Come Home to River Country: A New Recruiting and Prospecting Tool for Crawford County Realtors and Employers

Nikki Dudley
Aug 12
4 min read

If you recruit talent or sell homes in Crawford County, WI, you now have a new tool to help close the deal. It is called Come Home to River Country, and it puts real relocation dollars behind the case you are already making to out-of-state prospects.

Driftless Development, Inc. (DDI) shared the program with local realtors and employers at a recent presentation. This post recaps the essentials for anyone who could not attend, and shows how you can put Come Home to River Country to work in your own recruiting and prospecting.

What is Come Home to River Country?

Come Home to River Country is Crawford County's household relocation initiative, funded through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation's (WEDC) Talent Recruitment Grant. The Talent Recruitment Grant is a new statewide program launched in 2026 to help Wisconsin communities attract new residents from outside the state.

DDI secured the maximum $500,000 award, one of only two communities in the state to receive the full amount, along with substantial community and partner support. The goal is to help 25 households relocate from outside Wisconsin to Crawford County over the next three years.

For you, the value is simple. When an out-of-state buyer or job candidate is weighing a move to River Country, Come Home to River Country gives them another reason to say yes.

The award at a glance

Qualifying households must currently live outside Wisconsin and have a minimum household income of $55,000. The maximum award depends on the housing path the household chooses:

Build new construction: up to $30,000
Purchase and rehabilitate an existing home: up to $22,000
Purchase an existing home: up to $18,000
Limited long-term rental awards are also available

These figures are maximums, not guaranteed amounts. Final awards are set through a scoring process that weighs factors such as household size, children enrolling in local schools, community and civic involvement, workforce contribution, job stability, and family ties.

One point worth understanding up front: awards are forgivable relocation assistance, not cash grants or loans. For owner-occupied purchases, DDI secures the award with a forgivable mortgage on the property. Households never receive cash. DDI pays approved relocation and homeownership expenses directly.

For realtors: give your out-of-state buyer another reason to say yes

Relocation is full of friction. Moving costs, an unfamiliar area, and uncertainty about belonging can all stall a decision. Come Home to River Country lowers that friction for buyers who are already thinking about a move to Crawford County.

You can use the program to:

Give serious prospects a concrete financial reason to commit to Crawford County over other markets
Increase prospect's buying power through closing cost discounts, cash incentives and partner perks

The program works best when buyers apply early, so the sooner you introduce it, the more useful it becomes in your conversations.

For employers: this can help you win the candidate

If your recruiting reaches beyond Wisconsin, housing and relocation are almost certainly costing you offers. Candidates who love the job still hesitate when they cannot picture the move. Come Home to River Country helps close that gap.

You can put the program to work by:

Folding program messaging into the recruiting workflows and outreach you already run
Strengthening your community value proposition when you compete for talent against larger metro markets
Giving a strong out-of-state candidate a reason to accept, and to plant roots in Crawford County

Point candidates to the program early in the hiring conversation, ideally before they have made a final decision, so the incentive can factor into their choice.

What every partner should know

Come Home to River Country is built to support your process, not compete with it. A few ground rules keep it working smoothly:

DDI works in the background and will never interfere with your standard process
All links and calls to action should point back to you, the realtor or recruiter, so you secure your lead first
Encourage prospects to apply as early as possible
You do not have to be a program expert to use it well
Come Home to River Country and River Country logos are available for your materials, and community story-telling videos are on the way for your use

Additional benefits for new households

The monetary award is only part of the picture. Partners across Crawford County are investing in relocating households too. Depending on the household and housing path, benefits may include:

Closing cost discounts and banking incentives
Fiber broadband installation
Building lot discounts and waived curb-cutting fees on new construction
Homebuyer education
Orientation tours and captained boat excursions
Backyard tree plantings and Rotary Club membership
A relocation bonus for licensed teachers

These partner benefits add real value on top of the relocation award and reinforce the message that River Country is a place worth choosing.

How the process works

The path from application to move-in is straightforward:

The household applies online through DDI
DDI verifies residency and income
DDI conducts a virtual interview with the household
Initial scoring is calculated automatically
A committee reviews and finalizes the award
DDI sends a conditional offer with agreement templates for review
DDI conducts a virtual agreement review before signing
The agreement is executed and funds are reserved
DDI places a forgivable mortgage on the property to secure the investment
Approved expenses are requested, approved, and paid by DDI. Households never receive cash.

How to get started

Come Home to River Country turns the case you already make for Crawford County into a case backed by real relocation support. It is a recruiting and prospecting tool, and it works best when you build it into your everyday outreach.

Here is how to begin:

Reach out to DDI for the Come Home to River Country partner toolkit
Start weaving program messaging into your listings, job postings, and candidate conversations
Have your out-of-state prospects apply early at driftlessdevelopment.org

Questions? Contact Driftless Development, Inc. at info@driftlessdevelopment.org.