Posts by Allen Smart
Leveraging Deep Community Ties: Rural Funders Tackle COVID-19
The philanthropic response to COVID-19 has been dominated by three separate but interconnected themes: (1) Relaxation of standard reporting requirements, programmatic restrictions and timelines, (2) Advocacy for funders to extend themselves past standard 5% payout spending policies and (3) Creation of emergency funding pools or other rapid response structures. While all are worthy of consideration,…
Read MoreHow Small Funders Can Make a Difference on COVID-19
Lots of good grants management advice out there in the midst of COVID-19–flexible General Operating Support; delayed reporting, doubling down on funding to key grantees etc. I hope these are all being acted upon. Unclear how to justify otherwise? For rural funders—and particularly smaller place-based rural funders— what more to do? Here are some ideas:…
Read More2020 Vision: US National Census
Pleased to be part a comprehensive look from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota at the history and challenges of getting the Census right with emphasis on the movement to a dominantly on-line system—leaving rural communities with a potentially disastrous financial loss due to census undercount. You can read the article titled 2020 Vision on…
Read MoreBrief Recap of the Rural Philanthropic Analysis Project on Washington State
A piece from Inside Philanthropy that features our report on the innovative rural philanthropy of the Empire Health Foundation in Spokane, Washington along with references to our other three case studies and the larger Rural Philanthropic Analysis Project. The Inside Philanthropy article is available at https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2019/10/15/a-study-drilled-deep-into-rural-philanthropy-in-washington-state-heres-what-it-found. You can find links to the Washington study as well…
Read MoreFamily Funders – Always Important in Rural Communities
The history of the United States is marked by wealth created in rural America. Timber and wood products in the northwest and northeast; fossil fuels in Appalachia, the southwest and Rocky Mountains; textiles in the south, among others. Related philanthropic funds have been created alongside these rural industries—often from multi-generational family commitments to these rural…
Read MoreThe Case for the Field of Rural Philanthropy
Linked here you’ll find my case for taking all of the disparate elements of rural foundation work and supporting the development of a cohesive and coherent field of work that best serves the interests of rural communiities and funders alike. Download Building a Field of Rural Philanthropy: The Case for Creating a Rural Philanthropic Network
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