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Average Personal Income 25% Lower in Rural Areas
Daily Yonder | READ STORY
Most of America is below average, at least when it comes to personal income. The map above shows if counties had average personal income above or below the 2014 national average, which was just a few dollars more than $46,000. Eight out of 10 counties in the U.S. had average incomes that fell below the national average. In rural America, just 17.5 percent of counties had above-average incomes in 2014.
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2015's Most and Least Charitable States
WalletHub | READ STORY
America is a selfless nation. In fact, it ranked second overall in 2015's World Giving Index and in the top 10 for two of the three charitable-giving behaviors that are tracked by the index. Just how altruistic are Americans? 95.4 percent of households donate to charities, each contributing an annual average of $2,974. According to the National Philanthropic Trust, in 2014 alone, Americans gave more than $358 billion, 72 percent of which came directly from individuals.
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The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground
Pew Research Center | READ STORY
After more than four decades of serving as the nation's economic majority, the American middle class is now matched in number by those in the economic tiers above and below it. In early 2015, 120.8 million adults were in middle-income households, compared with 121.3 million in lower- and upper-income households combined, a demographic shift that could signal a tipping point, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.
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Know Your Economy: Economic Tools Updated for Every County
Headwaters Economics | READ STORY
Headwaters Economics recently updated several free, easy-to-use economic tools with the latest data and trends for every county in the country. Their Economic Profile System, for example, now has the latest data (through 2014) from the Bureau of Economic Analysis for every county in the nation. These new data include employment, personal income, labor earnings by industry, unearned income by source, and more.
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Which Countries Have The Highest Rates Of Child Poverty?
Forbes | READ STORY
According to the OECD, child poverty is measured as the proportion of children living in households with an equivalised disposable income of less than half of the median income of the total population. Just how prevalent is child poverty across the world's developed economies? While countries in northern Europe have the lowest rates of child poverty, according to the OECD, the highest rates can be found in Israel, Turkey and Mexico where over a quarter of children live in poor families.
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The Paris Agreement: Turning Point for a Climate Solution
WRI | READ STORY
At the UN Climate Conference in Paris, known as COP21, 196 countries joined together in the Paris Agreement, a universal pact that sets the world on a course to a zero-carbon, resilient, prosperous and fair future. While the Agreement is not enough by itself to solve the problem, it places us clearly on the path to a truly global solution.
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What's Food Loss and Waste Got to Do with Climate Change? A Lot, Actually.
WRI | READ STORY
Consider for a moment that, by weight, around a third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. According to figures recently released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), food loss and waste accounts for about 4.4 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (4.4 Gt CO2e) per year. To put this in perspective, if food loss and waste were its own country, it would be the world's third-largest emitter
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Happy New Year! It's that time again to renew your MACDEP Membership or join for 2016. Membership is only $10 and includes subscription to the MACDEP list serve (in addition to this E-News), access to professional development funds and other benefits described here. Please contact , MACDEP Treasurer, for payment information.
The Montana State University Climate Science Conference took place Dec. 8-10, 2016 in Bozeman; the video archive contains footage of all the panels, presenters and keynote speakers and can be accessed here.
The International Association for Community Development is launching a pilot series of webinars. The first on-line seminar will be with Dr. Cornelia Flora, Emeritus Distinguished Professor at the Department of Sociology, Iowa State University on community capitals and migration on Jan. 19, 2015, 10am CST.
-Paul Lachapelle
MACDEP President
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NCDA Winter Legislative and Policy Meeting
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January 20-22, 2016
Washington, D.C.
Sponsor: National Community Development Association
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IACD Sustainable Communities Practice Exchange
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March 10-21, 2016
India
Sponsor: International Association for Community Development
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Joint IACD/CDS International Conference
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July 24-27, 2016
Bloomington, MN
Sponsor: IACD / CDS
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Rural Community Investment
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Deadline: Ongoing
Funder: CHS, Inc.
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AmeriCorps State and National Grants
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Deadline: January 27th, 2016
Funder: AmeriCorps
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Community Building Grants
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Deadline: Ongoing
Funder: Singing for Change
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Sports and Community Development
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Deadline: Open
Funder: Adidas Group
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Community Facility Loans
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Deadline: Ongoing
Funder: Rural Community Assistance Corporation
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Developing Healthy Places
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Deadline: Ongoing
Funder: The Kresge Foundation
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Britain Considers Leaving European Union
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Qantas Named World's Safest Airline
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Plans Revealed for Underwater "Oceanscraper"
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Volkswagen Faces Billions in Environmental Fines
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US Manufacturing Index at Record Low
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Montana Highway Death Toll Increases in 2015
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Bison Population Set to Decrease
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Bozeman Daily Chronicle; Jan 4th
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Air Alert in Effect for Missoula
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States Consider Alternative to Yellowstone Dam
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Great Falls Tribune; Jan 5th
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Helena and Lewis and Clark Forests Merge
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Great Falls Tribune; Jan 5th
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