Small Town Growth Lab
lead
researcher
Overview
Small Town Growth Lab is the leading funding intelligence platform for rural America, serving 25,000 organizations across 3,000 communities. The platform tracks $18 billion in active funding opportunities and has helped customers pursue more than $4 billion in community investments. Its proprietary database contains millions of data points connecting organizations, projects, funding sources, eligibility requirements, applications, awards, and community needs.
Mission
Small Town Growth Lab — Working Plan
What we're building
Small Town Growth Lab helps rural nonprofits, childcare centers, schools, municipalities, and community organizations turn local problems into clear, fundable projects. It is being developed as an education and digital-tools brand connecting practical project development with grants, donors, sponsorships, and community engagement. The core product is the Small Town Project Builder — a guided system that takes an idea and produces the 8–10 deliverables funders and boards actually need.
Who it's for
Leaders of small/rural organizations (towns under ~15,000 people) who wear many hats: childcare centers, rural schools, small nonprofits, libraries, chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, municipalities, community centers, and similar groups. They have real community problems but lack dedicated development staff.
How it makes money
We validate demand with the free Grant Readiness Checklist and light outreach before charging. Paid offerings are introduced in this order, using the owner's real expertise in grants, fundraising, childcare expansion, and rural strategy: