New Report Calls for Grassroots Rural Investment

Neighborhood Funders Group Spotlights Heartland Grantees

At Heartland Fund, we know rural grassroots work is essential to building a strong multiracial democracy. That’s why we contributed to a new report by Neighborhood Funders Group’s Integrated Rural Strategies Group, which points to ways philanthropy can meaningfully support rural communities to build and sustain real, durable change.

In the report’s nine profiles of effective rural changemakers, it illustrates the power of rural organizers. Heartland grantees Western Native Voice and Food AND Medicine represent two strong examples of the success we see when we invest in rural people boosting engagement and improving quality of life for their neighbors. 

“Our grantees will be quick to point out that organizing starts with listening. They form deep bonds across the political spectrum through shared values, shared villains, and shared experiences. They build long-term power with an ambitious vision through a series of short-term, pragmatic wins.”

Executive Director Sarah Jaynes

The report also includes resources provided by Heartland Fund to encourage strategic philanthropic investment that advances rural priorities. Neighborhood Funders Group highlights the urgency of philanthropic commitment at this time when rural marginalized people are especially vulnerable to threats and attacks. And Sarah reinforces the benefit that rural investment brings to all of us, making our country healthier, more democratic, and more prosperous all around.