Small, place-based foundations operate in almost every rural region, town, and city in the U.S. Many of these communities have experienced a dramatic loss of jobs in the past decades. As local foundations make grants to meet immediate needs, their leaders consider whether the foundations might also play a part in rejuvenating local economies and lifting opportunity and hope for the residents of their towns and regions. In this podcast, meet the staff of a foundation of two committed to doing just that - nurturing economic development in a city that once flourished with manufacturing jobs that sustained a large middle class. Megan Oglesby and Joe Blosser of the Earl & Kathryn Congdon Foundation in High Point, North Carolina share ways they are devoting the foundation's many assets to help small businesses start, scale, and grow. Megan and Joe explore how a leanly staffed foundation can use its unique role and position to do what government and business cannot do to nurture economic development - by providing long-term strategic thinking and investment, taking higher risks, and supporting activity essential to business development that doesn't offer profit, such as training, equipment, space for entrepreneurs, and networking.

Read the full article about job growth from Exponent Philanthropy at PodBean.