The Mana Group Lauds Continued Efforts to Empower Rural Communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 2025

The Mana Group Lauds Continued Efforts to Empower Rural Communities
Communities Now Well-Positioned for Rapid Economic Growth

(Durango, Colorado) - Today, the new Administration has issued a series of clarifying guidance regarding the future of Community Benefit Plans across the country. While a pause in funding is imminent, this guidance by no means detracts from the overwhelming need to empower rural stakeholders to make their own decisions regarding energy projects within the boundaries of their communities.

Collaborating with rural communities to define their community and project benefits rather than having them imposed by an outside company is not a political issue. The concerns of local communities need to be heard and considered prior to being told that their hometown is going to host a new energy project or manufacturing plant. Rural communities in America need jobs, economic development, and common courtesy, and these also are not political.

“The Mana Group will continue to work with our colleagues in rural America who are leading and convening their communities to identify a shared vision for what community benefits can and should look like.” Jennifer Jenkins, CEO of the Mana Group, said in response to the latest Executive Orders. “Rural cooperatives, counties, and community colleges across the country are already having tough conversations regarding how to work together to create jobs and accept (or deny) outside investments in their hometowns. The ball is rolling, and it is simply not up to politicians, whichever side of the aisle they claim, to weigh in on what rural America decides for themselves.”

Media Contact:

Bill Kight
communications@managroupconsulting.com
managroupconsulting.com
(970)708-3753

About the Mana Group
We provide strategic guidance as the trusted voice between national and rural stakeholders, ensuring ease during the transition toward a clean energy economy.