Big plans for Growing Small Towns

Big plans for Growing Small Towns

Cass County Electric Cooperative teams up with community development nonprofit in Oakes, ND

When Rebecca Undem stands in the facility spurred by her founding of the nonprofit Growing Small Towns, she’s enveloped in both the history of her hometown of Oakes, N.D. and the promise of the community’s future. The consultant, speaker and author moved back to Oakes after nearly a decade away, and something soon
pulled her to the old Ben Franklin storefront formerly owned by her grandparents. She had a mental image of an innovation hub that she knew she wanted, for herself – and for her rural neighbors.

“I kept envisioning being able to create a space that felt really good, felt really modern and was equipped with the things that I missed,” Undem said. “It would give flexibility for co-working, too, and we’d be able to invite people to Oakes instead of always needing to travel to people. I wanted to bring the people to us.”

Undem’s vision was cemented when she officially launched Growing Small Towns in 2019 and began designing and renovating the nonprofit’s Oakes home in 2020. The multifunctional event and co-working space opens its doors to any individual or organization that is looking to grow. Undem says in the short few months the facility has been open, they’ve held art classes and vendor shows; hosted a three-piece Irish trio performance for 150 people; supported vaccination clinics; and welcomed many more traditional community meetings and gatherings.

The space has also become a landing pad for statewide resource providers that serve the southeast region but don’t have a brick-and-mortar center near Oakes, such as Job Service North Dakota and the North Dakota Small Business Development Center. “They are coming out here regularly because they have a space where they can be,” Undem explained. “That provides some consistency for not only those providers, but for the people in our community who need access to those resources.”

The Growing Small Towns space is also available as a rented co-working room for those who are kicking off new businesses and entrepreneurial ventures in or near Oakes, as well as those who can work remotely and prefer a small-town life.

In addition to the beautiful new co-working and event space, Growing Small Towns provides hands-on consulting, innovation and teambuilding sessions to help organizations, rural companies and small-town developers overcome obstacles that may keep their communities from thriving.

“I’m a big believer in practicing locally and sharing globally,” Undem said. “I get calls from people in other communities in North Dakota saying they would love to do something like this. And I’m absolutely willing to sit down with them to talk about what it would look like.”