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The New Connected Countryside

Creating a flourishing future for rural communities

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The New Connected Countryside

The New Connected Countryside

The New Connected Countryside

The New Connected Countryside

The New Connected Countryside

Creating a flourishing future for rural communities

Creating a flourishing future for rural communities

Creating a flourishing future for rural communities

Creating a flourishing future for rural communities

Robert Bell
Robert Bell
Robert Bell
Robert Bell
1 Campaign |
New York City, United States
$7,930 USD 12 backers
39% of $20,000 Fixed Goal Fixed Goal


If you live in a rural area, you know it yourself.  The share of the population living the rural life is shrinking as large cities grow.  That reduces opportunities for education and employment, forcing the brightest young adults to leave town in order to make a living. 

Or maybe you're one of those people who left - but would prefer to live in the countryside if you could just figure out how to make a living there.

They are places that have bucked the trend.  These communities use broadband and information technology to eliminate distance as a barrier to growth and make digital networks take the place of the physical proximity that urban areas provide.  They are no longer in "the middle of nowhere." 

The people who live there are part of a dynamic economy and progressive community.  Innovative local businesses find global markets for their products and services.  Education thrives and graduates have the chance to build a life in the place they love.  Workers and employers pursue cutting-edge innovation while enjoying a quality of life their urban peers can only envy.   

These small towns and rural communities have lessons to share with each other and the rest of the world.  We need your help to get those lessons to the places that need them the most. 

We are the Intelligent Community Forum, a 15-year-old social enterprise that helps cities and regions use broadband and information technology to create prosperity, meet social challenges and strengthen their culture.  Two years ago, we launched a project (www.ruralimperative.com) focusing specifically on the problems and potential of rural regions.  The New Connected Countryside is our next step.

With your help, the New Connected Countryside will provide an online platform where community leaders, residents, institutions and businesses from around the world can connect, exchange advice, share resources and build a global network of peers.  Each year, they will come together for a virtual global conference featuring mayors, county executives, nonprofit leaders, technologists, educators, investors and all the other players in the new rural economy. 

Year round, they will share their discoveries, their successes, failures and lessons learned with each other.  Drawn by their passion for progress, they will forge bonds that help them to retain their talented youth, to grow businesses that provide good incomes, and to give local culture a global sounding board.    


Why We Need Your Help

A virtual collaboration platform is a low-cost way to bring innovators together – but it’s not free.  Our costs will include a high-quality Web platform providing registration, presentations, document libraries, online meet-ups and more, plus the human hours needed to curate the content, build participation and organize and market the annual conference. Your contribution makes it possible for The New Connected Community to get off the ground and complete its first year.  Future years will be funded by participants and organizations as well as donors like you.


A dozen leading rural communities have already committed to participate, from Mitchell, South Dakota and Quitman, Mississippi to Parkland County, Alberta and Whanganui, New Zealand.   The leaders of those communities are defining bold visions, taking risks and learning from experience how to translate connectivity into opportunity. 

Hundreds more communities are waiting for the opportunity.  Help us meet our fundraising goal, and you can be part of that network – and give people in rural communities around the world a chance for a better future. 

What Happens Next

When we reach our fundraising goal, we will:
  • Develop and launch the New Connected Countryside platform.
  • Learn from our subscribers what topics are most important to them.
  • Engage Discussion Leaders on those topics: email us if you would like to be considered as a Discussion Leader.
  • Invite contributions from recognized leaders in rural development.
  • Post videos, presentations and best practices drawn from the community of participants.
  • Schedule and produce the first virtual Rural Summit.
With your support, roll-out in stages can begin in April 2016.  But we can't do it without you.  Donate today at whatever level is right for you.

What We Have Done Before This?



Press
These print and online publications have covered the work of the Intelligent Community Forum in recent years:


Other Ways You Can Help

If you can't contribute but still would like to help: 

  • Share the news about The New Connected Community with your friends and colleagues who might be interested in contributing.  
  • Follow the Intelligent Community Forum LinkedIn Group, Facebook Page and on Twitter @newcommunities.

Thanks!

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Choose your Perk

Donor

$25 USD
Receive an invitation to the Connected Countryside social network with this level - and with every one above it.
2 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Contributor

$50 USD
Receive free registration to the Virtual Summit as well as membership in the Connected Community social network for your $50 contribution.
2 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Builder

$100 USD
Get a self-playing presentation (Prezi) you can use to help others in your community understand the broadband opportunity available to rural places, plus free Virtual Summit registration.
1 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Patron

$500 USD
We will send you a free copy of ICF's "Brain Gain: How Innovative Communities are Creating Jobs in an Age of Disruption," along with that cool Prezi you can use to open people's eyes to the broadband opportunity, and free Virtual Summit registration.
1 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Leader

$1,000 USD
You get the book and the Prezi, of course - we wouldn't take those away. But you also get a high-quality Connected Countryside polo shirt you can wear with pride, along with free Virtual Summit registration.
2 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Accelerator

$2,500 USD
Receive up to five hours of free online consultation from co-founders of the Intelligent Community Forum to explore your challenges, opportunities and next steps in community development. We will also name you or your organization as a Bronze Level sponsor of the Virtual Summit. We'll even throw in the book, Prezi, polo shirt and Virtual Summit registration as well.
2 out of 5 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Keynote

$5,000 USD
An ICF co-founder will deliver a keynote address to your community and meet with your major stakeholders (a $5,000 value). You have to cover travel and accommodation costs. We will also name you or your organization as a Silver Level sponsor of the Virtual Summit. Oh, and did we mention the Prezi, book, polo shirt and Virtual Summit registration?
0 out of 3 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

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