Dear Funders,
Let's talk about something rural communities have in abundance:
Talent.
It may be in a small town, on a farm, in a rural school, at a community college, or in a nonprofit serving a rural community.
And it is here.
Some of it is extraordinary.
Geography Is a Terrible Proxy for Potential
Rural communities are sometimes viewed through a lens that assumes smaller population means smaller possibility.
America's history tells us otherwise.
Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky and raised in rural Indiana. He had very little formal education before becoming one of America's most consequential presidents.[1]
George Washington Carver conducted groundbreaking agricultural research at Tuskegee and developed practical solutions for farmers in the rural South. He even took agricultural education directly to farmers through a mobile demonstration laboratory.[2]
And then there's Thomas Edison.
In 1876, Edison established his famous laboratory in rural Menlo Park, New Jersey, bringing equipment, specialists, and ideas together outside the city.[3] From that rural laboratory came innovations that helped transform modern life.
The point isn't that every great invention comes from a rural community.
It's this:
Talent doesn't require a big-city ZIP code. It requires opportunity.
Rural Kids Have Big Dreams
A rural child who wants to become a scientist doesn't dream smaller because they grew up in a town of 2,000.
A future engineer, physician, entrepreneur, artist, researcher, or technology developer can come from anywhere.
The question isn't whether rural young people have ambition.
It's whether they have access to opportunity, mentors, technology, education, networks, and capital.
The Denominator Matters
A $100,000 investment in a densely populated urban community may reach thousands of people, while the same investment in a rural community may reach hundreds.
On paper, urban investment can look more efficient.
But people served is not the only measure of impact.
A rural nonprofit may serve people across hundreds of square miles. It may be the only organization providing a particular service across that geography.
And the impact can extend well beyond the number of people directly served.
- A rural healthcare program might improve access for an entire region.
- A rural workforce program might help sustain a critical local industry.
- A rural youth program might create opportunities that otherwise wouldn't exist for generations of young people.
- A rural nonprofit may strengthen the infrastructure of an entire community.
The denominator matters.
When evaluating rural investments, ask not only: “How many people can be served?”
Also ask: “What can change if we invest here?”
That's a different way of measuring return.
Rural investments aren't necessarily producing less impact. They may be producing different kinds of impact that traditional measures don't always capture.
Look beyond the ZIP codes where investment has traditionally concentrated.
Look at rural schools. Rural colleges. Rural nonprofits. Rural entrepreneurs. Rural innovators.
And ask:
What could this person or organization become if they had access to the opportunity, investment, and networks available elsewhere?
Invest because there is talent here worth cultivating—and because the potential return may be much greater than the numbers initially suggest.
The next great company, scientific discovery, agricultural innovation, community solution, or national leader could come from a rural community.
You just have to be willing to look. And invest.
Warm regards,
Ready.Set.Fund!
Sources & Footnotes
[1] Library of Congress, Abraham Lincoln — Biographies.
[2] Tuskegee University, George Washington Carver.
[3] Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Thomas Edison's Inventive Life.