Our mission is to carry out activities that accelerate the development, conservation and wise use of human, financial and natural resources in order to improve the standard of living within the area.
Tombigbee RC&D is a nonprofit organization that awards grants to projects within our serving region. This promotes the advancement and development of communities as well as providing them with opportunities. Pictured below are the 8 Counties that Tombigbee RC&D serves.
The Whole Picture
RC&D was initially started back in the 1960’s to address rural poverty and help rural communities generate sustainable natural resource-based economies. Although today many RC&D Areas are not rural and are not poor, the need for the RC&D concept is just as strong as ever. RC&D is not the same-old, same-old – RC&D is collaborative, multi-leveled, action-oriented, and inclusive. And, sometimes, “RC&D” is difficult to explain and difficult to quantify. However, the effect of the RC&D approach to solving community problems involving local people in voluntary, empowering ways can be felt with almost every RC&D project that happens across the country.
The RC&D Program
The purpose of the RC&D program is to accelerate the conservation, development and utilization of natural resources, improve the general level of economic activity, and to enhance the environment and standard of living in designated RC&D areas. Current program objectives focus on improvement of quality of life achieved through natural resources conservation, community development which leads to sustainable communities, prudent use (development), and the management and conservation of natural resources.
The RC&D Council
The RC&D Council is the heart of the RC&D concept. The Council is a membership-based nonprofit entity that is established and run by volunteers to carry out the mission of the RC&D. The Council is composed of members that are key community leaders in soil and water conservation, government, and community development. They are the steering committee and action team to implement the “Area Plan”, a community-driven strategic long-range plan to improve the quality of life in the communities in the RC&D Area.
The RC&D Council members need to be action-oriented volunteers and leaders that help the Council address needs in the community through good planning and project implementation. In this “make it happen” style, the Council also periodically evaluates its progress on the Area Plan and gathers input from the community. The Council members represent all the counties of the Area. This larger membership body formally meets twice a year to develop the annual plan of work and celebrate accomplishments.
