Great questions can powerfully move people to act, to get unstuck, and to see potential. They help us shift perspective — a critical component for solution-finding, meaningful communication, and daily living. This 1-page outline provides 20 anytime mentoring questions that supplement the 40 conversation-starter questions found in The Encouraging Mentor,…

One of the most important things an organization can do is encourage its employees (or volunteers). Mentoring is a show of faith and an investment in people, your most valuable resource. But formal mentoring programs can be awkward. Alternatively, nonformal mentoring, grounded in adult learning theory and nonformal teaching practice,…

CREATE BRIDGES is a program designed for multi-county regions to raise awareness of the role retail, accommodations, tourism, and entertainment businesses play in the local economy; determine challenges and opportunities related to those businesses; and develop and implement strategies strengthening those sectors. CREATE BRIDGES was developed through a collaborative partnership…

One Block at Time addresses flooding through green infrastructure projects at the city block scale that center on equitable, community-driven engagement and planning. The toolkit is organized based on project phases of background assessment, community visioning, and implementation. The online resources include process agendas, education and visualization resources, outcomes, lessons…

A Small Business Banking Guide is intended for new and established business owners and Extension Educators that work with entrepreneurs. The guide will help small business owners navigate the process of creating, maintaining, and enhancing a personal relationship with a bank representative. The guide also provides helpful information so that…

The Rural Grocery Transition Specialist Program trains and deploys resource professionals across the country to better serve rural grocers through business transitions. This course contains seven online modules that include homework assignments and interactive discussion boards, paired with guided learning through several synchronous virtual meetings. This course is designed for…

The program supports a collaborative community planning approach to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of existing community policies and to identify goals, motivations, and barriers for hazard mitigation planning, focusing on water resources, flooding, and green infrastructure. The program includes: Discussions of local community resiliency; Reviewing existing plans and ordinances…

Taking Action to Address Substance Use in Communities: A Protocol for Communities has been developed by a team of health professionals and Extension professionals from Purdue University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and The Ohio State University to provide a theoretical framework for Extension professionals as they work with communities…

Future Opportunities for Rural Workforce and Rural Development (FORWARD) Sponsored by Ascendium Education Group, the FORWARD curriculum is designed to support Cooperative Extension Professionals (CEPs) working to address workforce development issues in rural communities. This project expands upon Cooperative Extension’s experience with youth engagement and career development to target non-traditional…

Community development is an essential component of county Extension education. To successfully incorporate community development into their programs, county agents and their supervisors need to recognize and define what is— and what is not—encompassed in community and economic development. This document provides a brief review.