The purpose of this guidebook is to help elected leaders of small towns and communities stretch their investments when matching funds are required to compete for a grant or to pay for development costs above the grant award itself. The federal "small cities" Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is used as an example throughout the…

This handbook describes a set of tools small communities can use to reduce the cost of drinking water and wastewater projects. It is intended as a desktop reference for two primary audiences: (1) local residents (elected officials, plant operators, and concerned citizens) for whom the book provides detailed advice on how to do conduct a project at…

This guide was written for small and rural government officials who have limited experience with the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and with federal grants in general. The use of outside expertise is often necessary in projects involving public facilities, housing, and economic development, some of the principal activities which…

The ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) Rural Adult Education Project was conceived in the spirit of empowering local people to help themselves. This book, a distillation of the experience of the project, was written with the primary object of being of practical use to those who are already involved, or would like to become involved,…

This manual focuses on the start-up and operation of low-cost transportation in rural areas. A principal focus is the use of volunteers and/or the consolidation of rides through a brokerage program. Chapter One provides an overview of what financial and operating decisions must be made to design a volunteer system. Chapter Two describes easy…

This manual, the Spanish translation of a separately available English handbook on program design, is intended to assist volunteers and staff of volunteer organizations in the systematic design of projects in various health, community, and social service areas. The first section of the manual is a guidebook that addresses such aspects of the…

This manual is intended to assist volunteers and staff of volunteer organizations in the design of projects in various community and social service areas. The first section of the manual is a guidebook that addresses such aspects of the planning, implementation, and evaluation process as situational analysis, needs assessment, task-oriented…