Stories

Rural

  • Sparking Development where it’s Needed Most

    Big-money real estate developers are flocking to the American South, lured by aggressive economic development policies, generous tax incentives, lax regulations, low-cost land, cheap labor and a booming population. Investors are pouring considerable dollars into large real estate funds that typically target the same five to ten big cities. These dominance of these so-called “mega-funds,” which...

  • We Stand with the Dreamers: Our Statement on DACA

    The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation strongly opposes plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which enables 800,000 young people to study and work in the United States without fear of deportation.

    Often called “dreamers,” the youth enrolled in DACA were brought here as children; for many, America is the only country they’ve ever known. Rescinding...

    Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
  • Investing in Opportunity: Georgia’s Civic Engagement Network

    Like much of the South, Georgia is a racially diverse state rapidly growing even more so. Thanks in part to booming immigrant and refugee populations, it is projected to become majority-minority by 2025. And like its neighbors, Georgia has more than its share of challenges, including political representation that is not truly representative and persistent poverty, which is most acute in rural...

    Georgia STAND-UP
  • Sharing Just Transition Lessons Half a World Away

    As any map will tell you, Australia is a long way from Appalachia. Despite the distance and differences, their coalfield communities share striking similarities: the fossil fuel industry’s problematic political power, economic challenges, and mining-related environmental and health concerns. As in Appalachia, there is a growing dedication to a just transition from a single extractive industry...

    Latrobe City Hard Hats