In summer 2020, small business owner Michael Blecha had to take a hard look at his business, Kinnon Entertainment. The concert production industry was poised to have its best year ever just a few months earlier. More than 600 venues booked Kinnon through December—a record-breaking year for Blecha.

Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) embarked on its journey in 2012 to help homebuyers access affordable mortgages through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) 502 Direct Loan Program. After nearly a decade RCAC built a powerhouse partnership network across the rural West and beyond.

After a community lifts fire evacuation orders and it is safe to return home, the real work begins. When a disaster affects a water system, it could be weeks or months before potable water is widely available. The water system’s long to-do list includes public relations, engineering, finances and even relocating meters.

It began as a one-time collaboration between Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) and Pueblo Unido Community Development Corporation (Pueblo Unido) to provide safe drinking water in the Eastern Coachella Valley.

RCAC stands in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Recent acts of violence against AAPI community members, including specifically targeting elderly and women AAPI, have starkly revealed anti-Asian hate in our nation.