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Community well-being Isabel Doonan Community well-being Isabel Doonan

De-Risking Rural Innovation: A Smarter Way to Invest in What’s Next

Key insights:

  1. Community validation starts with co-design. We build with rural leaders, not for them.

  2. Credible data offers important proof points. Every pilot delivers actionable insights and validated social + financial ROI, produced with Northwestern University.

  3. Local rural innovation can scale nationally. By partnering with rural peers, public agencies, and national funders, we turn local wins into cross-regional momentum.

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Aging Isabel Doonan Aging Isabel Doonan

On Aging Reflection

Earlier this month, members of the AscendRural team attended American Society on Aging’s annual conference, On Aging. The experience left the team both inspired and grounded in the realities of advancing aging well. Across sessions, conversations, and informal moments, a few themes stood out — not just in what is changing, but in how change is happening.

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