RAPID CITY, SD — Rural communities receive a small share of national philanthropic funding despite making up a significant portion of the population. These rural communities are, undeniably, also evolving to adjust and survive in a modernizing world. Where does this leave the future of these communities and the nonprofit sectors that exist within them? This is a question Matt Ehlman of the Rural Philanthropy Institute (RPI), among countless other scholars and field experts, is working to answer. 

Ehlman, a board member of the Rural Philanthropy Institute and co-founder of the Numad Group, discussed the work of the RPI as well as their recently released anthology, “Rethinking Rural: Reflections on Changing Communities” with the Rapid City Business Journal. 

Path to Rural Philanthropy

Ehlman’s interest in rural philanthropy began during his time at Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He later earned a Ph.D. in Philanthropic Studies with a focus on donor motivation.

“It was an education on the generosity of people,” Ehlman said of his time at Red Cloud and in Pine Ridge. 

“Folks that didn’t have a direct connection still made decisions to support. I ended up learning a lot more about the impacts of nonprofits in communities and learned more about western South Dakota…and the beauty of the Black Hills, as well as the enormous, expansive history that exists here.”

Why We’re “Rethinking Rural”

“Rural America represents about 20 percent of the population,” Ehlman said. “Published studies show that six or seven percent of philanthropy goes to rural places. There’s another study we understand is forthcoming that will show it’s more like three to four percent.”

Ehlman said the imbalance creates challenges for nonprofit organizations that often fill gaps left by government and for-profit sectors. These turn into needs that can harm rural communities and impede, if not stunt, their growth. 

“The sector that comes and fills the voids that exist is the nonprofit sector,” he explained. “That sector is much more malleable to meet the needs [of the community].”

Ehlman noted that rural nonprofit work often carries added importance when considering shifting community structures. For a myriad of reasons, many rural communities are dwindling in size and therefore resources. Other communities may see fewer opportunities for community and support due to social, economic, or geographic disadvantages. These shifts can lead to more strain on resources. This strain can lead nonprofits to turn to consolidation and efficiency that saves on resources but reduces personal connections that once defined a community. 

“If you used to hand deliver meals and now you mail them, you lose that one-on-one engagement,” Ehlman said. “Those interactions are part of human nature and community.”

The Rural Philanthropy Institute

The Rural Philanthropy Institute was created to better understand and document changing rural community dynamics and relationships between the non-profit sector and the aforementioned groups. According to Ehlman, much of the existing research on rural communities is “extractive” and does not return value to the communities studied.

The institute works to address that gap through research, storytelling and community engagement. One effort includes its “Rethinking Rural” book series, which gathers perspectives from contributors across the country.

“Rethinking Rural” and the Importance of Storytelling

“We asked two questions,” Ehlman said. “How would you describe rural today, and what do you imagine rural to be for the next generation 25 years from now?”

For Ehlman and the Rural Philanthropy Institute, sharing stories from people who live and work in rural areas is critical.

“Those stories coming from people of rural [areas] are super important versus the person that comes in and writes about rural,” he said.

Giving Context to the Data

Data plays a key role in both the RPI’s work and in understanding the relationship between rural communities and nonprofits. Ehlman put some of this into the context of South Dakota as an example. 

In South Dakota, the nonprofit sector has grown significantly, with assets increasing from $5 billion in 2005 to more than $11 billion less than a decade later, according to a 2019 report cited by Ehlman.

Nonprofits also have a significant role in South Dakotan employment, with “Fourteen-point-eight percent of South Dakota employment was in the nonprofit sector. That’s about 51,000 people,” Ehlman said. 

“If we didn’t have the nonprofit sector, we would have these huge gaps in our community that won’t be fulfilled,” he said.

Ehlman acknowledges the work that’s still in store to understand the connections between rural communities and nonprofits and how to strengthen those relationships. 

“We know there’s this huge void in understanding the impact of the nonprofit sector in rural America,” he said.

This is, in part, what the Rural Philanthropy Institute and their anthologies (“Rethinking Rural” Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) take into consideration and hope to work towards an answer for. . 

The Future of Rural Philanthropy

Looking ahead, Ehlman expects demand for nonprofit services to increase. He pointed to a recent example of a rural grant program that saw applications more than double in one cycle. While this sounds optimistic to some, it implies a growing need that isn’t being met in certain communities. 

“I think it’s going to be harder,” he said, referring to rural philanthropy in the future. However, he expressed some optimism: “There’s a significant amount of unknown, but there are opportunities to be creative…I think it’s getting together and sitting down and having conversations,” Ehlman said. “The facts are super important.”

The Rural Philanthropy Institute will also continue building potential among nonprofit leaders. Currently, RPI partners with the Lilly School of Philanthropy to provide training cohorts for professionals across the state.

Despite challenges and uncertainty in a changing world, Ehlman emphasized the role of community.

“If we have a strong community, then you can change and meet whatever is going to be in front of us,” he said. “None of us live in isolation.”