Empowering Rural & Tribal Communities

The Thrive Rural Wisconsin program, led by the Office of Rural Prosperity, is designed to help rural and tribal communities bring together local leadership, define shared goals, and access the resources they need to make lasting change.

Offered at no cost to communities, the initiative provides project management, an exclusive opportunity to apply for a WEDC Capacity Building Grant, and technical assistance for efforts related to:

• Rural Housing
• Community Based Economic Development
• Small Business Development Projects and Programs
• Regional Collaboration Initiatives Development
• Rural Capacity Development & Growth

Program Benefits:

• Community assessments
• Work plan development for priority projects and project management support
• Fundraising mapping/ funding identification.
• Grant writing consulting (process guidance, review, etc.).
• Creation of customized toolkits and resources to build capacity in grant writing, grant compliance or Thrive Rural focus areas.
• Referrals to consultants, state agencies, and federal programs that help advance the projects identified in the work plan.
• Exclusive invitation to apply for predevelopment grants (~$25,000 per year) to advance a project and prepare for state and federal grant applications. (ex: feasibility study, plan development, architectural renderings, engineering studies, mapping, business plan, curriculum design, etc.).

Eligibility:

Eligible partners  are limited to:

• County economic development organizations
• Non-profits
• Tribal organizations

Partners should be based in communities of 10,000 people or less that do not contain a metropolitan statistical area. A metropolitan statistical area is defined by having at least one urban area of 50,000 or more inhabitants. Priority given to communities and organizations located within FY26 Wisconsin Distressed Counties List.

• Thrive Rural Wisconsin is intended to complement and support the assistance provided by Wisconsin’s Regional Economic Development Organizations (REDOs) and Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs), UW-Extension , and the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council (GLITC).
• Must advance at least one of the Thrive Rural Wisconsin focus areas.
• Partners must demonstrate readiness, community buy-in, and projects should leverage applicable resources.
• Thrive Rural Wisconsin is a fit for communities that have a dedicated point person for staff to work with supported by a leadership team and are prepared to seek and manage significant funding sources ($50k-$3M).
• Be willing to commit to two years to develop a work plan and move projects within the work plan forward from Jan. 2026 – Dec. 2027.

Process:

• Step One: Fill out and submit the community interest form. Prepare the following documents to attach to your application:
  • Optional-Attach relevant planning documents (ex: Strategic Plan, Local or Regional Plans that address work the community has been doing in Thrive Rural WI focus areas.)
• Step Two: Email an overview of leadership team members with bios and roles to ThriveRuralWI@wedc.org. The leadership team should reflect the communities engaged in the process and technical partners and expertise that fit the program focus areas.  Letters of engagement from participating partners outlining their role and commitment to the program are encouraged.

• Deadline: The Community Interest Form will be available at 6 a.m. on Oct. 16. The form will be open for submissions through Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. CST. While this is a non-competitive program, all interest forms are subject to a review process, and no applicant is guaranteed to receive a capacity building grant from WEDC.

Priority will be given to applicants located in counties on the FY26 Wisconsin Distressed Counties List.

Note: All applications submitted and contracts executed related to WEDC’s “Capacity Building Grant – Thrive Rural Wisconsin ” will be subject to Program Guidelines and Wisconsin Law.

Review information on past Thrive Rural Community projects.

For more information, please contact:

Jim Cleveland
Rural Development Specialist
james.cleveland@wedc.org
608.210.6743

Paul O’Connor
Rural Development Specialist
paul.occonor@wedc.org
608.210.6729