At The Harvest Foundation, our mission has always been to strengthen the well-being of MHC through strategic investments in education, economic development, health, and community vitality. But over the years, we’ve learned an important truth: meaningful growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Our local challenges, like workforce development, affordable housing, public health, and tourism, are deeply interconnected, and they don’t stop at city or county lines.
That’s why regional collaboration isn’t just a “nice to have” — it’s essential for our region’s success.
When we collaborate regionally, we bring together diverse perspectives, resources, and expertise to address challenges more effectively. What impacts one community inevitably affects its neighbors. A struggling workforce in one town can ripple into neighboring areas through reduced economic activity, strained social services, and lower quality of life.
By working together, we can align our goals, reduce duplication of efforts, and create strategies that lift the entire region, not just individual communities.
In early May, Harvest and Danville Regional Foundation (DRF) co-hosted the Home of Future Thinking conference, where local leaders from Southern VA came together to tackle how the region will manage and benefit from future growth.
Our economic development teams shared the anticipated growth over the next 10 years, which may bring tens of thousands of people to the region. We know that we can not face this type of growth alone, and we know that if we are not ready, other communities will be.
We need to build regional partnerships now so that we can prepare and benefit from this growth. When working together as a region, we can bring a stronger and more powerful voice to our region’s challenges.
Collaboration allows us to:
- Have a stronger voice in Richmond;
- Leverage larger funding opportunities;
- Coordinate solutions for complex issues;
- Promote our region as a destination for visiting and living; and
- Attract new businesses and investments.
Harvest and DRF believe that by strengthening regional collaboration and fostering a culture of collaboration, we help ensure that regional growth is inclusive, sustainable, and resilient. These partnerships are more than collaborative in name — they’re strategic alliances that drive real, measurable outcomes for the people we serve.
The future of our region depends on our ability to work together. Regional growth is not a zero-sum game. When one community thrives, it creates opportunities for neighboring communities as well. Our success is deeply interconnected.
We are committed to continuing this work. We believe in a future where collaboration is the norm, not the exception. Where challenges are met with collective solutions. And where every community, no matter its size, has a voice in shaping our region’s path forward.
Because when we grow together, we grow stronger.
