Julie Garreau (enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe) embodies servant-leadership as the founder and executive director of the Cheyenne River Youth Project in Eagle Butte, SD. She talks about engaging young people – and how a grassroots organization needs investment to support community. Where many only hear stories of challenges and despair, Garreau elevates the stories of resilience.

In a society that often places people into boxes based on one or two factors, Children’s Institute Leader, Kali Thorne Ladd, distinguishes herself as an advocate for children and families — and she reminds us to recognize the humanity in each other. C.I. is a good example of an organization who recognizes the throughlines discovered between rural and urban communities. By showing up and listening, we can better understand and truly see each other for who we are — human to human.

Wynn Rosser, PhD is a place-based rural funder. His work at T.L.L. Temple Foundation focuses on 22 counties in rural east Texas and he brings with him Texas-sized empathy. Rosser shares concrete examples of the interconnectedness between funding in urban and rural communities. Rosser also touches on the value of working at a strategy and policy level for larger impact and what can happen if philanthropy turns a blind eye to policy and legislation.

Linguistic anthropologist Elizabeth Marino, PhD talks about the language barrier that exists between urban and rural communities in America and how it impacts philanthropists, who are traditionally based in urban wealth and power centers. Marino leads the Laboratory for The American Conversation at Oregon State University-Cascades.

Funding Rural: A podcast that explores how philanthropy can better serve rural and Indigenous communities. Join host Erin Borla, Executive Director of the Roundhouse Foundation in Sisters, Oregon, as she engages with folks on all sides of philanthropy to better understand the challenges and opportunities facing funders and the folks they hope to serve and support.