Foundations and public agencies contribute generous financial support to rural communities and organizations every year.

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy for towns with part-time or volunteer leaders to find time to write proposals or navigate complicated application requirements.

To help direct funds to projects aligned with our goals in the communities where we work, Center program staff frequently support local fundraising efforts. We may help identify funding sources, answer questions about forms and qualifications, advise on project strategy and grant writing, or assemble budgets. Sometimes we’re even on the phone with the partner as they hit “Send!”

This fundraising support is another example of how we both bring and build capacity in the communities where we work. We share our experience developing grant applications to provide immediate assistance for the project at hand and train community leaders to pursue future funding – even if the first attempt isn’t successful.

Though we recognize that the need for grant writing support is widespread, we limit our direct assistance to focal communities and program areas. We maintain productive relationships with many funders who are open to advice about how to make their application processes more widely accessible.