Good afternoon,

Yesterday marked the beginning of the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) National Small Business Week, which celebrates the contributions of entrepreneurs and small businesses. Small businesses are essential for rural communities and their economies, comprising 84.8 percent of establishments and creating 54.3 percent of jobs in rural areas.

When it comes to entrepreneurship in America's heartland, Steve Case, founder of Revolution and the 'Rise of the Rest' seed fund, makes a case for venture capital's ability to create vibrant rural communities with sustained investment in technological innovation. Listen to the Hot Dish to learn more.

Curious about other solutions to the challenges rural America faces? Register for OCP's 2024 Rural Progress Summit, which will take place June 4 through June 6, bringing together rural stakeholders from across the country to discuss the future of rural America.

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Here's what else you need to know this week...

RURAL DISASTER RESILIENCE

• The April showers that bring May flowers are not such gentle pitter-patters of rain. This weekend, America's heartland was battered by extreme weather: tornadoes across Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Missouri; flash flood risks from Wisconsin to Texas; and severe thunderstorms throughout the region that could affect as many as 6 million into tomorrow.

• Here's how you can help the impacted communities.

• As severe weather events intensify and become more frequent, communities need to adapt to and become more resilient in the face of climate change. Most at risk for natural disaster are rural communities of color. While rural Americans comprise 14 percent of the population, they're included in 35 percent of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Community Disaster Resilience Zones (CRDZs) – and of these rural CRDZs, nearly two-thirds have higher shares of people of color than other rural regions.

• FEMA aims to prioritize emergency federal funding for climate resilience and mitigation projects in these communities. These targeted investments seek to deliver aid to communities that have long been left behind when it comes to accessing capital and federal resources.

• When disasters strike, it can take years for these communities to recover. In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, New Bern, North Carolina – in the rural Craven County – needed assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to rebuild. However, final permissions did not come until four years after the hurricane.

• HUD has taken longer and longer to deliver disaster program funds to communities, in part because the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery program lacks permanent authorizing legislation. Congress can help streamline assistance by passing a law to permanently authorize the program. Beyond that, however, connecting communities to critical resources can help them modernize and prepare for disasters before they even strike. Read about OCP's proposal to include a Growing Rural Opportunity and Wealth (GROWth) Plan grant program in the Farm Bill to connect rural communities with tailored planning and development tools.

MAY DAY

• It's gonna be May! May 1 marks not only the first day of Mental Health Awareness Month and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, but also May Day – to some, a festival marking the beginning of summer, and to others, International Workers' Day.

• Workers at Volkswagen's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee won an election to unionize under the United Auto Workers (UAW) and are now turning to contract negotiations for fair compensation and benefits. Now, the UAW is looking to the Mercedes-Benz factory in Vance and a battery plant in Woodstock, Alabama, which will hold a vote between May 13 and May 17.

• While Alabama auto workers are paid more than the median state income, they make less than their national counterparts – and real wages have fallen 11 percent between 2002 and 2019.

• With the UAW's endorsement of President Biden, political experts hope to see working-class voters – not necessarily in deep red Southern states, but in the more purple Midwest and Rust Belt states – to turn out to support Biden in November's election.

A DARK DAY FOR RURAL AMERICA'S DIGITAL LANDSCAPE

• Yet tomorrow also brings not a celebration, but a solemn observance as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) funding runs out, jeopardizing internet access for 23 million Americans.

• Due to large geographic distances between remote communities, broadband deployment in rural regions is much more expensive. And rural Americans on average have lower median incomes than their urban counterparts. By providing up to $30 per month to eligible households and up to $75 per month to households on Tribal lands, the ACP has successfully helped to lower this barrier. For every dollar spent on ACP, American households receive nearly two dollars in household benefits, generating $16.2 billion in employment and convenience benefits annually.

• With time and money in short supply, Congress must act now to keep the ACP funded – and help Americans keep in touch with friends and family, take online classes, apply for jobs, work remotely, and attend telehealth appointments. While work is done to identify a long-term funding mechanism that will ensure rural America is well-connected and enhances the affordability of broadband, taking immediate action to continue funding ACP is critical to closing the digital divide and unlocking rural America's economic future.

Be sure to follow the One Country Project on Twitter and Facebook, and listen to The Hot Dish podcast.