Success Stories

The Mitchell family was living on top of each other in their cramped apartment in the rural town of Tillamook on the northern Oregon coast. The exposed wiring in the second bedroom forced them to share the master with their two young children. They applied for a mortgage loan,… [Read More]

The commercial fishers in the small southern Oregon coastal community of Port Orford were reliant on the corporate model to sell their catch. “The fishermen here are fiercely individualist and there’s all kinds of characters,” said Aaron Longton, captain of the Goldeneye. “But… [Read More]

While stories abound about rural hospitals closing across the country, Curry General Hospital on the southern Oregon coast demonstrates how a rural hospital can expand and thrive. In Gold Beach, residents were served by a small, outdated facility that was built in the 1950s and… [Read More]

Sandra and Michael thought homeownership was beyond their reach. They never imagined it was not only possible but that they could reduce their housing expenses by buying a home. They were living in a manufactured house with their three children and their dog. The home was built… [Read More]

When Geoff Scott and John Mathia teamed up to open a farm in northwest Oregon, they envisioned producing high-quality meat raised in an environmentally-sustainable manner. Their products were attractive to local customers and sold quickly, enabling them to expand to a 47-acre… [Read More]

Guests at most hotels never give a second thought to the roof of the building. But at the Hampton Inn and Suites in the rural town of Roseburg, owner Bruce Hanna is encouraging his guests to learn about the significant environmental impacts being generated out of sight on the… [Read More]

Many rural communities lack the necessary infrastructure to provide broadband services, creating myriad challenges for local residents, businesses, schools, and other essential community services. In contrast, residents of Molalla and Mulino, Oregon, are gaining access to… [Read More]

Every time the south winds blew through the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), Mary and Abbie Van Pelt had problems with their roof. Each time, Abbie would climb on the roof to try and fix the issue. When CTUIR received a Housing Preservation Grant… [Read More]

Precision Prefinishing may be a small business, but it needs a large space to conduct its work of custom finishing panels for cabinets, siding, and other construction products. Its 130,000-square-foot facility in the rural town of Harrisburg in western Oregon was lit with… [Read More]

In the small community of Florence and the surrounding area on the Oregon coast, nearly 4,000 people received free food from the nonprofit Florence Food Share last year. The pantry helps ensure that seniors, people with disabilities, those who are unemployed, and low-income… [Read More]