Small Funders, Big Impact: Five Takeaways from Our Coverage of Place-Based Rural Funders

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on October 4, 2023.

The philanthropic sector in the U.S. distributed almost $500 billion in 2022, according to the most recent Giving USA report. Of that, only about 7% goes to rural America. Since much of the U.S. population — as well as the nation’s biggest philanthropic funders — are concentrated in metropolitan centers, it doesn’t come as a surprise that communities located in rural areas receive a small portion of philanthropic dollars. However, it should be noted that about 14% of the U.S. population — or 46.1 million people — live in rural America, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2022 Rural America at a Glance report.

At Inside Philanthropy, we’ve been covering how grantmakers can increase funding for rural areas — a vital priority not only because rural residents often face high rates of poverty, poor health outcomes and other challenges funders say they want to tackle (like opioid addiction), but also because rural woes have contributed to the political and cultural tensions currently engulfing the nation, as anyone paying attention to politics since, say, 2016, well knows.

Place-based giving is obviously a hugely important part of rural philanthropy. Regional funders not only have a better understanding of the communities they serve, they're also frequently equipped to offer other types of support, such as providing technical support, trainings, and serving as conveners. For national funders interested in increasing — or setting out on — their grantmaking in rural America, one of the most effective ways to do so is by supporting the regional funders already backing their home communities.

For the past six months, we’ve been looking at just a few of the place-based funders doing this crucial work. We divided funders by region, exploring grantmakers operating in the following places:

To wrap up this series on place-based rural funding, here are some of the lessons we learned.

It’s about listening to communities

One of regional funders’ biggest strengths is their ability to listen to and engage with the communities they serve. Well-intentioned national funders can — and on some occasions have — provided large quantities of funding to rural areas with little knowledge of where and how to best use resources. Or worse still, they can impose their own approaches and theories of change to rural areas, taking one-size-fits-all approaches.

Place-based funders know their communities best. Not only can they listen to community members on the ground; many of them are parts of the communities they serve. The LOR Foundation, for instance, which serves six rural communities in the states of Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming, employs community officers in each of those locations. These officers live in and are a part of these communities, and that can build trust — crucial when it comes to rural areas, as many rural communities are wary of outsiders. Place-based funders can often be more accessible to people (though not all are). In the case of the LOR Foundation, instead of asking grantseekers to go through a long application process, people can bring their ideas directly to community officers.

The importance of community foundations

In researching rural funders, one thing became clear: Community foundations are an essential part of the fabric. While many rural towns and communities may lack philanthropic funders based in and/or working specifically in their areas, there's usually a community foundation, either regional or statewide, that provides support. Many of these community foundations offer their own grants, while also housing and providing management for other funds.

While statewide community foundations offer support for cities, as well, many have rural-specific programming, which often involves support and partnerships to advance rural healthcare. Many of the more region-specific foundations, such as the Community Foundation for South Central New York and the Humboldt Area Foundation, are either fully or largely dedicated to rural areas.

Families give back

Community foundations aren’t alone: Plenty of family foundations are dedicated to supporting rural areas. Numerous people who lived in rural areas and found success have established grantmaking foundations to support their home regions and other rural places they care about. Just a few examples across the U.S. include the Ford Family Foundation, the Anschutz Family Foundation, the Patterson Family Foundation and the Steele-Reese Foundation.

Although many small, place-based funders, including family funders, work with limited budgets, other family foundations are backed by deep pockets. The LOR Foundation, for example, was launched by Amy Wyss and her husband, Edward Jaramillo. Wyss is the daughter of the Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, who lived in Wyoming and donates extensively for environmental conservation and progressive causes.

Another example is the Roundhouse Foundation, which serves rural communities and tribal nations in Oregon and was established by Kathy Deggendorfer and her mother, Gert Boyle, of Columbia Sportswear fame. Deggendorfer's hometown is Sisters, Oregon, which has a population of 2,600. Her daughter, Erin Borla, now serves as the foundation's executive director and resides in Sisters. In 2021, the foundation awarded $11 million in grants.

Healthcare is a major focus

It's no secret that healthcare in rural America is in serious trouble. From hospital closures and a lack of providers to long distances and no ambulances, the challenges facing rural Americans seeking healthcare access are numerous and urgent, especially as life expectancies stagnate or decline in many places. But that means there are also plenty of opportunities for philanthropy to step up.

Many of the funders we’ve looked at either focus exclusively on healthcare or offer financial support for improving healthcare in the rural regions they serve. The Rapides Foundation is dedicated to improving the health of people in central Louisiana. Two of its more recent grants include funding to establish the Central Louisiana Rural Nursing Network and the Central Louisiana Rural Allied Health Network. Other health-focused foundations include the western-Montana-based Headwaters Foundation, the Con Alma Health Foundation, and the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. Another example, the St. David's Foundation, which serves five counties in central Texas, partners with St. David's Healthcare and Georgetown Health Foundation to reinvest the proceeds from the St. David's Healthcare hospital system.

Mental healthcare is also a big issue. One of the areas of focus for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, which is primarily focused on healthcare funding, is rural health. It has awarded close to $700 million in grants through its rural healthcare program, of which $42 million has gone toward expanding access to mental health services.

Support comes in many forms

Support for rural America can take many shapes. Some funders have chosen to fund advocacy work so that government on all levels takes rural Americans into better consideration. Others provide much-needed funding for the conservation of natural landscapes. Some provide big grants for healthcare and broadband expansion; others offer small grants for things like library restoration, the creation of community gardens, supplies for community projects, and stocking food pantries.

In addition to grant dollars, many foundations also offer technical support and training for future leaders. Some also act as conveners so that like-minded individuals can work together to build stronger and more resilient communities.

—

It's heartening that somewhat greater attention is being paid to rural America these days, although there’s still a way to go before the sector as a whole can be said to equitably support these oft-neglected regions. For national funders or other large funders thinking of expanding their support to rural areas, partnering with existing rural funders is one of the most effective ways to move money. And while we’ve only featured a small number of regional rural funders are featured in this series, countless others are carrying out this work.

You can find more information about many of them by accessing Inside Philanthropy’s Grant Finder resources on funders operating in specific states and regions.

Stay tuned for further coverage of philanthropy in rural America.

Featured