Sustainable community development in the Native Southwest
Rural Community Assistance Corporation
Founded in 1978, Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) is a nonprofit organization that partners with underserved rural and Indigenous communities across the West through technical assistance, training, financial resources, and advocacy. Its work spans housing, water and wastewater infrastructure, community and economic development, small business, and other essential resources that help communities achieve their own vision for the future.
-
From 2018–2023, we partnered with RCAC to evaluate its investments funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and capacity-building initiatives supporting Native communities in Arizona and New Mexico. The multi-year evaluation sought to understand how community development financing, organizational capacity building, and entrepreneurship support contributed to economic security, health, and well-being, while establishing a culturally responsive approach to measuring and communicating impact.
-
Develop and implement a culturally responsive evaluation framework aligned with program goals and community priorities.
Measure the outcomes of lending, program-related investments, and capacity-building activities for Native organizations and communities.
Integrate quantitative program and financial data with qualitative experiences from borrowers, partners, and program participants.
Strengthen data collection, analysis, and reporting practices to support organizational learning and accountability.
Document collective outcomes and lessons learned to inform future investments and program strategies.
-
Over the multi-year engagement, RCAC gained a more comprehensive understanding of the reach, outcomes, and contributions of its investments and capacity-building initiatives. The evaluation brought together lending and program data, stakeholder experiences, and community-level economic indicators to document progress and identify opportunities for improvement. Annual evaluations and a cumulative assessment supported funder accountability, highlighted lessons learned, and provided evidence to inform future investments and strategies for strengthening Native community economic development.
-
Jan 2018–Dec 2023
-
Michael Brydge — Client communication, tool design, data collection, data analysis, theory of change and logic model, and report writing
Mairi Creedon — Interview data collection, data analysis, and report writing
