Rural Community Assistance Partnership

Improving the quality of life in rural communities
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About RCAP

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RCAP mission statement
 

RCAP is a national service-delivery network that works toward these outcomes with small, rural communities: 

  • improved environmental and community health

  • utilities that are in compliance with federal and state regulations

  • sustainable water and waste-disposal systems

  • increased capability of local leaders to address current and future needs

more on these outcomes

RCAP programs help communities that are seeking to build, maintain or expand their water and wastewater infrastructure. We provide:
  • on-site technical assistance
  • training in the financial, managerial and operational areas of water and wastewater systems
  • educational resources
  • financial resources 
Every year, 145 RCAP specialists based in the field provide assistance to more than 2,000 communities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The staff includes registered professional engineers, certified operators, utility finance and board-management specialists, community planners, and experts with other relevant backgrounds. Most of the communities we assist are economically disadvantaged and have populations under 2,500, and many have significant minority populations. 
 
RCAP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its funding comes solely from federal government agencies:
 

Structure

The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) is a national network of nonprofit organizations working to ensure that rural and small communities throughout the United States have access to safe drinking water and sanitary wastewater disposal. The six regional RCAPs provide a variety of programs in their section of the United States to accomplish this goal, such as direct training and technical assistance, leveraging millions of dollars to assist communities develop and improve their water and wastewater systems.

The six regional partners in the network whose programs in the water and wastewater sector are done together under the umbrella of RCAP are also brought together by a national office in Washington, D.C..

 

RCAP Regions Map

 
 
The national office engages in program management, applied research, advocacy and policy development, and public education on rural issues, especially with respect to community infrastructure. It also supports the work of the other parts of the network – the regional partners - by obtaining financial support, sharing knowledge and best practices across the network, and promoting dialog to help communities understand the relationship between the environment, public health, and economic viability. It does this by representing the partnership in rural associations, networks, regulatory committees and coalitions, along with other ways.
 
 
Each RCAP regional partner is an autonomous organization with its own governance, staff, structure, and other sources of funding. Even the official names of some partners do not resemble the common name of Rural Community Assistance Partnership. Each partner provides an array of services that directly respond to the needs of its area. These region-specific services include affordable housing-development assistance; loans for water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as housing and business development; community and economic development; job training and placement; community-based education programs; and special programming for underserved populations. 
 
What binds the RCAP network together are the programs each regional partner has in the water and wastewater sector. This work in each region with the collaboration of the national office is done together under the name of Rural Community Assistance Partnership.