About Us

What We're All About

Communities Unlimited serves seven states in the southern United States, an area with many rural communities, a high minority population, high poverty and food insecurity. Where you live, what you look like or how much money you have should not determine access to opportunities.

This is where we live. This is where we work. These are our communities. We work side by side with individuals, communities and organizations to make opportunities accessible to everyone, everywhere.

Communities Unlimited, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation founded in 1976 that connects people to solutions through human connections. Through ingenuity combined with cutting-edge technology and expertise, people are unwinding generations of inequity and disinvestment to build healthy businesses, healthy communities, healthy food systems, healthy bank accounts and healthy lives.

Communities Unlimited breakdown of Departments

Communities Unlimited consists of 4 primary program areas:

These program areas create economic opportunities and solutions for communities in our seven-state service area to grow and thrive. We seek new partners who further support economic development to touch more aspects of each community.

We grow as the communities and clients we work with continue to grow.

 These Are Our Communities 

Communities Unlimited Service Area

Persistent Poverty Counties

Persistent Poverty counties in the Communities Unlimited Service Area

Minority Population

Minority Population counties

Food Insecurity

Food insecure states in the country

Our Promise

To partner with people who want to escape from persistent poverty and connect them to solutions for achieving sustainable prosperity.

Our Purpose

Talent is equally distributed across the U.S. and opportunity is not. Access to opportunities should not depend on where you live, how much you have in the bank or what you look like.

Our Approach

Through human connection and ingenuity combined with cutting-edge technology and expertise, Communities Unlimited connects people to solutions that sustain healthy businesses, healthy communities and healthy lives.

CDFI logo

Our CDFI

Communities Unlimited was certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in 2001. CU has over $16 million in assets and has made over $45 million in loans to small rural communities and small businesses in 24 states.