posted on: Tuesday, September 11, 2007

“Exposure and personal contacts” go far in the world of grantmaking, according to Rural Philanthropy: Building Dialogue From Within. But developing that essential cache of contacts is largely difficult without nonprofits having the opportunity to foster meaningful interactions with foundations.

That’s the kicker, though. Compared to urban nonprofits, rural nonprofits are much more isolated because of sheer geography, which in turn makes it difficult to create a philanthropic infrastructure. For example, “seldom do rural groups have the opportunities to rub elbows with granters,” and “few foundations conduct tours of rural areas,” cites NCRP’s latest report.

Although Rural Philanthropy highlights a handful of initiatives aimed toward overcoming those barriers, more needs to be done to connect rural nonprofits to major foundations. After all, without more familiarity with such groups, foundations are more likely to rely on pre-existing conceptions such as those discussed in previous postings.

What are some ways to overcome this "philanthropic divide"? How can rural groups increase access to foundations? These are difficult questions which NCRP invites readers to debate as they read Rural Philanthropy.

Download the report for free.