---
title: 'Helping accelerate rural innovation: Business Oregon names latest ROI recipients'
date: '2018-04-09T15:19:37-07:00'
type: post
word_count: 375
char_count: 2703
tokens: 488
categories:
  - Funding
  - Oregon
tags:
  - 'business oregon'
  - 'janet soto rodriguez'
  - Oregon
  - roi
  - rural
---

# Helping accelerate rural innovation: Business Oregon names latest ROI recipients

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: Innovation can occur anywhere. It’s not just something that happens in an urban context. Or in major metropolitan areas. It happens all over. Throughout the state of Oregon. And that’s why [Business Oregon has its Rural Opportunity Initiative (ROI)](http://development.oregon4biz.com/acton/rif/14786/s-01f7-1804/-/l-0007:393/q-000c/showPreparedMessage?sid=TV2:uBnb4hA2i "Business Oregon Announces Investments in Rural Oregon Communities to Spur Entrepreneurship") to help spark and support that activity.

> Driving and supporting [\#Entrepreneurship](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Entrepreneurship?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) a great piece of our approach to enhancing rural prosperity and rural economic stability. Excited to announce 11 grant awards to rural Oregon communities to do just that… <https://t.co/AzawMrR9O7> [pic.twitter.com/9a1pfguOB3](https://t.co/9a1pfguOB3)
> 
> — Business Oregon (@BusinessOregon) [April 6, 2018](https://twitter.com/BusinessOregon/status/982340069351555072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

> This week Business Oregon announced funding to 11 rural communities to build capacity for entrepreneurship-based economic development, to create and support entrepreneurs and small businesses. The grants will provide $634,642 in funding from the agency’s Rural Opportunities Initiative (ROI). The ROI program unifies and strengthens existing business development resources to build rural prosperity through capacity-building grants.

Under the leadership of [Janet Soto Rodriguez](https://twitter.com/janetcsr88 "Janet Soto Rodriguez"), the ROI will be providing grants to support innovation in the following rural communities:

- Partners for Rural Innovation of Tillamook County (Tillamook, OR): $45,000
- High Desert Partnership (Hines, OR): $44,400
- Eight Cities, being led by City of Monroe (Adair Village, Brownsville, Halsey, Harrisburg, Lebanon, Monroe, Philomath, and Sweet Home, OR): $70,000
- Klamath IDEA (Klamath Falls, OR): $55,000
- Woodburn Downtown Association (Woodburn, OR): $45,000
- Southwestern Oregon Community College (Coos Bay, OR): $50,000
- City of Independence (Independence, OR): $70,000
- City of Veneta (Veneta, OR): $30,000
- Warm Springs Community Action Team (Warm Springs, OR): $73,242
  Euvalcree (Ontario, OR): $80,000
- Baker City Hatch, being led by Northeast Oregon Economic Development District (Baker City, OR):$72,000

For more information, see the [Business Oregon press release](http://development.oregon4biz.com/acton/rif/14786/s-01f7-1804/-/l-0007:393/q-000c/showPreparedMessage?sid=TV2:uBnb4hA2i).