Resource Spotlight: Rural Community Assistance Corporation

On Monday, we discussed why the systems behind everyday life matter so much to a community's stability.

Most people think of roads and bridges when they hear the word infrastructure. But most crucially to small towns, infrastructure also includes tap water, sewer lines, homes families can afford, and loans that help local businesses open their doors.

In many rural places, a small staff or a volunteer board is responsible for keeping these systems running, which requires both technical knowledge and consistent funding. Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) has partnered with rural and Indigenous communities in the West for almost 50 years to build and maintain this infrastructure based on what each community decides it needs.

Who RCAC Serves

RCAC is a nonprofit founded in 1978 and headquartered in West Sacramento, California. More than 200 employees work from field offices in 13 western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Its reach also extends to other Pacific islands beyond Hawaii.

RCAC serves communities with fewer than 50,000 residents and works with nonprofits, Tribal organizations, farmworkers, and colonias. Its website explains that RCAC partners with communities to identify needs and set goals together, so that "the communities chart their own course."

Through its membership in the Rural Community Assistance Partnership network, which has an office in Washington, D.C., RCAC advocates for rural communities at the national level.

Water, Wastewater, and Solid Waste

Small water systems have to follow the same regulations as big city systems, but they have far fewer households to share the cost of compliance. For a town of only a few hundred people, upgrading an old treatment plant or adjusting to a new federal rule is often difficult and expensive.

RCAC's environmental programs partner with small water, wastewater, and solid waste systems to help them operate sustainably and comply with state and federal regulations. This support differs by community, but it can include funding applications, financial analysis, income surveys, and community outreach. RCAC can also help nearby systems consider regionalization, which allows small systems to share resources or merge operations.

A few programs are more targeted. The Individual Well Program offers free assessments and education to private well owners, and Agua4All works to expand access to safe drinking water at schools and public places in rural California.

Training and Local Leadership

Much of RCAC's work happens through training. Its Training Hub offers classes for small community systems and organizations on topics like water, wastewater, housing, and community leadership. Many are held online, and some, like RCAC's California drinking water workshops, are free.

Additionally, staff works directly with the people who run local systems, supporting operators and board members with asset management and rate setting so that communities can continue to implement knowledge and training into the future. RCAC's community and economic development team also runs leadership programs that support current local leaders and help new ones step forward, including the Water Leadership Institute.

Affordable Housing

RCAC's housing programs mostly work through local nonprofits, helping them develop and finance affordable single-family and multifamily homes from site selection through construction.

RCAC supports mutual self-help housing, which is a USDA program where groups of families work together to build each other's homes and lower costs. On top of that, RCAC reviews applications for USDA's Section 502 direct home loans and trains other organizations on how to prepare them.

RCAC is a HUD-approved housing counseling intermediary. It does not counsel homebuyers itself, but it provides training and financial support to the local and Tribal agencies that do, so they can offer services such as homebuyer education and foreclosure prevention.

Community and Economic Development

Local businesses and jobs are also part of a town's infrastructure. RCAC's community and economic development work typically starts with planning. Staff help communities decide on a vision and goals, then create an action plan to reach them.

After that, RCAC's Building Rural Economies program provides training to local residents and works to build community support for entrepreneurs. RCAC is a regional hub for WealthWorks West as well, and rural businesses and startups can receive technical assistance and financing through the organization.

Lending and Access to Capital

Even a well-planned project needs money behind it. RCAC's Loan Fund is used to finance affordable housing, water and waste systems, and community facilities, as well as small businesses that bring in or keep jobs in the area.

Different loans carry different rules and regulations, so specific research is necessary. For example, nonprofits, public agencies, and Tribal entities can apply for environmental infrastructure loans if their projects mainly serve low-income rural communities of under 50,000 people. RCAC has low-interest loans and grants for household water wells, as well as a septic system program in Idaho. Tribes and individual Native Americans in Arizona and New Mexico are eligible for RCAC's community development loans.

An RCAC loan officer can help a community figure out which program, if any, fits its project.

Working With Indigenous Communities

According to RCAC, Tribes and Indigenous communities can access all of its services and are a priority for the organization. Some programs are built specifically for Tribes.

Through the Tribal Circuit Riders program, RCAC staff visit regularly to work with Tribal utility staff and managers on the day-to-day work of running a water system, from finances to regulatory compliance, and they respond when problems come up. The Native American Water Master's Association brings utility staff from different Tribes together for training and networking. For housing, THE Academy offers intensive training for organizations and professionals working in Native communities.

How to Get Started

Communities and local organizations can contact RCAC to ask about assistance. RCAC's program pages detail what is included in each area, so a water board might start with the environmental team, but a housing nonprofit would go straight to the housing program.

Many programs are only accessible in certain locations due to variances in funding, so reaching out directly is the most reliable way to find out what's available where you are.

Learn More

If your community is working on a water system or a housing project, reach out to RCAC to see how its staff might help. You can find upcoming classes by creating a profile on the Training Hub, or explore financing through RCAC's lending programs.

If you'd like to support RCAC's work, you can make a tax-deductible donation. Visit Rural Community Assistance Corporation to learn more about its programs across the rural West.