Innovators in Rural Community Economic Development

Virginia

Yellow Wood brings a special combination of content and process expertise to our work.

We invite you to explore our work.  Recent projects and presentations are listed below.  You can explore additional work using the various tags in the right hand column.

Wealth Creation in Rural Communities - Building Sustainable Livelihoods (WealthWorks)

Yellow Wood Associates is the managing grantee and thought leader for Wealth Creation in Rural Communities - Building Sustainable Livelihoods (now WealthWorks), an initiative of the Ford Foundation that seeks to improve rural livelihoods with a systems…

Wallace Center, Nourishing Networks: Capacity Building for Food Hubs and Regional Food Systems Project

In connection with our work on the Wallace Center Nourishing Networks – Improving the Food Environment Project, Yellow Wood provided consulting services to Wallace under the Nourishing Networks: Capacity Building for Food Hubs and Regional Food Systems…

Natural Capital Investment Fund, NCIF Rural Jobs Accelerator Measurement

Yellow Wood Associates is working with the Natural Capital Investment Fund and partners to develop outcome measures for the Rural Jobs Accelerator that capture effects on the seven forms of wealth as well as on jobs and income. We will work with NCIF…

Wallace Center, Nourishing Networks – Improving the Food Environment Project

Yellow Wood Associates worked for the Wallace Center at Winrock International on the Nourishing Networks – Improving the Food Environment project, funded by The Kresge Foundation. Yellow Wood served on the Food Hub Collaboration Core Team; provided…

Wallace Center, Increasing Farmer Success in Local Food Markets in Mississippi and Alabama Project

In connection with our work on the Wallace Center Nourishing Networks – Improving the Food Environment Project, Yellow Wood provided consulting services to Wallace under the Increasing Farmer Success in Local Food Markets in Mississippi and Alabama…

Wallace Center, National Good Food Network Food Hub Collaboration

The Wallace Center invited Yellow Wood to participate as evaluator and core team member in the National Good Food Network Food Hub Collaboration, an initiative funded by the Kresge Foundation to strengthen regional food hubs and their contributions…

Appalachia Funders Network, Pre-Conference Session at the Second Annual Gathering, June 2011

Shanna Ratner presented a pre-conference session on Wealth Creation in Rural Communities at the Appalachia Funders Network's Second Annual Gathering in Charleston, West Virginia.

Appalachian Harvest Think Tank

Shanna Ratner participated in an ad hoc think tank convened by Appalachian Sustainable Development on the role of social enterprises in building and strengthening local food value chains. 25 representatives of businesses, nonprofit organizations, and…

US EPA 2011 Community Involvement Training Conference, "Community Involvement in the 21st Century: Embracing Diversity, Expanding Engagement, Utilizing Technology"

Melissa Levy, Senior Associate, and Barbara Wyckoff, Measurement Guide, co-presented "You Get What You Measure®: An Alternative Strategic Planning and Evaluation Tool for Progress You Can See," a seven hour training session crafted to provide participants…

Expanding Sustainable and Community-based Food Systems Project Evaluation

Yellow Wood Associates evaluated the second half of the Wallace Center's Expanding Sustainable and Community-based Food Systems project funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. The multi-faceted project included regranting to four organizations involved…

Central Appalachian Network, Evaluation and Strategic Planning

The Central Appalachian Network (CAN) is a group of seven nonprofits in the Central Appalachian states of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia focused on transforming Central Appalachia’s economy by creating economic opportunities…

Expanding Sustainable and Community-based Food Systems Project Strategic Planning

Yellow Wood worked with the National Good Food Network leadership in designing, executing, and following up on a strategic planning meeting. Yellow Wood assisted with the follow up process, development of an action plan, and evaluation planning.

Perspectives from Farmers Working with Sysco’s Local Good Food Sourcing Program

Yellow Wood provided assistance with qualitative data gathering for the Wallace Center. This assistance included developing interview questions, interviewing growers, and synthesizing interview responses.

Value Chain Write Shop 1 - Hosted by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service and the Wallace Center

Shanna Ratner facilitated the first of two values-based value chain writeshops for the Wallace Center at Winrock International. The purpose of the writeshop was to develop content for tools to assist intermediaries in building value chains so that…

Enhancing New Agricultural Businesses for Long-term Employment

Yellow Wood Associates worked with consultant Doug Hoffer to assist the Wallace Center in preparing a proposal to the U.S. Department of Labor for Agriculture and Food Sector Job Training for Enhancing Green Jobs.

Evaluation of the Advantage Valley Entrepreneurial Development System Collaborative

Yellow Wood Associates was selected as the evaluator for the Advantage Valley Entrepreneurial Development System. Advantage Valley was one of six initiatives funded by the Kellogg Foundation to experiment with a variety of approaches for encouraging…

Accelerating Community-Based Food Systems

Yellow Wood worked with the Wallace Center to develop a scope of work for evaluation of the Accelerating Community Based Food Systems project, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Outcome Funding Evaluation

Yellow Wood evaluated the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and its work helping advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities through a nationwide research and education…

Facilitation Services, Appalachian Sustainability Collaborative

Appalachian Sustainable Development, the Center for Economic Options, and the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development asked Yellow Wood to provide facilitation services for their collaboration. The purpose of the collaboration was to…

Dragon Run Natural Resource Economic Assessment

Yellow Wood helped the Middle Peninsula Planning and Development Commission to define and assess the feasibility of economic development activities and opportunities that sustain traditional land uses and which minimize adverse impacts on the natural…

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program Outcome Funding

Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with NESARE in piloting an outcome-funding approach to grantmaking. The work included two year’s participation in the design process, proposal reviews, interviews with potential grantees, committee work to select…

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE)

Served a three-year term on the Administrative Council of the Northeast Region’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.