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Other obstacles highlighted are the desire of foundations to target densely populated areas, as well as "weak nonprofit infrastructures" found in most rural places. NCRP will be presenting these findings and recommendations on how to strengthen foundation giving in rural areas during the Council of Foundation's conference on rural philanthropy in Montana next week. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) inspired the Council to hold this conference after he spoke at the group's annual gathering last year.

"Compared to their urban counterparts, rural nonprofits are significantly disadvantaged," said Rachael Swierzewski, research consultant at NCRP and report author. "With scarce local funding sources and often insufficient local support systems, rural nonprofits find it incredibly difficult to build strong organizations."

Rural Philanthropy expands upon a 2004 NCRP report titled Beyond City Limits: the Philanthropic Needs of Rural America, which found that less than 1 percent of U.S. grantmaking foundations allocated money for rural development between 2001 and 2002.

The report defines areas as "rural" based on U.S. Census definitions.  "Rural nonprofits" are those tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations located in or are serving rural areas. Roughly 20 percent of the United States population lives in rural areas.

NCRP conducted focus groups with nonprofit leaders serving rural parts of California, Florida, Kentucky, Montana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. Participants revealed that they were concerned with how positive and negative perceptions of rural society may undermine foundations' willingness to approve grants.

"Many perceive rural America as a place where tight-knit communities work together to overcome adversity; others see the region as resistant to change," said Aaron Dorfman, executive director of NCRP. "But generalities have the effect of masking contemporary issues affecting rural America, making it harder for rural nonprofits to attract grant-money."

Nonprofits typically strive to develop meaningful relationships with current or potential funders. But Rural Philanthropy finds that geographic isolation greatly reduces opportunities for rural organizations to gain exposure with major funders, which are usually located in urban areas. The report also finds that grantmakers often require capacity-related benchmarks that are difficult to achieve without having sufficient funding for staff and technical assistance.

Rural Philanthropy offers substantive recommendations on ways to make philanthropy more responsive to rural America. Expanding flexible, multi-year grants is one of the primary recommendations to reduce the disparity in charitable giving between rural and urban organizations.

Rural Philanthropy is available for free download on the NCRP Web site. Hard copies are also available for $5 to members and $10 to non-members. For media interviews or to receive a media copy, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .