A long-standing belief in fundraising circles is that it is much harder to raise money in rural communities than in urban or suburban settings and that you probably won’t be able to raise the money you need. This belief has some logic: there are fewer people in these communities, which means fewer people to ask. Although those people have fewer local nonprofits to choose from, there are still basic services that must be supported, and their tax rates may be higher to pay for local health services or schools or a library. Further, as studies by the National Rural Funders Collaborative have shown, nonprofits in rural communities do not receive foundation funding in proportion to their need, or even in proportion to their population. These facts support the belief that it is harder to raise money in rural communities. But harder does not mean impossible, and I have found it is not only possible to raise money in rural communities, it is sometimes possible to raise large amounts of money.

THE MANY DEFINITIONS OF RURAL

First, it is important to note that there are many different kinds of rural communities, and they will each have to look at their assets and challenges in creating stable fundraising programs. For example, our romantic image of rural people living and working on the same piece of land all their lives is more often than not pure mythology. Many people living and working in rural communities do not make their living from farming or ranching. For example, some rural areas have become retirement communities, with many of the people living there not originally from the region and with little loyalty to it. Their charitable giving to that area will develop over time, but most of their donations will continue to be made to the organizations in the communities they left behind.

Other rural communities, such as those within a few hours of major cities, are bedroom communities for commuters who work in the nearby cities. Even more people may telecommute, going into the city only as needed. Their loyalty to their local community may depend on whether they are raising a family there and how strongly they wish to be accepted and involved. “Back-to-the-land” small farmers, vintners in boutique wineries, owners of bed-and-breakfast inns, and the staff of retreat centers, to say nothing of marijuana growers, are among the many types of people who can make up or contribute to rural communities. The finances and values of these people are extremely varied; the job of local nonprofits is to help people develop loyalty to their community and want to make it a better place.

There are many rural communities where people make their living (or once made their living) from mining or timbering. In others, people work on other people’s farms or ranches, often forming large communities of migrant or semi-migrant workers. There are rural communities primarily built around a college or a prison. There are many rural communities whose populations vary seasonally, swelling with tourists and “part-timers” who own second homes or cabins or timeshares at resorts during part of the year. Many towns in popular tourist areas will host a weekend crowd of thousands of people who don’t live there. Tourists are the main economy in many communities, in which case “locals” are often engaged in service provision for tourist destinations. Increasingly, there are rural communities where the majority of the population is made up of non-English-speaking immigrants or refugees from Mexico, Latin America, Russia, and Pan Asian countries. All of these sources of diversity add layers of complexity to any rural fundraising effort.

Nonetheless, certain things must be taken into account when mounting fundraising efforts in any rural community, each of which is considered here.

RAISING THE MONEY YOU NEED IN A RURAL COMMUNITY

The first step in fundraising in a rural community is to gather data and reflect on what it tells you about the community. How big is the permanent population, and what do most of those people do for a living? What nonprofits are raising money locally? If you have a part-time as well as full-time population, who are the part-timers—weekenders, tourists, students, farm workers? What is their giving potential, and how can you invite them to give?

The second step—or more accurately, a simultaneous step—is to set a goal. How much do you need to raise? People have told me: “We can’t raise millions of dollars here in Green Valley like you can in a city.” If you don’t need millions of dollars, then it doesn’t matter that you can’t raise it. It may be that you can’t raise what you need, and there are some solutions for that, but first, know your need. It is possible to raise substantial amounts of money in rural communities. For one thing, there are people in every community who have the means and will understand the need for larger gifts.

Here’s an example. There are a number of communities called colonias that span the borders between Mexico and the states of Texas and New Mexico. These communities often lack running water or electricity. Their community facilities—schools, roads, and local government—are in poor condition or nonexistent. The people in these communities tend to work in factories or farms nearby. Many people have lived in these communities for years. Raising money for nonprofit work is not easy in a place where so many people have so little, but some organizations in these areas have done well. In addition to setting up food booths and collecting small amounts of money from residents, some nonprofits have identified a few people who care about the community and who can afford to give more. In one instance, a staff person of an organization working with teenagers identified a small farmer they thought could give $100. When they asked him for that amount, he misunderstood the question. “Yes, I can give that every month,” he said, to their surprise. He has been helpful in identifying other people who can also give substantial monthly or yearly contributions. Further illustrating the relationship between fundraising and organizing, he has helped several community groups petition local government agencies for improvements to roads, sewage systems, and public schools. He has helped people understand that, because they pay taxes, they have the right to services that taxes are meant to provide.

Second, even relatively small communities can raise large amounts of money for a variety of big projects over time. In a town of two thousand people in northern California, for example, the Friends of the Library decided to expand their public library facility. To do so, they needed to raise $35,000. Everyone involved in the nonprofit part of the community agreed that such an amount would drain the community and make other large fundraising drives impossible. Nonetheless, many in the community supported the idea, and the Friends of the Library decided to proceed because the expanded facility would be so well used. They raised the $35,000 they needed. Soon after, leaders at the community center in town decided they desperately needed a new space and set out to raise $750,000 to build a new community hall. Between grant monies, county subsidies, and individual donor fundraising, they succeeded. Now the common wisdom of the community was that there certainly was no more capital money in the community. Nonetheless, two years later the health clinic had no choice but to launch a capital campaign to modernize and expand its facilities. This fundraising effort was also successful.

Each of these fundraising drives took place over a number of years and used several different strategies in their individual donor campaigns: special events, major donor solicitations, and direct mail. Each effort took a lot of hard work and the volunteer efforts of dozens of people. To be sure, this community has a number of wealthy retirees, and many of them made significant gifts to these campaigns. But the entire community participated, and some money was even raised from tourists. A poorer town with no wealthy retirees and no tourism would need to raise this kind of money from government or foundation grants, but it would still need to be open to the idea that a few people in their community could make significant gifts and the rest of the community could give significantly with a number of smaller gifts.

The lesson here is that, in any community, but more obviously in a rural community, fundraising is not a zero-sum game. There is always more money, and it is not diminished or used up by big campaigns. Organizations in rural communities will want to time their campaigns—for two organizations to run a capital campaign at the same time will rarely be as successful as running them sequentially. In addition, the need has to be well established, and the community has to agree with the goal of the campaign. But it must be remembered that money grows back and produces more money.

PROSPECTS

There are three populations from whom a rural organization can raise money: locals, part-timers, and people in nearby towns and cities. Let’s begin with the last group.

If you are located near cities with populations of ten thousand or more—and where there is not another program like yours—focus attention on raising money in those towns and cities, where the financial base is strongest. Form support groups with people living in the town or city by asking existing donors in those communities to host a small party for you, or by contacting sympathetic churches, synagogues, service clubs, and the like. Ask people to share information about your organization on social media and seek interviews on the radio. Keep your website up-to-date and interesting, even to people who don’t live in your community. Consider using crowdfunding for specific projects, where your campaign can be shared by the people on your list with their friends and family. If local people have contacts in these nearby towns and cities, use those contacts to introduce your local needs to this population and to cultivate potential major donors. Consider having a special event which would be interesting to people from the city. Often these events can be done successfully with other local nonprofits. Art fairs, locavore food festivals, century bike rides, and the like can raise a lot of money from people who are not locals.

Next, try to discover ways to raise money from people who pass through the community, particularly tourists and visitors. Some communities mount events primarily to attract tourists. For example, many communities have county fairs or various kinds of festivals, such as the Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California, the Ramp Festivals in many communities around Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia, and Shakespeare Festivals in Ashland, Oregon, and many other communities. These events attract tourists who spend money both to attend the event and while at the event and in the town hosting it.

If you live where tourists come to see natural beauty or to vacation (such as along the coasts or near national parks or monuments), consider developing products that tourists will buy. Local crafts and homemade jellies and jams are always appealing. Photography books and calendars, guides to the local sights, and collections of stories of people who live in the community have all proved to be steady income streams for rural organizations. In some communities, the history museum will have a gift shop featuring items from a number of nonprofit organizations. A for-profit bakery or grocery store may also carry calendars, woodcarvings, weavings, and the like whose sale benefits local nonprofits. Imagination and cooperation are key to the success of these endeavors.

If you live near a freeway or a frequently traveled road, set up a rest stop where truckers and tired drivers can buy coffee, doughnuts, fruit, or other treats. Such an enterprise can be very lucrative in the cold winter months, particularly at night. It is also a community service that helps keep people from falling asleep at the wheel.

At the local level, focus on finding a few people who can give larger gifts. Every community has generous people, and a few of those will be able to give major gifts, if asked. Whenever possible, ask current donors for the names of other people who could also give. People tend to be friends with people who not only share their values but are also in a similar economic situation. Someone who gives your organization $500 will know two or three other people who could give $500 and one or two people who could give $1,000. They, in turn, will know people who could give $2,500.

You can also raise money from the community at large. Even in the poorest and most remote areas, churches, volunteer fire departments, rescue squads, and service clubs are supported by local residents. Some of the smallest, poorest towns in the Bible Belt, for example, support at least two churches; even if they do not have paid clergy, the people manage to support a building.

Money can be raised locally through special events. Providing a way for the nonprofit to give something in return helps counter the reluctance rural people have for asking for money directly. Events such as raffles, auctions, and bake sales can be good moneymakers. Many times people from rural community groups simply stand with buckets at busy crossroads and ask drivers to drop in spare change. Three hours at a crossroads on a shopping day can bring in $300 to $500. Flea markets are also popular. It is often easier for rural people to donate items rather than cash, and people always seem willing to buy each other’s castoffs. In Sitka, Alaska, on Baranof Island, a thrift shop run by volunteers, called the White Elephant Shop, averages $100,000 in profit every year between purchases from locals year round and from tourists in the summer months. It donates these funds to a variety of nonprofits on the island. Often a prom dress or fancy suit will be sold two or three times before being retired to rags. On the other side of the country, on the Outer Banks off the North Carolina coast, the Outer Banks Hotline Crisis Intervention and Prevention Center has developed a store called Endless Possibilities that helps support the operating costs of their domestic violence program.

STRATEGIES FOR RAISING MONEY

Keeping in mind the realities of raising funds in rural areas, let’s look at the most common fundraising strategies available to rural communities and how they are similar to and different from those in their urban counterparts.

CONCLUSION

When all is said and done, the essence of rural fundraising is the essence of all fundraising: building relationships. Successful fundraising of any kind requires ingenuity, commitment to the cause, love of people, common sense, a willingness to ask for money, and an understanding and deep appreciation of human nature—especially of the natural desire of all humans to be appreciated.