Rural Insights for Philanthropy
Adapting National Models to Rural Communities
People need to understand that many residents in rural communities go days without looking at their email or even having access to it. To effectively work in rural communities, you need to show up… visit people… call people. Support what they are doing, and they will support what you are doing in return.
– Nancy Winzer, retired Parks & Recreation Director (Port Huron, Michigan)
By: Katie Brisson, Senior Director of Special Initiatives
April 2026
Through this series, Senior Director of Special Initiatives Katie Brisson shares stories and insights from rural communities across Southeast Michigan and Western New York. Each post highlights lessons from local leaders that can help shape more responsive and effective philanthropy.
As our team at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation began to strategically find more opportunities to deepen our grantmaking reach into rural communities, many national experts reached out offering their support and expertise. There are some great efforts and conversations going on nationally, like the Roundhouse Foundation’s Funding Rural Podcast and the Trust for Civic Life. We’ve been so grateful to them and others for sharing important “lessons learned.”
No matter where the Foundation has launched a new initiative or project across its two regions, we know that work needs to first begin with local voice. Without local support and buy in, our investments will not be successful. This is especially critical as a time-limited foundation with less than 10 years remaining. So, as we pull in national partners, we are only doing so where our local leaders say they want them and are providing guidance on how to build trust between them.
A Path Forward
One of the most impactful partnerships we’ve had to date between a national organization and the rural communities we serve is with KABOOM! through our Built to Play initiative within our Youth Sports & Recreation grant portfolio.
KABOOM! is a national nonprofit working to ensure that every child has access to quality, safe places to play. Engagement with the local community is at the heart of their process, with residents and kids involved throughout the design, construction and maintenance phases to ensure greater success for the final play space. Together, with KABOOM! and The Skatepark Project, the Foundation has invested in the creation of more than 90 unique play spaces and skateparks across both of our regions.
As Built to Play winds down, we’ve partnered with KABOOM! to utilize the remaining initiative funds on eight playground builds in our rural communities. Along the way, they have offered unique and valuable perspectives with us from this work. After partnering last October 2025 on a playground build in Cuba, NY – population of 3,110 – Carrie Leovy, a Senior Strategist with KABOOM! shared with us,
While we have been doing this work for many years across the country, this Wilson effort gives us a special opportunity to help rural communities. It’s making our organization better. We have been reflecting on what works well with rural community partnerships:
- First and foremost, we have learned the importance of working early and regularly with our on-the-ground community partners.
- Second, local community foundations are great partners to have on these projects and have helped us to navigate the relationships important for the success of these projects. For example, thanks to the Allegany County Area Foundation, both our Design Day and Our Build Week for our project in Cuba, NY had the hopeful, high-gear collaborative energy of a community barn raising. This same community teamwork characterized the three months of grassroots planning for this project.
Additionally, community leaders were able to leverage the Wilson Foundation’s support with as many local matching commitments as they could secure so that they could create a playground with the greatest possible scale and play value for their kids over the next generation.
Focus on Leadership
The challenges rural communities face requires a collective, long-term approach beyond any one organization. But what makes progress possible is the strength of local leadership and the collective nature rural communities already embody. We will continue to invest in rural leaders and transformational projects that build on that foundation.
Reflecting on her experience, Nancy Winzer, retired Port Huron Parks & Recreation Director and partner on several Built to Play projects, said:
The needs of under-resourced rural communities can be overwhelming. What local leaders need is a jumping off point. A quick win on which to build other successes. A sense of where to start and what issue to tackle first. Now is the time for philanthropy to help make that happen.
Ultimately, the future of this work will not be defined by what we bring in, but by what we help strengthen from within. We look forward to continuing to share more stories, insights, and perspectives from rural in the months ahead.
Katie Brisson serves as Senior Director of Special Initiatives at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. In this role, she contributes to the strategic insight and leadership to the foundation’s grantmaking initiatives while advancing special projects that strengthen impact across portfolios.
Katie brings more than two decades of experience in philanthropy, having spent 24 years at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, including 11 years as Vice President of Program. During her tenure, she led efforts to shape grantmaking strategy during a period of significant growth and played a key role in launching collaborative initiatives such as the Detroit Journalism Engagement Fund, the Michigan Opioid Partnership, and Project Play: Southeast Michigan.