Across America, information about community events and resources is scattered across social media pages, nonprofit newsletters, and word-of-mouth networks. Residents often miss opportunities simply because they don’t know where to look. Jasper County, Iowa faced that exact challenge.

Spread across multiple small towns, the county needed a way to bring people, services, and organizations together in one accessible place. Their solution was to create a single community calendar using With, turning their website into a digital town square that connects residents with everything happening across the county.

The results have been powerful: improved coordination between organizations, stronger community participation, and a simple tool that delivers a high return with minimal staff effort.

A County Full of Activity — But No Single Source of Truth

Jasper County is geographically large and deeply community-driven. Events happen everywhere, from Newton, the largest town, to smaller rural communities. But information was fragmented.

Residents had to search across:

• Facebook pages
• individual nonprofit websites
• library announcements
• church bulletins
• government notices

Many residents were simply missing events or resources. The county’s leadership wanted something better. The vision of leadership was to go beyond standard transparency and be proactive in creating connections. 

A Digital Town Square

County leadership and the Public Health Department wanted to create a place where residents could see everything happening in their community. That meant bringing together county government events, nonprofit programs, library activities, support groups, food assistance programs and youth events and classes. Instead of separating civic services from community life, Jasper County intentionally placed them side-by-side.

On any given day, a resident might find on the calendar a library craft class, Narcotics Anonymous meeting, food bank distribution, veterans coffee or extended office hours for county services. This approach reduces stigma around accessing help. When assistance programs appear alongside everyday community events, they become part of the normal fabric of community life.

One Calendar for the Entire County

Using With, Jasper County created a centralized community calendar embedded directly on their website. Instead of forcing residents to rely on social media algorithms, the county now drives people to a single trusted destination. The result is a central hub residents can bookmark and return to without needing a Facebook account or relying on unpredictable feeds.

“Jasper County is more than the Board of Supervisors… it’s more than driver’s licenses and property taxes. It’s about bringing together resources for people of all ages and all needs.” – Jenn Cross, Communications Specialist at Jasper County.

Better Coordination Across the Community

One notable benefit has been improved collaboration between organizations. When every event is visible in one place, groups naturally begin coordinating. For example, Libraries can see when schools host early-release days and plan activities accordingly. Towns can schedule garage sales or festivals to avoid overlapping with neighboring communities. Organizations running similar programs can share resources and ideas.

As Jenn Cross, Communications Specialist at Jasper County explained, the simplicity of seeing events together encourages cooperation:

“They’re able to share resources because they know this person is having this event… they can figure out what works and what doesn’t.”

The calendar becomes a coordination layer for the entire community.

For many residents, the calendar also serves a critical role in connecting people with services.

Through partnerships with public health and nonprofit coalitions like CARES, the calendar includes events and programs such as:

• food assistance
• addiction recovery meetings
• rental and utility assistance programs
• resume workshops
• childcare support resources

These events are often difficult to discover through traditional channels. By surfacing them alongside community activities, Jasper County ensures residents can find help without navigating complex government pages or PDFs.

Built for Real Life

Accessibility was a major priority. County leaders and staff knew many residents rely on older phones, tablets and shared devices. So the platform needed to be fast, simple, and optimized for any device. This approach makes it easier for residents to find what they need, even during stressful situations. “You have to think about how people are accessing this — are they using a tablet, an iPad, an Android, something older? A lot of people can’t afford to run out and buy a brand-new computer… The number one thing is it has to be optimized for all devices.”  – Jenn Cross, Communications Specialist at Jasper County.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Jasper County’s success is how little staffing it requires. The calendar is maintained by a part-time coordinator, yet it now contains hundreds of events.

Why it works:

• partners submit their own events
• nonprofits share updates
• county departments contribute activities
• the calendar naturally grows through community participation

The coordinator simply approves and organizes submissions. The result is a tool that delivers tremendous public value without adding major administrative overhead.

Another unexpected outcome: leaders, departments and community organizations are now hosting more events. When leaders see how easy it is to promote programs and connect with residents, they begin creating new opportunities for engagement. Veterans coffees and special office hours are all easier to promote when there’s a central place for residents to discover them.

Since launching the centralized calendar, Jasper County has:

• created a single trusted hub for community information
• improved coordination between towns and organizations
• increased visibility for nonprofit services
• reduced reliance on social media algorithms
• made county government feel more approachable and human

Most importantly, residents now have a simple answer to a common question: “What’s happening in my community?”

A Model for Counties Everywhere

Jasper County demonstrates that building stronger communities doesn’t always require complex technology or large budgets. Sometimes the most powerful solution is simply putting everything in one place. By creating a centralized calendar, Jasper County transformed its website into a digital gathering space, connecting residents with events, resources, and each other.

And in rural communities where distance can make connection harder, that simple change can make all the difference.