2025 Impact Report

Supporting rural people to shape decisions about the places we call home

In 2025, the Heartland Fund continued to invest in the leaders and organizations creating thriving rural places. With inspiring grantee stories, our 2025 Impact Report shows what can happen when rural communities have the resources, leadership, and power to drive change. From advancing clean energy and strengthening local economies to expanding civic participation, our network is delivering results in places too often overlooked by traditional philanthropy.

The report provides program highlights and financials. We also share four themes that guide our work in driving progress across rural America.

Agile, collaborative strategy

Heartland Fund’s close relationships with our grantees and deep sector-specific expertise enabled us to quickly pivot, provide tailored support, and fund our network’s pressing needs. By cultivating partnerships and working closely with communities, we’re driving outsized impact.

Committed and trained leaders fuel highly effective grassroots efforts

The stakes are clear for rural people as federal policies impact costs, whether our rural hospitals stay open, and the safety of our immigrant neighbors. More rural people than ever are clamoring to take action. We’re supporting organizations to develop an expansive team of skilled leaders to meet this demand and convert large-scale volunteer action into meaningful policy change.

We scale “bright spots” into effective, replicable innovation

Top-performing rural groups often have exceptional leaders who establish highly effective and innovative strategies. Many build broad coalitions with unexpected allies. We support them to craft authentic, personal stories about the benefits they’ve created for their communities. Then, we help produce and distribute their stories to neighboring counties, peer organizations, and national audiences so these bright spots can be widely replicated.

Organizing and communication must now be considered one integrated skill set

Successful grassroots rural efforts use online spaces as a recruitment funnel for volunteers, they train their leaders to reach thousands of people through local digital platforms, and they share success and accountability stories that inspire new audiences to join them. Helping organizers leverage the power of communications will require retooling organizer training to include new skills, and funders must prioritize resources for this work.

Explore the 2025 Impact Report to learn more about the work driving progress across rural America.