Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Dear RCAC friends During the first year of our Strategic Plan we continued to build programs to implement new strategic directions. Looking back on 2015 there is much to celebrate as we worked to make rural communities vibrant healthy and enduring. Housing Last year 18 U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Mutual Self-Help Housing Program organizations renewed grants totaling more than 19 million. In addition seven new self-help grantees were awarded grants totaling more than 2 million. RCAC staff worked on two housing developments that secured 23.5 million in financing. We passed through funds or managed more than 2.5 million in resources for 85 housing counseling agencies. As a loan packaging intermediary we helped 44 low income families secure financing through the USDA Rural Development 502 direct loan program. Environmental In our environmental program 30 plus small communities secured more than 20 million in financing to upgrade their water and wastewater systems. RCAC staff helped more than 100 water systems to come into compliance with Safe Drinking Water Act standards. Nine communities adopted rate studies that resulted in a 1.8 million increase in revenue and 18 income surveys were completed to lower financing costs for new systems. We installed nearly 150 water bottle filling stations in schools to give students better access to safe drinking water. Staff also began work on five new regionalization projects to build relationships among 15 small communities that want to make their infrastructure more sustainable. Loan Fund Our loan fund closed 40 loans totaling almost 30 million supporting housing development environmental infrastructure community facilities and small businesses. In addition staff closed 22 small loans so families could replace wells that had gone dry as a result of the drought. Training Training is a big piece of our work and staff trained more than 7500 people last year who received almost 40000 hours of training. We held a Tribal water conference and par- ticipated in the National Self-Help Housing Conference. We initiated a new program we call the Tribal Housing Excellence Academy and the first cohort of students representing seven reservations graduated. Community and economic development Another new initiative Building Rural Economies is working with six communities to create an entrepreneurial culture and support new local business development. We are working with two Tribes in this program. One of the Tribes launched a construc- tion company that now employs six Tribal members. The balance of this report will look at five projects that demonstrate our impact and reflect our core values. Our staff members reflect these values in their work and we are particularly proud of their commitment to the organization and the communities we serve. Of course none of this would be possible without our generous funderssupport. It is a pleasure to work with the staff and our dedicated board of directors as we improve the quality of life in the rural West. Sincerely FinancialsSupporters A letter from our CEO Stanley Keasling Chief Executive Officer