About Rural Community Partners
Empowering rural Southeast Kansas through entrepreneurship, collaboration, and strategic community development.
Our Mission
Rural Community Partners supports entrepreneurs, communities, and organizations across Southeast Kansas by providing mentorship, resources, and strategic guidance. We help people find opportunity, connect with expertise, and engage in meaningful, locally driven economic development.
We believe thriving rural communities are built on strong local businesses, collaborative partnerships, and equitable access to quality resources and expertise.
Our Vision
Stronger rural communities, driven by local opportunity.
Our Core Values
What guides our work every day
Community First
We believe in the power of communities to shape their own futures through collaboration and support.
Inclusive Growth
We ensure all entrepreneurs and community members have access to resources and opportunities.
Strategic Support
We provide targeted, data-driven support aligned with real community needs and aspirations.
Lasting Impact
We focus on sustainable solutions that create long-term opportunity and prosperity.
What We Do
Support Entrepreneurs
We help aspiring and existing business owners develop plans, find mentors, access resources, and grow thriving enterprises.
- ✓Business planning assistance
- ✓Mentorship matching
- ✓Financing guidance
- ✓Training and workshops
Guide Communities
We partner with local organizations and municipalities to develop strategic initiatives that strengthen local economies.
- ✓Economic development strategy
- ✓Community planning
- ✓Partnership development
- ✓Project implementation
Our Approach
We take a comprehensive, collaborative approach focused on understanding your unique situation and providing tailored support. We combine expert guidance, access to networks, data-driven analysis, and accountability to create lasting opportunity and impact in rural Southeast Kansas.
Listen
We start by understanding your goals, challenges, and aspirations.
Connect
We link you with mentors, resources, partners, and expertise you need.
Support
We provide ongoing guidance and accountability to help you succeed.
Our Leadership
Meet the people guiding our mission forward
Jody Love, MBA, BSW
President & CEO, Rural Community Partners and The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team
Jody Love is a rural community strategist, entrepreneur, and nonprofit leader dedicated to creating opportunity in places that are too often overlooked. As President and CEO of Rural Community Partners and The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, she works across Southeast Kansas to strengthen communities, expand economic mobility, and build the partnerships needed to tackle complex challenges.
Over the past decade, Jody has helped secure and manage millions of dollars in public and private investment supporting entrepreneurship, workforce development, housing, transportation, food access, community health, and quality-of-life initiatives. Under her leadership, Rural Community Partners has grown into a regional intermediary serving communities across Southeast Kansas by connecting local leaders with resources, funding, technical assistance, and one another.
Known for her ability to bring together partners from different sectors and perspectives, Jody has helped launch regional leadership networks, entrepreneurship initiatives, community coalitions, and innovative place-based projects that improve outcomes for rural residents. Her work focuses on helping communities identify their strengths, align around a shared vision, and build sustainable systems that create long-term impact.
Prior to her current role, Jody served in economic development, rural healthcare, and social work, experiences that continue to shape her practical and people-centered approach to leadership. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work and a Master of Business Administration and has been recognized by the Kansas Governor's Council on Wellness and the Kansas State of Wellness for her leadership and contributions to community health.
Jody believes the future of rural communities will be built through relationships, trust, and local leadership. Her passion is helping communities create the conditions where people, businesses, and families can thrive.
Speaking Engagements & Featured Talks
- •Kansas Rural Health Conference
- •SEKS Regional Leadership Summit
- •Kansas Governor's Wellness Conference
Ready to Get Started?
Explore our services and discover how Rural Community Partners can support your goals.