Community resource development (CRD) is an Alabama Cooperative Extension System program area. The CRD team at Alabama A&M University provides educational resources in small business, career, and leadership development to help communities across the state grow and thrive. The goal of the CRD team is to create equitable, sustainable, and resilient Alabama communities by providing inclusive, accessible resources for the development of strong entrepreneurs, careers, and leaders.

What is community development?

Community development is a broad term covering any type of project, program, strategy, and/or activism that works to improve the quality of life of a particular place. Community development, in general, is more holistic than economic development, which is often associated with profit-motivated projects. The team’s work intersects the two, helping to create economic opportunity with people-centric approaches.

CRD Programs

All CRD programs are available in-person and virtually. Contact the team today about bringing these programs and other resources to your community!

Alabama Start-Up School

The Alabama Start-up School provides 90-minute sessions that cover introductory-level small business education, such as business modeling, capital access, and budgets.

Career Countdown

Career Countdown is an interactive, two-part class for middle school students to explore careers, budgets, and plans for their future.

Business Building Blocks

Business Building Blocks is a four-part series on business modeling, including defining value, customers, operations, costs, revenues, and more.

Filing for Success

Filing for Success is a four-part series on forming a small business in Alabama: licensing, LLCs, banking, insurance, record keeping, and taxes.

Great Governance

Great Governance, coming soon, is a five-part, self-paced series on nonprofit governance best practices.

Stay in the Loop

Check out the latest newsletters and sign up for the mailing list here. Connect with the program’s small business community on the Facebook Group.

Contact Us

Alabama Extension serves all 67 Alabama counties. Contact the nearest county Extension office or Kimberly Sinclair-Holmes, Extension assistant director, at (256) 372-4941 in the state office for more information.