Rural Entrepreneurial Venture (REV)
Rural Entrepreneurial Venture (REV) is a proven entrepreneurial development program designed to advance small town economies through a targeted business approach. REV provides coaching, resources and connections throughout the visioning and implementation process as each community explores what economic development means for their town.
The 2024 – 2026 REV communities are: Caledonia, Kasson, Plainview and collectively the communities of Gibbon, Fairfax and Winthrop.
Questions? Peggy Paul, Entrepreneurship Director: 507-214-7010 | peggyp@smifoundation.org
REV Stories
Welcome Home
Blue Earth has made it its mission to be a welcoming community. Initially offering welcome baskets to new homeowners, the community has expanded its efforts to include a Day of the Dead festival, translation projects and other initiatives designed to help everyone feel a sense of belonging.
SMIF REV Communities Receive Boost from Grants
SMIF recently approved nine grants totaling $180,000 to support entrepreneurial outreach in communities that participate in SMIF’s REV program.
REV Spotlight: Caledonia
In Caledonia, a long-term vision is being created for economic development in the southeastern Minnesota town, thanks to support from SMIF's Rural Entrepreneurial Venture (REV) program.
REV Spotlight: Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop
In the heart of southern Minnesota, three communities - Gibbon, Fairfax, and Winthrop - are creating a long-term vision for economic development through SMIF's Rural Entrepreneurial Venture (REV) program.
REV Spotlight: Montgomery
How to jumpstart your economy in a small town? The Rural Entrepreneurial Ventures (REV) group in Montgomery recently shared their experience with the program.
REV Spotlight: Springfield
The Rural Entrepreneurial Ventures (REV) group in Springfield recently shared some of their experiences with the program.
Weaving together resources for long-term impact
The town of Spring Grove in Houston County has taken full advantage of SMIF’s grants and programming over the years. Courtney Bergey Swanson and Rebecca Charles, both CEDA employees, shared how support from SMIF has made a difference in the community vitality and economic growth of the small town.
Spring Valley continues to REVitalize!
Spring Valley, a town of 2,500, saw new businesses open and existing businesses expand during the pandemic. Chris Hahn shares how SMIF's Rural Entrepreneurial Venture (REV) program has played a part in the entrepreneurial activity of this small town.
Economic resiliency in a small town
Blue Earth, Faribault County Blue Earth is a community of 3,133 surrounded by [...]
Current REV Communities – Testimonials
The 2024 – 2026 REV communities are Caledonia, Kasson, Plainview and collectively the communities of Gibbon, Fairfax and Winthrop.
REV community alumni include Blue Earth, Lanesboro & Spring Valley, Spring Grove, Montgomery, Springfield, Wells and Mapleton (in collaboration with the additional Maple River School District communities of Amboy, Good Thunder and Minnesota Lake – Blue Earth/Faribault Counties). A variety of approaches to economic growth have been implemented in these communities, including business succession programs and youth retention initiatives.
The Blue Earth REV core leadership team meeting in 2018.
In Blue Earth, the REV program has helped to highlight the many job opportunities that exist in the small town. Youth retention and business retention are two critical components to building economic resiliency in small towns, where too often young people leave for jobs in bigger cities, and businesses close when owners retire. Both of these approaches to economic resiliency in Blue Earth are initiatives that were sparked by the REV program.
“It turns out we couldn’t talk about entrepreneurs without talking about the next generation of workforce that was the students. We couldn’t get past that conversation. We organized a series of events called SHOP to connect students with local businesses.” After just a short period of time, the program has become an important part of how Blue Earth thinks about economic growth. “SHOP has become a huge part of what we do and who we are in Blue Earth. It’s a big part of the EDA’s work and part of what the business community hears about and wants to be involved in.”
“When a business says they are interested in Blue Earth and another community, they ask why they should choose Blue Earth.” I can say all the normal things, but I can also say we have this thing called REV, and we are really building a community around entrepreneur support and have a community of people who want to help you with no strings attached. People are really interested in that. It’s not just a glamourous thing to say. It’s true. It’s what Blue Earth has become.”
The Lanesboro community now works more collaboratively with its neighbors in the county. New businesses are opening, including a brewery, winery and store. The Chamber of Commerce introduced coffee chats to share ideas, resources and information for businesses. Lanesboro also hired an economic development staff person who is organizing business enrichment classes. This same person also worte and received a grant for a wayfinding sign for the community.
The Maple River Region includes Mapleton, Amboy, Good Thunder, and Minnesota Lake. “Maple REVer” is currently surveying regional businesses to better understand what type of resources and technical assistance they need to grow. We’ve also been awarded a SMIF Small Town Grant to fund business education workshops and update the community’s marketing and branding strategy. Finally, Maple REVer secured funding to hire a Community and Business Development Specialist through CEDA to help the region grow strategically by addressing the housing and childcare shortages and providing technical assistance our business community.
Montgomery launched a new business resource page on their website. They have also done outreach to 50 businesses to let them know about quarterly business education opportunities.
“One of our goals for Kickstart Springfield (program under our REV umbrella) was to develop a one stop shop for community resources through an enhanced presence online. We started by creating a toolbox online for entrepreneurs that addressed several key areas of needs expressed by our entrepreneurs. The Business Toolbox includes a mentorship network for local entrepreneurs, a guide to succession planning to help business owners leave a legacy in town, business financing opportunities and more.
We continue to experience successes through promoting our business community and having everyone in town inspired by Springfield’s entrepreneurial spirit. The photos are from our Ribbon Cutting Events and Business to Business Luncheon in partnership with the Springfield Chamber and F&M Bank held during our communities Riverside Days Celebration.
Side hustles are becoming business start ups and Kickstart Springfield’s efforts mentoring entrepreneurs is taking flight. Something we are very excited about as Springfield has a lot to share!”
“I think for us what the program has done is hold a mirror up to ourselves to better see our strengths and weaknesses. We did a lot of asset mapping and evaluation and goal setting at the beginning. Having accountability to set goals and evaluate progress is something that we often feel too busy to do, so that’s been really helpful.
When we started with the REV program a lot of the things that came up in conversation were things that a Chamber would be doing. For years and years we talked about needing a Chamber of Commerce in town. Eventually, our REV team morphed into a Chamber committee. We now have a board of directors, newly hired staff and have a space for a visitor center and Chamber office downtown.
Two years ago the Chamber started a farmers’ market as a project to give the community something to smile about during the pandemic. This little experiment created an amazing program which is the Music and Market series. Now that REV in Spring Grove is past its three-year initial commitment, the local energy behind REV has morphed into the Chamber which has carried the torch as far as programming and entrepreneurial development.”
Members of the Spring Valley Economic Development Authority present New Stellar 181 Taphouse owner, Alex Slifka, with a Certificate of Achievement.
Left to Right: Chris Hahn, Steve Himle, Alex Slifka, Mayor Tony Archer, David Phillips.
“The Spring Valley EDA developed a new website offering links to news, contacts, resources and community events. Over $125,000 in revolving loans have been distributed to support local business growth. Microgrants for child care were created through a collaborative effort between the EDA and the Spring Valley Area Community Foundation to assist local in-home providers. The EDA and Spring Valley Public Utilities partnered to expand a housing incentive program, providing $3,000 in assistance for the construction of new single-family homes. Community leaders also documented the impacts of the REV program over the three years using a Ripple Effect Mapping exercise facilitated by the University of Minnesota Extension.
The REV program’s “grow your own” approach aligned well with the existing attitudes and ideas of the Spring Valley business community. In 2021, during the pandemic, Spring Valley entrepreneurs added a new taphouse, brewery, bed & breakfast, co-working space and seamless gutter contractor. Many established Spring Valley businesses chose to renovate or expand during this time, including the local butchery, café and coffee shop, vet clinic, greenhouse and floral shop, financial services office, two auto body & repair shops and a local home builder.”
“Even though Wells is a new REV community, we have already seen some successes. Our new business park is almost full and we recently held our first business education event. We have also seen increases in housing and child care. Business owners now have new opportunities to connect with our youth through our workforce program.
We also began to form a relationship between the EDA and the Chamber of Commerce while also creating a community development director position. This has allowed us to communicate and spread awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities with many entrepreneurs.”
Our Partners
Rural Entrepreneurial Venture is made possible with support from Compeer Financial. The REV model is based on the e2 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems framework hosted by NetWork Kansas, formerly the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship. The framework has a proven track record of accelerating entrepreneurial activity in rural communities.
