DRIVE Communities

The DRIVE program brings together small towns across Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee within the Mississippi River Delta region seeking to catalyze sustainable economic growth. DRIVE communities range in population from under 1,000 to just over 10,000 residents and share a strong sense of pride in their history and culture. The first DRIVE Cohort was welcomed in 2023 and consisted of eight communities. DRIVE is now 13 towns strong and growing. 

 

Each town offers unique assets from agriculture and recreation to the arts, history, and ecotourism. Though starting from different vantages, these communities are united in overcoming economic challenges and share a desire for a thriving and vibrant people-centered ecosystem. 

 

Through DRIVE, communities learn collaboratively while still tailoring solutions to their distinctive needs. The cohort-based program provides grant writing expertise, data analysis, and facilitation to access resources and partnerships. By participating together, these Delta communities can share knowledge while harnessing innovation and cultivating equity on their respective roads to revitalization. Their journey illuminates new models for economic empowerment across the region.