The Northeast Kingdom Collaborative is a 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to improve the quality of life for all Northeast Kingdom (NEK) community members through coordinated economic and community development. Our vision is a strong, vibrant Northeast Kingdom where we all thrive. The NEK is an extremely rural region and is one of the United State’s most economically distressed regions as it is a federally designated REAP Zone, Rural Economic Area Partnership, recognizing the distinct challenges faced by rural communities beyond income-based poverty alone. The NEK Collaborative holds the agreement with USDA Rural Development for the region’s REAP Zone status, allowing for priority funding dedicated to economic and community development initiatives. It is the Collaborative’s role to communicate the region’s needs and challenges to USDA and decision makers at all levels of government. Therefore the NEK Collaborative, grounded in long-term systems change, leads regional coordination and resource alignment, serving as the region’s neutral convener, consistently evaluating and communicating the region’s priorities. This is done through sector or specific topic convenings, the annual NEK Together conference, NEK Day at the Statehouse, reports, and uplifting our region’s voices through representation and action.