Behind a Push for New Solutions to the Complex Challenges Facing Rural America

In places like Appalachia, the rural South, Texas, the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes region, grantmakers have backed a wide variety of projects to revitalize economies, improve healthcare, and rebuild local pride of place. “Local” is the operative word, since most of those funders are based in or near the areas they serve. With over $10 billion in assets, the Lilly Endowment is a giant among them. Unlike its peers of similar size, Lilly’s prodigious giving remains focused (for the most part) on a single state, Indiana. So it came as no surprise to see the endowment grant another $10 million this month to Indiana University at Bloomington, one of its longtime beneficiaries. What’s interesting, though, is that this grant launches a pretty unique endeavor: IU’s Center for Rural Engagement. As the name suggests, the center’s goal is to tackle rural social and economic challenges, starting in southwest central Indiana. But its wider ambition is to use its home region as a springboard “to create unique local and regional solutions to complex challenges common to rural communities everywhere,” as the center’s executive director, Bill Brown, put it. These efforts are worth watching closely. Swaths of the American heartland are in the grip of economic conditions that are akin to a depression, plagued by an absence of jobs and hope. If Lilly's support can catalyze new ways for rural communities to come to terms with a globalized economy, there will be important lessons for other funders.