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Publication #FE425

Assistance for Florida's Rural Communities: The Florida Resource Directory1

David Mulkey and Henry Cothran2

Local communities, as well as organizations and businesses within those communities, often need information about the types of assistance programs available through state and federal government. In response to this need in Florida, the Governor's Office of Trade, Tourism, and Economic Development maintains the Florida Resource Directory.

According to the Florida Resource Directory's website:

The Florida Resource Directory is your one-stop source for learning about the latest state and many federal programs and resources to help your local community.

The Directory will help rural and distressed urban communities, as well as community-based organizations find and access sources of assistance.

If you are looking for ways to help your community and need assistance and contacts for any type of infrastructure project, or housing, or health services, or training, or small business and tourism development assistance, or help building a community park, the possibility that you will find what you need here is excellent.

The Florida Resource Directory provides a searchable database of programs and agencies that serve Florida communities. Users may search by category of program (housing, economic development, tourism, financial assistance, etc.) and display all programs in a particular category. Alternatively, users may choose from a list of more than 200 specific programs. Users may also select an agency from the list of agencies included in the database for a description of community programs offered by that particular agency. Finally, the website allows users to search programs by entering keywords or selecting from a list of keywords.

For each item included in the Florida Resource Directory, a description of the program and contact information is provided (telephone, email, and web address). Taken together, the Directory provides a good starting point for obtaining information about community assistance programs. There is no charge or registration required for using the Directory. Further information may be obtained from the Directory's website at http://www.floridaresourcedirectory.org or by contacting

Diane Scholz
Assistant Coordinator-Rural Issues
Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development
The Capitol, Suite 2001
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001
(850) 487-2568 [telephone]
(850) 487-3014 [Fax]
email: diane.scholz@myflorida.com

Footnotes

1. This is EDIS document FE425, a publication of the Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Published August 2003. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

Note: Information for this document is from the Florida Resource Directory website at http://www.floridaresourcedirectory.org.

2. David Mulkey, Professor, and Henry Cothran, Associate In, Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.