Resources for Community Engagement
A suite of resources highlights locally driven initiatives that are spurring digital adoption, economic development and better healthcare outcomes in rural communities. Use these tools to jumpstart community engagement and growth.
Brand & Announce
Step 1: Market Your SRC Status Here, There and Everywhere!
Click the links below and use the SRC logo across all your marketing and communications materials. Remember to reference the Smart Style Guide to use all logos and assets correctly.
Some ideas of where to use the logo:
- Employee email signatures
- Company website
- Social media channels
- Community signage
- Marketing collateral
- Company swag
- Company vehicles
Download SRC branded backgrounds to use on Zoom and/or Teams meetings.
Share & Socialize
Step 2: Share the Good News
Are you proud to be a SRC provider? Share the graphics below on social media to spread the news. Click on each button below to download the social media kit and graphics. Don’t forget to use #SmartRuralCommunity!
Smart Provider Graphics and Media Kit
SMART PROVIDER GRAPHICS SMART PROVIDER MEDIA KIT
Highlight your work on social media by using the icon graphic to post about the vital services your company supports in your community.
Throughout the year, keep sharing the benefits of a Smart Community. Download a variety of social graphics that showcase the benefits of being a Smart Community.
Engage
Step 3: Engage with Your Community
Show your community what it means to be SMART. You can celebrate your community’s status as a Smart Community–from presenting your mayor with a certificate of membership to hosting a ribbon-cutting event, adding a road sign or posting decals to your office windows.
Certificates
Flyers
SMART RURAL COMMUNITY FLYER The Road to a SRC flyer
Visit the online store to purchase road signs and other branded items for your team!
SRC road signs signal you’re not just another internet provider – you're a forward-thinking partner committed to delivering high-speed connectivity while collaborating with local industry to build a smarter, more prosperous broadband-powered future. These industrial-grade signs showcase your dedication to community partnership and technological advancement. Display your SRC certification prominently to demonstrate your commitment to your community's digital transformation!
Create a Monthly SRC Day
SRC Day is a monthly initiative designed to plan and promote your designation as an SRC provider. By dedicating just one day each month to SRC-planning or focused activities, you can engage customers, local businesses, schools and civic leaders, while reinforcing the value of connectivity in fostering economic growth, education, health care and more.
Fiber Road Map
Smart Rural Communities are about critical collaborations with your community partners and advocates. Use your Fiber Road Map to win funding and generate statewide support. SRC providers can leverage support and enthusiasm for their fiber expansion plans based on new funding opportunities. With your Fiber Road Map you’ll show what you are doing and must do to build out fiber networks while also showing your community stakeholders their roles and how they can knock down roadblocks to fiber expansion. Fiber Road Map provided by Plus One Communications. For questions, contact Tanya Sullivan.
Advocate
Step 4: Invite Your Elected Officials to Your Company To Experience Rural Broadband Installations Firsthand
NTCA and the Smart Communities program are a powerful advocacy brand that you can use to share your story with legislators and policymakers. Use NTCA advocacy resources, including a letter template, outreach tips and policy fact sheets to invite elected officials to visit your company.
Smart providers are welcome to use this recommendation letter from NTCA CEO Mike Romano when applying for grant funding. Please alert smartrural@ntca.org if you plan to use this letter.
Senior Safety Series
The three-part Senior Safety Series is designed to help seniors in your community feel more confident online. Host a training session and watch the educational videos on ways to create strong passwords, recognize phishing attempts and know what to do if you experience a data breach.
Thank you to Calix for being the SRC Senior Safety Series promotional partner.
*The Senior Safety Series is available only to Smart Rural Community providers. Enroll today.
A Community Impact Commercial for Your Local Media
Watch and Share the Ways Broadband Helps Build Great Communities
Our co-brandable Smart Rural Community℠ commercial for enrolled Smart Community providers is your community's latest storytelling superpower. Shot 100% in Smart Rural Communities, this message helps showcase community commitment by showing how broadband elevates connectivity today and unlocks unimaginable possibilities for the future.
*Customizable commercials are available only to Smart Rural Community providers. Enroll today.
SMART RESOURCES
Infographics
Videos
Additional SRC reports can be found below.
- Additional Reports
-
KPIs for Rural Economic Development
Broadband as a Bridge from Heritage to the Future
Rural Imperatives in Broadband Adoption and Digital Inclusion
From Fiber to Field: The Role of Rural Broadband in Emerging Agricultural Technology
Anticipating Economic Returns of Rural Telehealth
Beyond Rural Walls - Identifying Impacts and Interdependencies Among Rural and Urban Spaces
Beyond Rural Walls - A Scholars’ Conversation About Rural and Urban Spaces
Steel Sharpens Steel - A Conversation About Regional Thinking for Rural America
Rural Broadband and the Next Generation of American Jobs
Sign Up for the SRC Listserv
The SRC program is about fostering connections and sharing ideas with others who understand the work you do. The SRC listserv is a dedicated space for providers to exchange insights, ask questions and learn from one another. By signing up, you’ll gain access to valuable discussions, best practices and real-world solutions from peers who understand the challenges and opportunities of local broadband.
SMART NOTES
Smart Notes is the exclusive bi-monthly e-newsletter for SRC providers and contains case studies, best practices and updates on messaging materials and other SRC resources. If you are an SRC provider and would like to receive Smart Notes, please click the link below.
Local Broadband Changes How We Learn and Work
As we kick off a new school year, I’m reminded once again how far small broadband providers will go to serve Smart Rural Communities in the farthest reaches of our country, and what resilience truly looks like. One such provider – Venture Communications Cooperative (Highmore, S.D.) – recently managed through 130- mph winds (comparable to an EF2 tornado) and the unfortunate power outages and devastation to homes and businesses in its 10,000-square-mile footprint to make sure its customers stayed connected.
SMART NOTES ARCHIVES
- 2026
- 2025
- 2024
- 2023
- 2022