An 18 month look at exciting and innovative rural philanthropic work going on around the country led by Allen Smart, veteran rural philanthropist.

1. CHALLENGES
Rural regions in the United States
have as many differences as
similarities, and funders often have
a difficult time gathering enough
knowledge to understand both
dimensions.
The rural non-profit infrastructure
can be sparse, so funders naturally
gravitate towards trusted partners
that may not be the right kind of
leaders for the effort(s).
The human, financial, and structural
assets of rural communities often
look quite different than their urban
counterparts. Rural leaders may
resist unfamiliar urban models.
The presence of significant state
and federal resources may make
it difficult for out-of-area private
funders to align their work with
common goals.
Rural communities may be skeptical
of any long-term commitments
from private urban-based
funders towards rural community
improvement initiatives.
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OUR CENTRAL AIM
While there are many shining examples of effective rural
philanthropic work, only 7% of all private philanthropic
investments are associated with a rural-focused initiative. And
only a percentage of those investments are directed towards the
most marginalized populations through a focus on race, class,
education or economic opportunity, due in part to a variety of
tactical challenges and limited understanding of how things get
done in rural communities. These numbers show the opportunity
for funders to explore and support effective investment strategies to
improve health and wellbeing in rural regions.
The central aim of the Rural Philanthropic Analysis (RPA) project
is to better understand funding practices that are leading the way
towards health improvement in rural regions across the country. We
believe that this effort will help support more – and more effective –
investments by funders of all types and sizes. Support for the RPA is
being provided in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.*
Did you know?
Only 7% of private philanthropic
investments are directed towards
rural communities.
7%

2. THE NEED FOR TRANSITION
Given the uneven history of much of rural philanthropy
in the United States, there is a need for transition in
rural funder practice; a new way of doing business that is
embraced and responds to the ways that rural communities
actually function. The culture of health movement initiated
by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and embodied
in the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps work at the
University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
provides a significant architecture for this redesign. This
shift in practice needs to include:
Meaningful ongoing relationships with
local, state, and regional funders that are
demonstrating success with their rural
culture of health work.
Rural non-health networks that have a
state or regional focus and are embracing
culture of health concepts.
Deeper knowledge of individual
communities that have created important
cross-sector initiatives focused on
improving the health of their communities.
Identification of existing under-the-radar
successes from the rural regions of the
country and technical and financial support
for adaptation to other areas.
Strategies for adaptation of rural work that
recognize differences in geography, culture,
and history and that also consider rural
Native American communities and other
specific populations.
Understanding of the context of initiatives
that fundamentally shift the vitality of rural
community life such as electrification and
broadband access.
FOLLOW US
Visit our website at www.campbell.edu/rpa for comprehensive updates regarding project findings,
produced works, and where RPA representatives are traveling.
You can also follow the ORPA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts @CampbellORPA for weekly updates,
findings, and conference/workshop schedules.
For more information, contact:
Allen Smart, Project Director, asmart@campbell.edu
Johnathan Rine, Project Coordinator, jrine@campbell.edu.
PROJECT DETAILS & STRATEGY
The Office of Rural Philanthropic Analysis and the RPA
project is dedicated to
• Developing information and strategic recommendations
for the rural and philanthropic fields from external
relationship building and knowledge gathering;
• Assisting funders in looking at prior and future rural
funding practices, models, and lessons learned; and
• Identifying and cultivating prospective partners for
rural culture of health work.
RPA intends to strengthen the field of rural philanthropy for
years to come by sharing its work broadly.
PROJECT LEADERSHIP
Allen Smart has spent 20 years
as a grantmaker with the Rapides
Foundation in Louisiana and
the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable
Trust in North Carolina. He is a
frequent contributor to writings
on philanthropic strategy and
consults with foundations around
the country on rural issues.
Allen is very active in national
funder groups, as well as being
one of the founders of the annual
White House public/private rural
partnership meeting.
*The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.