Funding Rural

When people don’t know where to begin when it comes to funding rural America, collaborative funds are a great way to start. Charlie Brown is the executive director of the Trust for Civic Life, which is an example of one of those funds. They’re made up of 20 different funders from across the country all working together to empower people to get involved in shaping the future of their communities an...

Funding for disaster response is much needed in the American West where vast rangeland ignites quickly under dry conditions. In Eastern Oregon, innovative Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPAs) bring together local ranchers and state resources to work collaboratively when fires break out. Derek Burkhardt is a 4th generation rancher and farmer from Vale, Oregon who is in a leadership role w...

Meeting the mental and behavioral health needs of rural communities, where people are dispersed and remarkably self-reliant, can be a challenge for a variety of different reasons. In Northeast Oregon, Community Counseling Solutions serves an area of more than 60,000 square miles, in which just 100,000 people reside—the sheer distance can stretch resources thin. Kimberly Lindsay is their director a...

There are so many folks who want to age in place but live far away from the care they need, and that can present challenges for their health, happiness and the social fabric of their communities. Dr. Jordan Lewis is the director for the Center on Aging at the University of Hawaii at Manoa with the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health. He’s Alaska Native on his mother’s side and got his...

When massive wildfires swept through Oregon in 2020, Dee Anne Everson helped hundreds of people who had just lost everything, and five years later, she’s still helping them. She’s CEO of United Way of Jackson County Oregon, and has a special leadership philosophy that’s evident in her work. Everson leads a staff of 7 and they partner with hundreds of volunteers across south-central Oregon to help...

Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology in Northern Michigan is an artist residency that aims to build community through farming, ecology and economy. The Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference is a program of theirs that brings farms together to learn and connect in the height of summer. Led by Brad Kik and his wife, Amanda, Crosshatch was also a key partner behind a recently completed new buildi...

Philanthropy has long been a champion of public radio, providing grants for everything from infrastructure and new buildings to special reporting projects. Recent federal cuts have made philanthropic support even more critical to keep public radio stations afloat: across the country, in rural and remote areas, and especially on Tribal lands. Sue Matters is the station manager at KWSO 91.9 FM, whic...

In rural and remote Oregon, where populations are low and the need for educators is high, there’s Rural Teacher Corps, a Grow Your Own program that is implementing new approaches to identifying, supporting, and training tomorrow’s teachers. Dave Dallas, who runs the program, teaches in the College of Education at Eastern Oregon University and he’s the Director of Teach Rural Oregon. He shares how...

Native American Tribal communities are a blind spot for philanthropy with just .4% of funding going to Native organizations—but some philanthropic organizations are trying to change that. Stone Hudson, a citizen of the three affiliated tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara) of the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota shares his experience as Program Officer at Meyer Memorial Trust where he over...

Luke Shaefer, PhD is one of the nation's foremost scholars of poverty and social welfare policy. He is a professor at the University of Michigan and is the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary initiative that partners with communities and policymakers to find novel ways to alleviate poverty. In 2015, he co-authored the book, “$2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in Ameri...

Green River, Utah (population 900) can be seen as a waypoint in the desert with more hotel rooms than residents. Or it can be seen through the eyes of locals like Maria Sykes. She’s the director and co-founder of Epicenter, a nonprofit in Green River that focuses on housing and fosters creativity and art in the community. Maria did not grow up in the region, instead she came by way of Americorps,...

Libraries are vital to rural communities—they do so much more than just check out books. They provide internet access, heating and cooling centers, early learning, nutrition, STEM programs, story time and more. Dr. Regina Washington-Arthur is the managing director of the Rural Library Network for Partners for Rural Impact. With a background in public health, Washington-Arthur explains that librari...

More than 50 million Americans face food insecurity. And in the U.S., 9 out of the 10 counties with the highest rate of food insecurity are rural . To offset this disparity, Roundhouse Foundation recently launched a 6 million dollar investment which will support local food purchase over the next three years. Carly Auten is food program director at NeighborImpact, a grant recipient that distributes...

Gretchen Guess is president and CEO of the Rasmuson Foundation in Alaska, where 80% of the population lives in remote areas without road access. Gretchen has lived there all her life and served terms in both the Alaska House of Representatives and Senate. She’s brought her public service experience to Rasmuson Foundation, which is one of the largest funders in Alaska and centers the community in a...

Josh Davis began his career in the nonprofit world by working for the Delta Health Alliance, which is a nonprofit that works to improve access to healthcare and education in the Mississippi Delta. He then made the shift into the philanthropic world and now serves as the vice president of policy and partnerships at StriveTogether, leading national efforts to build civic infrastructure and influence...

Farming and ranching requires experimentation, adaptation, and innovation. It’s a whole lot of problem solving done by people who often don’t have a whole lot of expendable capital. That doesn’t mean that ranchers aren’t deeply committed to stewarding the health of their land for generations to come. Dallas Hall Defrees is a 5th generation rancher in Eastern Oregon who serves as the director of Re...

Partnerships play an important role when it comes to tackling the complicated, uncomfortable and often taboo issue of firearms. Jessi LaRose is the Director of strategic initiatives at Missouri Foundation for Health and she runs the Missouri Foundation for Health’s Firearm Injury and Death Prevention program. Her organization works with grantees in more than 84 counties including the city of St. L...

John Cornelius grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota; he served in the US Army; and he has the national suicide helpline number, 988, tattooed on his arm. He is a peer support and suicide prevention specialist and a mental health educator who walks the talk. John has overcome addiction, suicide attempts, and periods of houselessness and says his faith guides him as he helps others...

How much is philanthropy currently investing in LGBTQ organizations? Not a whole lot, especially in rural. Katie Carter is the CEO of Pride Foundation, which was founded 40 years ago to support Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer folks. Pride currently works in the Northwest, providing support to nonprofits in both urban and rural places. Katie grew up rural and recognizes the importance...

Healthcare is top of mind for many Americans, and in rural communities, where there are distinct challenges, there is also hope in new ideas and solutions. Benjamin Anderson is president and CEO of Hutchinson Regional Medical Center in Hutchinson, Kansas and he sees the nonprofit hospital system he runs as a nexus that sends ripples of health into the community as a whole. And he puts that communi...

Episode recorded live in Minneapolis-St. Paul on June 11th, 2025 at the Council on Foundations’ nonprofit funders conference, Leading Locally. Ash Hanson of Department of Public Transformation and Winter Kinne of Community Foundation of the Ozarks took the plenary stage for a conversation about funding the urban-rural connection with show host, Erin Borla.

Funding Rural is coming back this fall, starting on September 23, 2025 and we can't wait to share the new episodes. Your host, Erin Borla of The Roundhouse Foundation in Sisters, Oregon has been talking with a lot of change agents, steadfast funders, and proud rural advocates in preparation for this season. We think you'll enjoy their perspectives and hope you'll stick around for all t...

Narrative plays a critical role in what funders support, and unexamined narratives can create unintended consequences. We often hear about the brain drain in communities as young talent leaves, but Rural Sociologist Ben Winchester offers facts around an alternative narrative—the brain gain— a demographic that is moving back into rural communities. Ben works in the Department of Community Developme...

Across vast stretches of rural America and particularly in the West, emergency care—or even basic routine healthcare—can be hard to come by. People drive hours for eye exams, to give birth, have their teeth cleaned, or get therapy. Robert Duehmig, director for the Oregon Office of Rural Health, works towards solutions that fit rural and remote communities in Oregon. He discusses what’s working, wh...

The Children’s Museum of Southern Oregon in Medford, which operates a dynamic museum and expansive preschool program, is a beacon of connection for children and families. They are scaling up their museum and preschool operations and expanding to another rural Southern Oregon community. Executive director Sunny Spicer speaks to the value of these ‘third spaces’ in a community, places curating conne...