“How many people do you serve?”
It’s one of the most common questions funders ask—and an important one. But for rural nonprofits, the answer doesn’t always tell the whole story.
Imagine an urban nonprofit serving 5,000 people within a relatively compact area. Now imagine a rural nonprofit serving 500 people across several counties.
The first number is bigger. But what if the rural organization is the only provider of a critical service for those 500 people? What if its staff drive for hours to reach clients? What if the nearest alternative is 50 miles away?
The headcount doesn’t tell the whole story.
Geography Is Part of Impact
Rural nonprofits often operate across large geographic areas with smaller, more dispersed populations. Distance can create real barriers to accessing services—and nonprofits may spend significant time and resources reaching the people they serve.
That means rural impact isn't just about how many people are served.
It can also be about:
- How many communities are reached
- How large the service area is
- How far staff travel
- How much access is created
- Whether another provider exists
Sometimes impact isn't scale. Sometimes impact is presence.
Small Population Doesn't Mean Small Need
Rural communities experience significant economic challenges. USDA data show that poverty rates in nonmetro areas have remained higher than metro poverty rates over time. In 2022, the nonmetro poverty rate was 15.5%, compared with 12.1% in metro areas.[1]
USDA also identifies persistent poverty as long-standing geographic concentrations of poverty, often intertwined with limited economic opportunities and community resources.[2]
Yet smaller communities may have fewer organizations and fewer resources available to address those challenges.
And while many funders appropriately prioritize racial and ethnic diversity, demographics alone don't tell the full story of community need.
A rural community can experience significant economic hardship, geographic isolation, limited opportunity, and barriers to accessing services regardless of its racial makeup.
Rural equity and racial equity don't have to be competing priorities.
The question is whether we're willing to look at the whole picture.
A Better Question
For funders, the opportunity is to look beyond the headcount.
Ask:
- How far does this organization reach?
- What barriers to access is it overcoming?
- What happens if this organization isn't there?
And for rural nonprofits, don't be afraid to tell that story.
Don't just report the number of people served. Explain the geography, the distance, the lack of alternatives, and the barriers your organization is overcoming every day.
Because rural nonprofits aren't necessarily creating less impact.
The impact may simply look different.
At Ready.Set.Fund!, that's the perspective we bring to rural nonprofit fundraising:
“Built for rural realities, not big city solutions.”
Sources & Footnotes
[1] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. “Nonmetro poverty rates remain higher than metro.” Rural Poverty & Well-Being | Economic Research Service
[2] U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. “Poverty Area Measures.” Poverty Area Measures | Economic Research Service