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Innovation and collaboration help drive access to capital in rural communities
Accessing funding and capital can be difficult in rural and urban communities. But the barriers for rural communities can be heightened due to capacity and resource constraints. Organizations are using creativity to turn challenges into opportunities.
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Get insights from the Fed’s community development teams and their collaborators.
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Community perspectives and conditions from the Fed’s Beige Book, April 2026
Inflation is driving increases in the utilization of support services, spending on credit, and restructuring debt. As one contact noted, lower- and middle-income households “can’t out-budget low wages, tariffs, and inflation.”
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The Quarterly Catch-up, Q1 2026
Check out the latest community development-related research, analyses, and articles from all 12 Federal Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors. This post captures content published between January 1 and March 31, 2026, on topics affecting communities.
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Community perspectives and conditions from the Fed’s Beige Book, February 2026
Community contacts report that rising costs for food, housing, and energy have strained low- and moderate-income communities and nonprofits, while rural hospitals face financial risks. Stable employment for some helped ease economic anxiety, contacts noted. But vulnerable groups and small businesses remained stressed under increasing costs, according to observations for the February 2026 Beige Book.
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Key insights from the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey
The 2025 Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS) shares insights from more than 6,500 small employer firms across the US about their business performance, challenges, and credit experiences.
Explore data and research
From survey findings to dashboards, the Fed’s data can inform collaborative efforts between policymakers, employers, and educators.
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Read more →: How the Fed studies and understands housing’s key role in the economyHow the Fed studies and understands housing’s key role in the economy
The cost and availability of housing affect family budgets, labor force mobility, business growth, and the health of the economy. Learn how the Fed studies and engages with communities around vital housing trends, challenges, and innovations.
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Read more →: Small business strategies for supporting employee child care needsSmall business strategies for supporting employee child care needs
Small businesses employ nearly half of private-sector workers but often have limited resources to offer benefits like child care. This article examines the prevalence of employer-supported child care and the practical strategies small businesses employ to support working parents.
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Read more →: 2025 Community Perspectives Survey: Insights from the field—Health of entities serving low- and moderate-income communities2025 Community Perspectives Survey: Insights from the field—Health of entities serving low- and moderate-income communities
The second report from the 2025 Community Perspectives Survey highlights how LMI-serving organizations are managing demand, funding, and staffing. While many can meet community needs, challenges like resource strain and adapting to uncertainity are impacting their overall organizational health.
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Read more →: 2025 Community Perspectives Survey: Insights from the field—Economic conditions in low- and moderate-income communities2025 Community Perspectives Survey: Insights from the field—Economic conditions in low- and moderate-income communities
The 2025 Community Perspectives Survey, conducted nationally by the Federal Reserve, provides an overview of economic conditions in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities. The first report examines key findings in the areas of housing, employment, financial stability, health, education, small business and access to technology.