Staffing, funding, and sustaining collaborative economic development organizations that provide the full range of programming require resources and cooperation. Extension-led economic development organizations, because they are tied to university resources grounded in research and education and without local jurisdictional bias, can build public trust and cooperative partnerships that help to broaden funding support for economic development programming.

New energy policy, industry regulation, and market investment are influencing the development of renewable energy technologies, setting the stage for rural America to provide the energy of tomorrow. This article describes how Extension's renewable energy programming was implemented in two Ohio communities to engage elected officials and residents in learning applied aspects of renewable energy development. Through outreach and education, Extension can assist communities in making informed decisions about renewable energy projects. Reflecting on the impacts from renewable energy programming delivered in Ohio, the authors recommend that Extension systems across the country engage communities in renewable energy education.

Communities seek to offer effective financing programs to encourage entrepreneurs and support the growth of microenterprises. Community economic development strategies have changed in recent years from traditional industrial recruitment to microenterprise development (MED), which is considered to be as a more viable, long-term strategy to create jobs and grow local economies. This article provides a framework for an effective microenterprise financing program based on the model created by a rural community in Ohio and offers suggestions as to how this framework may be used by researchers and practitioners to identify best practices in the microenterprise financing realm.

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