Resource Rural
Enabling rural communities and Native Nations to access and implement public and private funding
A rural approach
Rural people know what’s needed in our communities to improve quality of life, grow local businesses, create jobs, and make it possible for families to thrive. Trusted regional organizations working hand-in-hand with local leaders can play a vital role in identifying community priorities, developing projects, and accessing public and private capital to make these ideas a reality.
Resource Rural, a program of the Heartland Fund, mobilizes philanthropic resources to invest in regional and local Native and rural organizations that are working directly with communities to help them unlock public and private investment that advances their economic vision for their community. We also shine a light on the positive stories and economic impact that results when rural people are empowered to channel investment towards local priorities, and we help local groups organize community members to advocate for public investment in essential community infrastructure.
Strategies to unlock public and private capital
- National Hub and Local Resource Partners
- High-Leverage Climate Opportunities
- Storytelling and Communications Support
- Advocacy and Organizing
National Hub and Local Resource Partners
Resource Rural’s National Hub works with partners across the country to enable rural and Indigenous communities to access public and private dollars.
Resource Rural works locally. To us, that means collaborating with the folks who are already doing the work, so that we can accelerate existing efforts and avoid duplication. Our network of Local Resource Partners — regional economic development organizations, community development financial institutions, regional hubs — knows their communities best and is ready to dive in and drive with project design, partnership development, grant proposals, and implementation. With the support of the National Hub’s experienced and knowledgeable staff, we build lasting partnerships that we can all return to year after year.
Advancing Energy and Climate Solutions
In collaboration with the Rural Climate Partnership, Resource Rural supports rural-led climate solutions. This partnership stimulates a virtuous cycle in which people learn about and access the tools and opportunities provided by public and private funding to create jobs, save money, generate energy security, and strengthen resilience. The Rural Climate Partnership:
- Drives clean energy transformation in coal-intensive rural electric cooperatives, including working with co-op boards to encourage them to access available resources.
- Advances climate-forward agriculture and conservation by reaching farmers with information about soil-building, cost-saving, and climate-friendly practices.
- Tackles barriers to clean energy siting to access billions in public funding to support the build-out of renewable energy projects, the vast majority of which will be in rural areas.
- Unlocks the power of direct-to-consumer incentives, rebates, and tax credits to empower rural homeowners and businesses to realize energy and cost savings while reducing GHG emissions.
Storytelling and Communications Support
In small towns and cities, Native nations, and rural counties, people are working together to use federal funding to make good things happen in their communities. A berry farmer in Minnesota installs a solar array on his barn roof using Rural Energy for America Program funding. Two friends accessed USDA support and grant funding to open a community-run meat processing facility in Minnesota that now employs seven local people and helps local farmers get their products to new markets. An Oneida farmer supplies Tribal elders with healthy, local food through the federal Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. Across the country, rural and Indigenous communities are using public investments to meet local goals — and doing it in ways rooted in connection, innovation, and local business growth.
But these stories often go unseen. Resource Rural addresses this gap by working directly with community organizations to surface stories from rural people who can share in their own voice about why this work matters and what it’s making possible. By documenting and sharing these stories, we make sure rural leaders are recognized, their contributions are valued, and more people understand how federal investments are being used to strengthen communities and local economies. Resource Rural supports local partners in building their own communications capacity — helping them reach new audiences, shape narratives, and keep pushing for the future they know is possible.
Advocacy and Organizing
Rural community members understand better than anyone else what their own communities need to thrive. But without advocacy and organizing, their voices are not always heard.
Federal and state programs create opportunities to bring communities’ visions for lower utility bills, good jobs, affordable housing, and much more to life. However, it can be difficult for local organizations to stay on top of funding opportunities and track their implementation. For many federal programs, states will be making decisions about how the funding gets allocated.
Without a concerted engagement from community members, some states and local governments may not participate in funding programs. Or if they do — they may structure programs in a way that makes it hard for rural communities to benefit.
Resource Rural provides organizations and coalitions with the advocacy resources and organizing support they need to ensure that public funding is invested in rural communities, especially those most in need
Improving the Lives of Hardworking People
Resource Rural unlocks funding for underinvested rural communities to support dynamic and influential projects. In addition to the dollars raised, Resource Rural builds rural community capacity, diversifies rural economies, grows civic power, shifts narratives, attracts philanthropic investment, and documents learning.