipped and offer my assets to encourage, help develop and fulfill the dreams and vision of a small rural community.
Although I was an experienced cost proposal analyst in my professional life. the grant writing
class updated my skills, introduced me to the non-profit world and reoriented my thinking from Silicon Valley to a rural community.
Thank you!!
Excelente programa, aprendi como manejar mi dinero mas efficiente . Ojala todas las personas tuvieran la oportunidad de asistir a estos cursos. Gracias.
Great opportunity to meet movers and shakers in your rural area. An excellent exercise in appreciating the value in other peoples differing opinions.The activity used to reach consensus I found very interesting and useful.
Learned that I can effectively work with people that I have nothing in common with. Learned who we can work with and what we can expect from both old and new leaders. Learned that some of the people I thought would most benefit from working toward our goal fizzled out. It's refreshing to meet people as interested in achieving our common goals as we are. I don't want the momentum that we started with to end.
I would not be the leader I am today without RDI. I first participated in one of their programs in 2008, as a sophomore in high school in a community leadership program. Through that class, and my follow-up participation as one of the facilitators for the next cohort, I discovered my vocation in public service. Yet again, in the year following RDI provided the opportunity to build my leadership skills as RDI staff encouraged a friend and I to present a workshop at their Regards 2 Rural conference, even as 'just' a college freshman. I can't thank RDI enough for the relationships, skills, and life path they have given me.
Late in 2015, I was accepted into the Yamhill Valley 2016 Ford Institute Leadership Program. During the past year, along with dozens of other local county residents, I've actively participated in 48 hours of intense leadership training designed to develop leadership skills in order to create community-based change. It truly has been life-changing - not just for me and the other participants - but for the residents of this region who will benefit from community leaders who have learned how to build and sustain community capital. Honestly, I knew it was a good program (I've been trying to get into it for years) but I didn't know just how good until I invested over 200 hours of my own time in the training, homework assignments, readings, and cohort project. These are lessons that I will put to use in making my community a better place. RDI invested in me and I will pay it forward , resulting in a better Oregon.
I was in the last Grants Pass, OR cohort. It was a wonderful experience. We learned about teamwork, problem solving, reaching consensus, and resolving issues. Our project beautified the three major entrances to town with welcome signs.
I was also a part of their First Impressions review of our town which has allowed the city to improve the look of the community for tourism. RDI is a wonderful organization that invests in rural Oregon!
Previous Stories
I am currently enrolled in the RDI/Ford Family Foundation Cohort 3 in Grants Pass. We are now into completing our project, two new welcoming signs at main entrances to the city's historic downtown. Our project was well planned, but as with any large project, we have encountered a hiccup or two. Without the training we received from RDI & the FFF we would not have been able to overcome these hurdles as easily as we have. We have learned teamwork, overcoming problems, resolution of disparate ideas & ways of problem solving. I know we will be much more effective leaders in our community thanks to these two organizations. I look forward to continued involvement in both.
I took part in the introduction to grant writing course provided by Meredith Howell for RDI, presented at SWOCC. The presentation of information on grant sources, how funders evaluate and select projects, and all the myriad details of the process was surprisingly comprehensive, delivered in an enjoyable way. There were many templates and example materials which served both for instruction AND for direct application later for writing purposes. I have saved all the materials and refer to them during various steps of grant application preparation. The course prepared me very well to be ready when an opportunity came to assist a community group developing a secure drug disposal program throughout our extended local area. Several others in the class have been successful in their writing for a variety of groups in the area.
RDI put together a comprehensive training program for leaders in eastern Oregon. We had trouble finding a project on our confederated tribal land. It was our goal as RDI has done several projects in Pendleton, Oregon. The majority of our group was either employed by or tribal members. The Leadership training provided by RDI built our compromising skills so that, although the project occurred in Pendleton, both the tribal affiliates and the non-tribal affiliates could find satisfaction in the project. Diligence was a major factor in our project - an outdoor revitalization handicapped by rain all day and graffiti taggers. We completed the revitalization, thwarting the taggers efforts to become famous.
I was lucky enough to be part of the RDI training here in Merlin, Oregon. At first I had problems with the whole concept of ground up community improvement. I did not personally think it was worth time and effort.
Not being in love with the whole bureaucratic broo ha ha of any government focused enterprise, I wasn't expecting much other than normal political jargon, hot air and promises by a bunch of self important stuffed suits.
Now that I have said that ( I feel so much better, The truth will set you Free!!!! ) I can tell you that I could not have been further from the truth!!!! Right from the first session I began to learn about and enjoy what RDI had to offer! The " stuffed suits " that I had been so sure were going to test the limits of my BS 'O'meter, never materialized! Instead, I was greeted by some of the most knowledgeable , funny and truly Community concerned people I have known! This fact never , not once , changed stride! Even the guest instructors were above and beyond informative and interesting people. ( My ages old concept of political stuffed suits was rapidly losing ground! )
During the whole course, the idea of normal ( who sets those standards ??? ) people changing their community or setting change in motion was the driving concept of the RDI instructors. We learned so many things about people in general , about how to interact with others to meet a mutually desired goal. Networking, interpersonal communications, task assignments, voting and debating in a respectful manner to reach the end result of helping a community.
Then, when all the book learning and practical examples ( of which there are several ) are over, the class gets to put all of their new found knowledge to the test by creating an Event ( in our case ) from start to finish, all under the watchful and caring eyes of our wonderful instructor team!!
In this course I learned so much, I became convinced that a person can grow a concept into a team effort to help their community! This is a fantastic course, well worth the time and effort to attend. Given the chance, take this course, you will build relationships, friendships and your community ! can't ask for better than that!
Our Cohort is now considering the possibility of building a better event next year!
My husband and I took the class together to learn how we could incorporate leadership skills in our community. In doing so, we met a great group of local people who had the same goals and many more contacts than we thought were possible. Our event project was a real eye opener to how much can be accomplished if everyone works together. Our teachers and their associates did a wonderful job of sharing their experiences and valuable information on what works and things to avoid. They let us make our own decisions, but guided us along a path that would lead to a positive outcome. The food was also outstanding! Our confidence has been increased and we now feel that we have many useful tools that can be used in our future community relationships. Thank you!
RDI did a wonderful job with their Learn By Doing grants workshop. Our organization has a number of grants in the works as a result of this workshop, and it has helped us re-think the way we fund our programs. I highly recommend that any organization thinking about applying for grant funding attend this workshop.
I have the pleasure of volunteering for RDI's Grant Writing Seminar, as well as participating in the Ford Institute for Leadership Training that they implement - both trainings were incredibly informative, very helpful, and everyone was so friendly and welcoming. I definitely appreciate all that they do and the way that they handle themselves.
I have had the pleasure and privilege to work with RDI and the Ford Family Foundation as a participant in the 2015-16 Ford Institute Leadership Program. The experience has strengthened my community bonds, expanded my social capitol and given me the opportunity to become a stronger leader. It has been an amazing experience thus far and I am only half way through it. I greatly look forward to continuing to build a better community through my cohort experience and thereafter, in the spirit of service and leadership.
The mission and the team of RDI have done such wonders for my personal growth and therefore the betterment of the small nonprofit in which I Direct. I've completed RDI's grant writing workshop and am currently enrolled in a leadership program taught by RDI. Both of these learning opportunities have been joyous experiences worth so much more to me than I could have imagined. Thank you RDI and team!
I was lucky enough to attend the RDI 'Learn by Doing' Grant Writing Workshop w/ Meredith Howell. Once in the classroom I realized how much I needed to further understand about the grant writing process. Meredith was a great instructor, and without RDI's presenting this workshop; we would not have had the opportunity to attend.
Betsy Valian
Cascadia Center for Arts & Crafts www.cascadiaart.org
I appreciate the dedication, skill and willingness to share of the RDI staff. All of the RDI staff are involved, fun, and have knowledge to share. I have been involved with various RDI programs for five years and greatly benefit from their training. They make a positive difference in our community by training volunteers to become more effective leaders.
I have benefited greatly from participating in the RDI Regards to Rural Conference, and a variety of RDI-sponsored trainings. I am also an RDI/Ford Family Foundation Leadership Institute graduate and serve as a volunteer community trainer/facilitator for that program.
All of my experience with RDI has been outstanding. Their staff and programs are top notch, and they leverage partnerships to stretch scarce resources and model coalition. RDI is innovative and proactive, often developing curriculum and services that meet needs in a very timely manner.
I have personal experience with RDI through the Ford Foundation Leadership Program. RDI provided 2 stellar facilitators for our leadership classes. Jess and Sara from RDI provided learning experiences for us all with grace and ease. They made the classes fun and exciting. I am so impressed with their skills and intelligence, and their love of community shined through everything they did. The support of RDI has helped, is helping, me to be a better person, better connected to my communication styles, and a better community leader, community builder, overall. Thank you RDI!
Rural Development Initiatives, and the Ford Institute Leadership Program that they facilitate, are invaluable resources for our community in Cottage Grove and South Lane County. RDI has been a long term partner in our area to develop strong leadership talent and to help network together committed community members to enhance our region's economic and social vitality. The Ford Leadership Program is a great program and a great way to get involved citizens talking and working together, and doing so with skills that they've refined as part of the training.
The time and energy spent in the various classes, lead by RDI and funded by the Ford Family Foundation, was well spent. The training helps us with both, business and personal issues that seem to bog nonprofits down. The information presented can be used in so many ways. I truly recommend RDI and praise their commitment to helping people and our communities. The Ford Family Foundation deserves kudos for their support of our rural communities through RDI.
The presence of RDI in this community has been a vital link and resource for me to get engaged, get informed and get involved. To be able to assess the scope of communities and how to find a place and offer my own abilities toward the community viability and sustainability has been a winning collaboration. I have benefited from classes as well as the extended relationships RDI has with other community partners. RDI fills a need here for both community education and the follow-through offered beyond the training.
RDI's instruction and participation in the year long Ford Institute Leadership Program, that I recently graduated from, was nothing less than spectacular! RDI's trainers are top notch and shared the materials in an informative and entertaining manner. Their professionalism is only exceeded by their compassion. RDI's trainers and staff "walk the walk" and exemplify the best in leadership in everything I have seen them do. RDI and TFFF are the guardian angels of Rural Oregon! Kudos, blessings and my thanks to RDI for one of the best years of my life!
RDI has helped me connect and become more involved in my community of Dallas, OR. The instructors are inspiring and professional. The leadership development curriculum is useful and the hands-on application through a community service project pulls the concepts together.
Our organization was in need of some capacity building & the tools we gleaned from the learn by doing class were invaluable. We were better able to evaluate the activiities we engaged in and the impact of our time and energy. We formed a new strategy, more focused on growing our numbers and volunteers, while dropping projects with little financial impact. As a grant writer with intermediate level experience, I gained some new & useful guidelines and resources that I immediately put to use. We were successful in receiving grant support from a new small family foundation for our school swim program, and we have received another grant for a capital improvement project. Couldn't have been more pleased with the benefits of the class.
If you go into the class with the attitude of learning you will come away with a knowledge of what grant writing is really about and how to go about this process. I have come to understand what it means to learn how to think when learning instead of memorizing or following the leader because they are the leader. This class makes you think and then you can make things happen.
Our board has been partially paralyzed with the idea that we didn't know how to write a grant. In fact, most of the board felt we needed to find a "professional" grant writer. However, a couple of us took the Learn by doing grant writing workshop this last Fall and decided that since we didn't have a "professional", we were going to jump in and do the best we could. The results have been spectacular! In late November we received our first grant which was quickly followed by a large check for our organization as the result of an organization profile we had filled out. Since December we have written for a couple additional grants and while we were informed on one that they were only responding to "basic human needs", we know that we have gained confidence and organization simply by going through the process. At this point, our entire board is taking advantage of every listening or outreach opportunity. We're in a learning mode and are doing a much better job of communicating opportunities for grants with each other. It's sort of like that saying "If you think you can or think you can't, you're right!".
This class was very different from other grant writing classes I have taken. We learned how to use new tools in every session, and we also did an activity each time that was very valuable. The diversity of the tools and activities was (and still is) so helpful in the grant writing process. This isn't your typical lecture-style class either. It is very hands on and there are plenty of examples. Also, getting to use your own organization as an example is really helpful because it gives others the chance to give their opinion and point of view, which you may have never heard before. I will definitely continue to use the skills and tools I learned from this RDI class.
Ten years ago I had the pleasure of taking leadership classes lead by RDI and funded by the Ford Family Foundation. It was a life changing experience. Every chance I get to talk with people about these classes I recommend RDI and their personal commitment to help people and their communities. Members of the RDI staff make people feel like family and good friends!
If you have an opportunity to take a class or work with a community project that the folks from RDI are involved in, I encourage you to take your A game and join in because you won't be sorry! It has been such a rewarding and enriching experience working with the RDI staff. Dare I say that if they were a rainbow I'd be heading to one end with a bucket, that's how valuable their work is.