23 Jun 2025 Winthrop Rockefeller Institute receives $600,000 subgrant  

PETIT JEAN MOUNTAIN — The Winthrop Rockefeller Institute was recently awarded a $600,000 subgrant through its programmatic partnership with the University of the Ozarks’ Town Square Collaborative, which is dedicated to supporting rural communities, congregations and their leaders. 

The subgrant will allow the Institute to increase its reach in local communities through church congregations. Churches represent one of the Civic Spaces that Civic Arkansas focuses on building pathways for connectedness. 

“Churches have long been stabilizing landmarks in communities, opening their buildings and lending support with services for and to the people who reside there,” Shana Chaplin, chief program officer for the Institute, said. “The erosion of civic engagement is a community problem, and congregations have also experienced erosion of engagement with their communities. The Institute views this grant as one that will allow us to enhance local civic engagement.” 

In collaboration with the Arkansas Municipal League (AML) and rural ministerial alliances, the Institute has begun engaging with local congregations to offer the Civic Arkansan Credential workshop, a dynamic three-hour workshop that equips participants to engage in their communities by identifying their values, aligning them with civic action, and bridging ideological divides. 

This workshop was developed in response to insights gathered during the Civic Arkansas Listening Sessions, which were held statewide. The Civic Arkansan Credential focuses on three key areas: values-based civic identity, respectful civil dialogue across differences, and principles of civic leadership.  

Rev. Phillip Blackburn, director of the Town Square Collaborative, is enthusiastic about this work and thrilled to be carrying it out from the geographic center of the Presbytery of Arkansas in Little Rock. 

“Rural churches play a vital role in our national culture and in their own communities, and the opportunity to bring all the work we do for rural churches and their leaders together in one place is exciting,” Blackburn said. “We want to make it as easy as possible for congregations, pastors, and communities to take advantage of our resources.” 

University of the Ozarks President Richard Dunsworth emphasized the University’s commitment to supporting congregations and rural communities across the region, aligning with its identity as both a church-affiliated and rural institution in Arkansas. 

Through the subgrant, the Institute will strengthen its close partnership with the AML and its contractor, Mayor Derrick Rainey of Wrightsville. Rainey is also a Municipal League Board officer, an Arkansas Black Mayors Association officer, and a clergyman. 

Civic Arkansas is a collaborative initiative to improve Arkansas’s civic health, with a focus on building pathways for connectedness and strengthening local communities. At its core is a vibrant network of Civic Activators, local leaders who bring people together to tackle community challenges through collaboration and shared solutions.