About Georgia's Rural Center
Georgia's Rural Center's mission is to work with rural communities to build healthy, vibrant rural Georgia communities with managed support and collaborative partnerships.
CORE PRINCIPLES | VISION | STORY | PEOPLE
CORE PRINCIPLES
REDISCOVER
Georgia's Rural Center helps rediscover all that is unique and extraordinary in the state's less-populated areas.
RECREATE
Georgia's Rural Center finds ideas that are working in rural Georgia and recreates them throughout the state.
RECONNECT
Georgia's Rural Center reconnects Georgians with the vital role that rural people and places play in statewide success.
REINVEST
Georgia's Rural Center reinvests in rural communities through special projects and human capital.
VISION
MANAGEMENT
project management that results in completed projects benefiting rural communities
ADVOCACY
Recommend policy change and/or implementation to benefit rural Georgia
DEVELOPMENT
create a portfolio of completed projects to share with other rural communities
COMMUNICATION
share the stories of rural Georgia and their impacts to the entire state
NETWORKING
establish relationships within rural communities to aid in advocacy and development of policy and prospective projects
OUR STORY
The legislation that created Georgia’s Rural Center in 2018 painted a simple, clear picture of the situation in which many of the state’s small towns and rural communities find themselves today. As House Bill 951 pointed out, a host of once-vibrant places throughout Georgia are now plagued by population loss, insufficient access to health care and quality education, poor infrastructure, lack of employment opportunities, and a general economic stagnation.
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In 2017, rural leaders approached Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College President Dr. David Bridges and Special Projects Director Scott Blount with the idea of creating a rural center for Georgia. Out of the initial conceptual proposal drafted by Bridges and Blount, the team transformed the Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation from vision to reality.
Housed in Tifton, the center serves as a central information and research hub for rural best practices, which may include community planning, industry-specific assistance, and cooperative efforts with non-profits, religious organizations, and other higher education partners. With a focus on producing results that directly impact rural people and places, Georgia’s Rural Center works to reconnect the state’s rural and urban people and places, rediscovering all that is unique and extraordinary in the state’s less populated areas and reminding all Georgians of the power and potential present in small towns and crossroads communities.
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Since the inception of Georgia's Rural Center, it has completed 85 projects impacting/touching nearly every county in Georgia. Due to Rural Center projects, over $406 million has been invested in rural Georgia over the last six years. To learn more about Georgia's Rural Center's recent work, view the latest annual report.
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During the 2025 Georgia Legislative Session, HB 495 was passed and signed into law. This piece of legislation moved the Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation to the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Georgia's Rural Center continues its mission to rediscover rural Georgia and support the communities in the state's rural areas through impactful projects as a branch of the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
RURAL GEORGIA'S TEAM
Charlie Fiveash
Director
