Sun Prairie-based Compeer Financial is partnering on a rural economic development initiative with Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) to expand SMIF’s Rural Entrepreneurial Venture (REV) program to small towns in southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, according to a news release.
The REV program works with selected small towns over a three-year period. It takes a targeted approach to entrepreneurial development through outreach, investment, and community ecosystem building. The participating communities are supported through a trained REV coach, who gives them the tools and resources they need to develop and execute entrepreneur-led strategic priorities.
The REV framework has a proven record of accelerating entrepreneurial activity across the U.S. For the last six years, REV programming has activated entrepreneurial-led economic development in a number of Minnesota communities, each of which have developed their own approach to economic development, from youth retention programs to the launch of chambers of commerce.
Compeer’s financial commitment will help expand the REV program and create opportunities for communities in Wisconsin and Illinois.
