The Northwest Area Foundation has announced grants totaling $1.9 million to boost poverty-reduction strategies and expand wealth-building efforts in small rural communities.

Grants ranging from $200,000 to $300,000 will be used to expand initiatives in seven states and 260 communities that have completed Horizons, an eighteen-month leadership development program for towns with 5,000 or fewer people and poverty rates of at least 10 percent. Teams from the University of Idaho, University of Minnesota, Washington State University, Iowa State University, Montana State University, North Dakota State University, and South Dakota State University will provide coaching, training, and other resources, including business training, leadership development, public policy engagement, and financial literacy education for youth and adults. The grants also will be used to further community action plans, leverage public and private funding, and identify resources that communities can use to sustain their work.

Communities receiving support will be convened monthly to discuss potential collaborations, build connections, and increase their knowledge about successful asset- and wealth-building strategies and will gather periodically within their own state for additional networking and information sharing sessions.

"Horizons has been a powerful call to action for people passionate about making change in their rural communities," said Northwest Area Foundation president and CEO Kevin Walker. "We want to build on the momentum that nearly three hundred towns have generated in just a year-and-a-half. These funds will help move their ideas to the next level of impact."