Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement

What Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement does

Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement (CRE) is a university academic unit of Indiana University Bloomington, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana. The center operates the Sustaining Hoosier Communities (SHC) flagship initiative, which connects IU faculty, staff, and students with rural Indiana communities for an academic year of project-based engagement on community-identified priorities spanning health, prosperity, arts and culture, education, housing, leadership, and community resilience. The center serves both rural Indiana communities (population bases typically 15,000-43,000) and IU faculty and students seeking high-impact experiential learning opportunities.

The center's core technology is the EPIC-N-style community-engaged university partnership model, augmented by a portfolio of specialized programs: the Rural Scholars Program (specialized, hourly-compensated student engagements), the Rural Placemaking Studio (design services), Creative Arts for Vets (veteran well-being programming), the IU Cybersecurity Clinic (free cybersecurity assessments for rural organizations), the Community Profile Dashboard (ArcGIS-based county-level data resource), and supporting publications such as the Community Arts and Culture Guide and Hoosier Housing Ready Toolkit. Partnerships span six IU schools (Kelley, O'Neill, Luddy, Eskenazi, School of Public Health, Media School, Hamilton Lugar), state agencies including the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Indiana Landmarks, and regional bodies including Radius Indiana and Regional Opportunity Initiatives.

The center operates without charging community partners: services are delivered at no cost to rural Indiana communities in exchange for community-identified project priorities being matched with IU courses and faculty expertise. Funding comes from Indiana University Bloomington allocations, grants from foundations such as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Simons Foundation, and individual gifts, with $30 million in cumulative grants and gifts secured through September 2025. A $2,000 Course Planning Grant is available to IU faculty (up to three per term) to design new community-engaged courses. The center does not generate commercial revenue; it reinvests funding into community partnership programs, student scholarships, and project delivery. Distribution is direct to rural communities through a structured application and selection process, with engagement spanning 92 Indiana counties and 148 communities as of September 2025.

Name

Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement

Legal name

Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement

Website

https://rural.indiana.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement is a university academic unit operating the Sustaining Hoosier Communities flagship initiative, which partners rural Indiana communities with IU Bloomington faculty and students for year-long, no-cost collaborations on community-identified projects in health, arts, education, housing, and economic development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Community Engagement Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Civic and Social Organizations (81341), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Research, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Partnerships (EDADALAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL), Infrastructure, Housing & Community Development (BPAGABAL), Community Center Education Programs (EDAAAFAB)

Keywords

• Community engagement services
• Rural development programs
• University-community partnerships
• Experiential learning programs
• Rural community research

Headquarters

HQ city

Bloomington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant funding and gifts: The center has secured $30 million in grants and gifts with campus and community partners through September 2025. Funding sources include the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Simons Foundation (In the Path of Totality initiative), and other institutional grantmakers. Revenue is reinvested into community partnership programs, student scholarships, and project delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Center for Rural Engagement operates the Sustaining Hoosier Communities (SHC) flagship initiative and supporting programs that connect Indiana University Bloomington's faculty, students, and staff with rural Indiana communities for year-long and multi-year partnerships. Communities identify their own priorities in health, housing, education, arts and culture, economic development, and resilience, and these are matched with IU courses, Rural Scholars, and student projects that deliver tangible outputs such as design renderings, business plans, needs assessments, cybersecurity audits, and archival research. Services are provided at no cost to community partners and are funded through university allocations, foundation grants, and philanthropic gifts.

Product overview

The Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement operates as a university-community partnership hub offering multiple interconnected programs. The core flagship program is Sustaining Hoosier Communities (SHC), which pairs rural Indiana communities with IU faculty, students, and staff for year-long partnerships. Supporting programs include the Rural Scholars Program for specialized student project support, the Rural Placemaking Studio for design and creative placemaking work, and Creative Arts for Vets (CAV) for veteran wellness. The center also provides publications like the Community Arts and Culture Guide and Hoosier Housing Ready Toolkit, plus grant programs like the Course Planning Grant. The IU Cybersecurity Clinic provides digital security support to rural organizations. Together, these programs address rural community needs across health, housing, education, arts and culture, and economic development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sustaining Hoosier Communities: Flagship initiative partnering rural Indiana communities with IU faculty, students, and staff to advance community-identified projects
• Rural Scholars Program
• Rural Placemaking Studio
• Creative Arts for Vets
• Indiana Uplands Food Network
• IU Cybersecurity Clinic

Products and services

• Sustaining Hoosier Communities (SHC)
• Rural Scholars Program
• Rural Placemaking Studio
• Creative Arts for Vets (CAV)
• IU Cybersecurity Clinic
• Sustaining Hoosier Communities Course Planning Grant
• Community Profile Dashboard
• Hoosier Housing Ready Toolkit
• Community Arts and Culture Guide

Quantifiable outcome

• 105,901+ residents engaged in 148 communities across 92 counties through September 2025
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

40 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Daviess County Economic Development CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Daviess County Economic Development Corporation partnered with SHC for cross-dock facility business planning, I-69 corridor land use analysis, and quality of life indicator benchmarking. The partnership is part of Daviess County's year-long SHC engagement with 27 community-identified projects.
• Purdue Extension-Daviess CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPurdue Extension-Daviess County, led by extension director Cindy Barber, collaborated on childcare needs assessment, community coalition building, and economic development projects. Served as community liaison for Daviess County's SHC partnership.
• Southern Indiana Development CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on bicycle thoroughfare enhancement research and development strategies along I-69 exits in Daviess County.
• Discover Downtown WashingtoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain street economic development organization that partnered with IU for city seal redesign, welcome sign design, downtown history trail creation, photo-op station design, greenspace revitalization, and website accessibility improvements.
• Daviess County YMCAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Youth Development course in School of Public Health to develop strategy for launching a community childcare coalition in Daviess County.
• Daviess County Community FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on childcare capacity analysis, researching local, state, and federal policy related to childcare support and workforce capacity.
• Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDNR partnered with SHC through the Glendale Fish & Wildlife Area in Daviess County, where IU School of Public Health students conducted invasive species removal and created educational materials for visitor bulletin boards.
• Indiana Landmarks Black Heritage Preservation ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndiana Landmarks partnered with IU College of Arts + Sciences history students and CRE Rural Oral History Scholars to collect oral histories of Black elders in south-central Indiana and document historic African American sites in Daviess County.
• Radius IndianacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRadius Indiana partnered with SHC for alum year projects focused on the Monon South Trail, including economic vitality assessments for trail communities, business development analysis, and plein air painting documentation of trail evolution across Lawrence, Orange, Washington, Clark, and Floyd counties.
• Kelley School of BusinesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIU's Kelley School of Business provides student consultants for SHC projects including real estate studies, field consulting, business development planning, and marketing strategy courses. Led by faculty including Christopher Cook, Keith Dayton, Doug McCoy.
• Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerO'Neill School provides student teams for SHC projects in local economic development, planning and community development, grant writing, public affairs, and public health. Key faculty include Mitchell Berg, Scott Burgins, Laura Littlepage.
• Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + DesigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIU's Eskenazi School provides comprehensive design, graphic design, and architecture students for placemaking projects including wayfinding signage, murals, public gathering spaces, and plein air painting along the Monon South Trail.
• IU School of Public Health-BloomingtoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool of Public Health students contribute to SHC projects including outdoor recreation and ecological stewardship (Glendale DNR), Food as Medicine program support, public health assessments, and health improvement planning.
• Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International StudiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSGIS students analyzed quality of life indicators in Daviess County using open-access data, contributing to the county's understanding of factors affecting resident well-being.
• Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Luddy School provides IU Serve IT Clinic support for website development and accessibility reviews, data science students for school funding analysis, and cybersecurity clinic teams for rural organization assessments.
• The Media SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedia School students developed digital welcome packets for the City of Washington in multiple languages and provide media production support for projects including Beck's Mill documentary work.
• IU Cybersecurity CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIU Cybersecurity Clinic provides free cybersecurity assessments and risk management recommendations to rural organizations including Bedford Chamber of Commerce, Lawrence County Economic Growth Council, and the City of Jasper, using a service-learning model.
• Knox County Health DepartmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnox County Health Department worked with IU O'Neill School capstone students to evaluate the emergency food relief system, identify SNAP/EBT service gaps, and receive recommendations including establishing an AmeriCorps position and food council.
• Dubois County Mental Health CommitteeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDubois County Mental Health Committee received a community needs assessment on mental health service capacity and access in partnership with the IU School of Public Health Sustaining Hoosier Communities initiative.
• City of Jasper, IndianaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity of Jasper partnered with IU Cybersecurity Clinic through SHC to develop a rubric for evaluating cybersecurity capabilities of emergency management vendors, enhancing the city's cyber readiness.
• Santa Claus Museum & VillageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRural Archives Scholar Brittany Eckler cataloged and digitized the museum's 'Dear Santa' letters dating to the 1930s, created a searchable database, and worked to expand the museum's online presence and digital archive.
• Town of OdonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTown of Odon partnered with IU art history students to apply for a historical marker from the Indiana Historical Bureau honoring sculptor Ira A. Correll's Abraham Lincoln sculpture, and with IU students to seek funding for pickleball courts.
• Town of ElnoraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTown of Elnora partnered with IU Eskenazi School comprehensive design students who created 30 architectural designs for town hall and greenspace revitalization.
• Town of MontgomeryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTown of Montgomery worked with IU students for Main Street beautification planning and applied for Safe Streets and Roads For All (SS4A) funding through the Indiana Resilience Funding Hub.
• Southern Indiana Community Health Care / Thrive Orange CountyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Brandy Terrell, chair of Thrive Orange County initiative, facilitated alum year SHC partnerships including youth trauma and resilience programming through Team Peace.
• WestGate@Crane Technology ParkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWestGate@Crane partnered on childcare needs survey for the region around Crane Naval Base and Westgate Technology Park to inform future childcare capacity strategies.
• Washington Carnegie Public Library and Odon Winkelpleck Public LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLibraries partnered with IU's Discovery Cafe program for community education events on mental health, AI literacy, and opera appreciation, and with IU's Hamilton Lugar School for International Night cultural programming.
• Orange County Community GardensminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrange County Community Gardens partnered with IU School of Public Health graduate students to design an ADA-compliant pathway for accessible garden participation.
• Friends of Beck's Mill, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHC alum year project where IU School of Public Health and Media School students enhance visitor engagement at Beck's Mill through new programming and media production.
• Indiana Cooperative Development CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Rural Recovery Co-Op Housing Scholar to explore cooperative models for peer-led recovery support systems and revitalize the Hoosier Harm Reduction Coalition.
• Bedford Chamber of CommerceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with IU Cybersecurity Clinic for cybersecurity risk and management assessment as part of the Enhancing Cybersecurity in the Indiana Uplands initiative.
• John Hay Center (Washington County Historical Society)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Hay Center partnered with Kelley School of Business students to develop marketing strategies and content to increase public awareness about the center and reach new audiences.
• Dove Recovery HouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDove Recovery House partnered with O'Neill School students for grant seeking to improve quality of life through recovery housing initiatives in the Indiana Uplands region.
• City of Salem (Washington County)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity of Salem partnered with O'Neill School students for grant seeking to support downtown revitalization and public art initiatives.
• City of Jasper (Dubois County)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity of Jasper partnered with Kelley School of Business students to explore innovative land use strategies for a 10.75-acre property bisected by a 500-year floodplain at St. Charles and Truman Roads.
• Asociación Latinoamericana del Sur de Indiana (ALASI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerALASI partnered with the center's Belonging Scholar to create a bilingual booklet highlighting Latino heritage and resilience in Dubois County, and to update the Latino Needs Assessment through new interviews and surveys.
• Greene County Health DepartmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreene County Health Department partnered with the center's Food as Medicine Scholar to assess and expand the Food as Medicine program, conduct process research, and assist with distribution events and cooking classes.
• Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of LifeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental History Scholar Ellie Albin partnered with this organization to produce media, collect oral histories, and research the history of industrial development and community environmental initiatives in southwestern Indiana.
• North Lawrence Community SchoolsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorth Lawrence Community Schools partnered with Kelley School of Business graduate accounting students to explore innovative funding frameworks to maximize public funding effectiveness.
• Regional Opportunity InitiativesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional Opportunity Initiatives partnered on the childcare capacity assessment for the Crane Naval Base and Westgate Technology Park region in Daviess County.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Purdue Extension: Purdue Extension is a fellow Indiana land-grant university extension system that delivers community programming across all Indiana counties, including the Daviess County partnership cited in IU CRE data. A broad incumbent offering overlapping community development, agriculture, and 4-H programming.
• University of Missouri Extension: MU Extension delivers community development, business, and rural vitality programming across Missouri counties through faculty and county-based staff. Comparable as a broad land-grant extension system with deep rural community engagement responsibilities.
• Ohio State University Office of Outreach and Engagement: OSU's Office of Outreach and Engagement coordinates large-scale university-community partnerships across Ohio, including rural and urban communities. Comparable as a broader state-university platform that embeds engaged scholarship and community-identified projects.

Direct peers

• Penn State Center for Rural Pennsylvania: Penn State's Center for Rural Pennsylvania conducts policy research, data dashboards, and community engagement for rural Pennsylvania, closely paralleling IU CRE's rural research, profile dashboard, and community-identified projects model.
• University of Georgia Archway Partnership: UGA's Archway Partnership embeds university resources into rural Georgia communities through sustained, multi-year partnerships. Operates a structurally similar model to SHC, connecting academic expertise with community-identified priorities across multiple rural counties.
• University of Wisconsin Center for Community and Economic Development: UW CCED delivers community-based research, planning, and economic development support to Wisconsin communities. Comparable as a university-based rural community development center using faculty/student engagement and applied research models.
• University of Kentucky Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK): UK CEDIK operates a comparable land-grant university community and economic development partnership model, delivering applied research, technical assistance, and capacity-building to Kentucky counties and communities. Directly comparable as a state university hub connecting faculty and students with rural community priorities.

Emerging players

• Heartland Forward: Heartland Forward is a nonpartisan regional organization focused on economic outcomes in the American heartland, including rural vitality research and program pilots. Comparable as an emerging player in applied rural community and economic development work across multiple states.
• Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems: MSU CRFS focuses on food systems but uses an engaged university-community partnership model similar to IU CRE's Indiana Uplands Food Network and Food as Medicine program. Relevant peer where food access and rural community resilience intersect.

Others

• EPIC-N (Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities - Network): EPIC-N is the international network whose model SHC explicitly adopts. While not a peer competitor, EPIC-N functions as the umbrella consortium of similar university-community partnership programs and is the source of the framework IU CRE implements across multiple schools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCnE23EZ_37tjK-XUpXOBv1Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/iurural
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iurural
• Instagraminstagram.com/iurural

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement