C05 Session: Bringing Resources to Rural Communities

Many grantmakers, both public and private, are located in metropolitan areas, while approximately 25% of the population lives in smaller or rural communities. Grantmakers may inadvertently focus grantmaking on metropolitan locations and organizations because of proximity and familiarity. Grantmakers may find value in expanding part of their interests and activities to support rural communities. Rural communities are in transition and face a number of challenges that are unique.

The Community Resource Center (CRC) and the Anschutz Family Foundation (AFF) have partnered for 14 years to work with rural communities across Colorado to produce "Rural Philanthropy Days" as two-day events, where urban-based funders travel to a rural region to meet with nonprofit representatives, learn about their communities, and develop relationships that will lead to opportunities for funding and collaboration.  This workshop will describe these events and the planning that lead up to them, how the partnership between a management assistance organization and the funders was formed, and how these events have become institutionalized in Colorado.  The workshop will present "Rural Philanthropy Days" as a model that can be applied across the country.

Background
"Rural Philanthropy Days" was begun in Colorado in 1990 to provide links between grant makers that are mostly based in Denver and Colorado Springs with nonprofit organizations and community agencies that are based in rural areas across the state. The Community Resource Center (CRC) was preparing the first edition of the "Colorado Grants Guide" in 1990 and became aware that foundations that claimed they funded statewide actually made most of their grants along the urban Front Range corridor (and most of their grants were made in the Denver metropolitan area). CRC understood quickly that this disparity was a result of limited contact: funders rarely ventured into rural communities and rural nonprofits simply weren’t aware of opportunities with these grant makers.  As the only statewide management assistance organization in Colorado, CRC understood, as part of its mission, the need to serve as an intermediary and "make the introductions."

Rural regions that have hosted RPD events have seen anywhere from $500,000 to $2 million in new money result from contacts made at RPD. Regional collaboration among nonprofits has also increased and there have been several dramatic examples of several nonprofits joining together to successfully compete for a large federal grant as a result of RPD. Finally, the visibility of nonprofits in most regions has greatly increased as a result of RPD events, improving access to elected officials and business leaders.

Methodology
The workshop will present Rural Philanthropy Days in Colorado as a model that can be replicated in other states by Alliance and NCNA members in partnership with one (or more) local foundations. This is a model that has grown out of field practice and has been tested extensively over the past fourteen years.

The two presenters represent both the management assistance organization and grant maker aspects of the partnership and can help participants strategize on how to make similar partnerships work in their own states. We will particularly draw on the experience of participants working in partnerships of this sort and help participants see how they can adapt their experience to the RPD context.

We will focus on the challenges of offering management assistance services and making grants in rural areas. We will help participants understand how RPD events can help overcome the barriers of distance, limited resources, and lack of experience. We will again draw on the experience of participants and look at how existing relationships and work in their rural communities can serve as the initial groundwork for producing RPD events.

Finally, we will present the essential ingredients in planning, funding, and producing Rural Philanthropy Days events, demonstrating how this innovative approach to engaging and partnering with rural communities (and their nonprofits) produces substantial involvement and great results. This last segment will essentially offer a direct look at how to produce RPD events.

About the Presenters

Jeff Pryor, Anschutz Family Foundation

Jeff Pryor is the Assistant Executive Director of the Anschutz Family Foundation, a family foundation that is committed to developing and funding rural nonprofits. He has been at the Foundation since 1993. Before coming to the Foundation, Pryor worked with a number of nonprofit and entrepreneurial for-profit organizations. He serves as president of the Alpine Institute that provides research, evaluation and development consultation for public and nonprofit organizations and is a board member of Colorado Youth Corps. He is also active in international economic and micro-enterprise development consultation. Mr. Pryor received the 2000 Trailblazer Award from the Colorado Rural Economic Development Counsel and the 1999 Outstanding Professional in Philanthropy for National Philanthropy Day - Colorado. Mr. Pryor received an Ed.D. in Management Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado and currently teaches at Regis University's Masters in Nonprofit Management Program. The Community Resource Center is currently developing The Guidebook for Organizers of Rural Philanthropy Days that will be published early in 2005 and will be available at the Alliance conference as a tool for those who want to develop Rural Philanthropy Days in their states.