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Helping communities become their best Organizations and local governments are developing their capacity to make Iowa communities better places to live and work. Iowa State University Extension provides information and education, facilitation and collaboration to build consensus for organizational and community development. • ISU Extension provided programs, community development and organizational support in 87 of the state’s 99 counties and in 78 cities. Extension trained 7,571 citizen and community leaders, 2,247 government officials and 323 business entrepreneurs. In addition, 455 organizations were assisted and strengthened. • After three bond issues to improve courthouse facilities failed, ISU Extension worked with Dickinson County on a series of public input and citizen survey activities. As a result, the Board of Supervisors put another bond issue before the public in 2003. The $14.9 million project passed with a 65 percent majority. • Extension sponsors and collaborates in leadership academies that help communities find new leaders. Participants in the Perry Leadership Project have run for city council and school board positions, been appointed to the planning and zoning commission and participated in a citywide planning initiative. Seven communities completed Extension leadership programs, and 2,579 individuals throughout the state participated in leadership training. • Eight communities and 500 new residents have participated in Community Voices, ISU Extension’s leadership program that brings together community leaders and new immigrants, especially those for whom English is a second language. In Mount Pleasant, participants formed a civic organization. The Ottumwa group formed a business network among Hispanics in the region. • The Nonprofit Management Academy has served more than 1,500 staff and board members in eight communities. ISU Extension conducts the academy in collaboration with the University of Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center and local partners. In Sioux City, one result was the spontaneous formation of a self-directed study group on marketing for nonprofits. • Through Extension’s Partnering Landscape and Community Enhancement (PlaCE) program, students in ISU College of Design studio classes help local leaders establish a new vision for their communities. In some instances these become adopted as the city’s comprehensive plan, as happened in Grundy Center. • ISU Extension provides individual consultation and planning assistance to more than 150 nonprofit organizations annually, including the Southwest Iowa Coalition in 2003. The activities of this regional economic development group include educational and civic opportunities for the 17-county region. • The Iowa Community Vitality Center (CVC) is expanding its initiatives for community-based entrepreneurism and foundations. ISU Extension is a founding partner in this endeavor. Policy discussions were completed in 10 communities, and five demonstration projects are in process. The Fairfield Entrepreneurs Association received one of the CVC community entrepreneurship seed grants for an entrepreneurship mentoring program. During the past year the association received the National Grassroots Rural Entrepreneurship Award given by the National Center for Small Cities. |
Annual Report Edition homepage The Extension Connection is a quarterly publication of Iowa State University Extension. Send a message: Nondiscrimination statement and information disclosures Last update: January 2004
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ISU college partners See ISU Extension to Communities Also see |
