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Best Practices, 1999 1
 
J. Norman Reid
USDA Rural DevelopmentOffice of Community DevelopmentJune 2000
Best Practices1999
Rural Empowerment Zones andEnterprise Communities
 
 
Best Practices, 1999 2 
Executive Summary
This compilation of best practices, drawn largely from the 1999 annual reports of rural Empowerment Zones (EZ), Enterprise Communities (EC), Rural EconomicArea Partnership (REAP) Zones, and Champion Communities (CC), represents acollection of good ideas that have been tested in practice. It differs from traditionalcompilations, which frequently describe effective ways of addressing particular so-cial and economic challenges, such as business development, housing, health care, job training, and transportation. Because this volume is concerned with the proc-ess of community empowerment—a very different and more comprehensive objec-tive than attacking individual programmatic challenges—its focus is on ways ruralcommunities have chosen to achieve empowerment for themselves.As a result, the practices shown below are organized around themes that reflectsome of the issues that must be addressed to achieve community empowerment:These themes are shown neither in order of importance nor in the order they mustbe addressed; rather, they appear alphabetically. Specific best practices are listedwithin the appropriate category along with the name of the community from whichthey come. For the most part, these best practices are compiled from the 1999annual reports of EZs, ECs, CCs, and REAP Zones, though some have been addedfrom other sources, including the experience of the author.Additional copies of this report may be obtained from:Office of Community DevelopmentUSDA Rural DevelopmentRoom 701 300 7th Street, S.W.Washington, DC 20024202-619-7981The report is also available on the EZ/EC Web site:
www.ezec.gov
Administrative Capacity ..............................................3Building Sustainable Programs .................................11Citizen Participation ..................................................42Combining Funding Sources .....................................56Creating and Celebrating “Wins” ...............................60Governance ..............................................................64Leadership Development ..........................................72Monitoring and Evaluating Strategic Plans ................77Partnerships .............................................................93
 
 
Best Practices, 1999 3 
Administrative Capacity
 
 Beadle Beadle--Spink Enterprise CommunitySpink Enterprise Community
 
funding sustainability revolving loan funds funding sustainability revolving loan funds 
Beadle and Spink Enterprise Community (South Dakota) operates revolving loanprograms offering low interest loans in four major areas: housing, business, live-stock, and rural development projects. The revolving loan program is diversifiedso that all sectors of the community may benefit from this designation. In addi-tion, the revolving loans are helping put the EC on a self-sustaining basis. Whilesome EZ/EC's are desperately trying to find administrative support to continue withtheir respective strategic plans Beadle-Spink used the bulk of its EZ/EC (SSBG)funds for the revolving loan program, using only the interest received from theloans to cover administrative costs.
 
 Moloka`i Enterpris Moloka`i Enterprise Communitye Community
 
staff administrative funding technical assistance partnerships administrative procedures staff administrative funding technical assistance partnerships administrative procedures 
The Moloka`i Enterprise Community (Hawaii) board determined very early thatadequate administrative support is critical to successful implementation of the stra-tegic plan. Working with its lead administrative entity, the Molokai CommunityService Council (MCSC), the board helped to raise $279,650 to cover administra-tive expenses for the first year of operations. Fifteen percent of the annual ECgrant was dedicated to partially cover operational costs. Using these funds, MCSChas rented adequate office space, hired 3.5 full-time equivalent employees, andupgraded its computerized bookkeeping system. These efforts were aided by theRural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), a western regional non-profit or-ganization that received funds from Bank of America to provide technical assis-tance to rural non-profits. RCAC assisted MCSC with an internal financial manage-ment review and provided suggestions on improving MCSC's system. MCSC alsorecently became one of 68 partners with the largest community development fi-nancial intermediary in the country, Rural LISC (Low-Income Sustainable Commu-nities). Rural LISC will also help to provide technical and capacity-building supportfor MCSC so that it can administer the EC's strategic plan implementation more ef-fectively.
 
 East Prairie Enterprise Community East Prairie Enterprise Community
 
lead entity independence autonomy lead entity independence autonomy 
East Prairie Enterprise Community (Missouri) made the transition from being a pro-gram of a parent organization to having its own independent corporation. This wasa tremendous accomplishment for the EC's lead entity, a rural grassroots commu-nity-based family support organization. As the grassroots organization evolved,the independent status assures that community need is the cornerstone of all ser-vice activities. As a result of the new incorporation, new partnerships resulted inincreased job connection services to residents of the EC and the surrounding area.
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