The resulting rural response programming took form as the
1,072
RAN attendees
476
organizations served
55
Colorado counties represented
“I went in feeling like the only nonprofit that was struggling and left knowing we were not alone.”
– RAN Convening Participant
“New perspectives on old issues are emerging during this time of reimagining what is best for the nonprofit sector, in terms of resiliency and sustainability.”
– RAN Participant
“Collaboration and partnership are the ultimate way to be successful, too often we look at the funding pie and think about what slice we can get, but at the end of the day nonprofits need to work together…and find unique ways to partner. Don’t think of [funding] as a zero-sum game, think of how we can raise each other together.”
– Joe Haines, Yampatikia, Steamboat Springs
State of Rural Funding Panelist
“This conversation has helped me to understand the real issues and needs in our community around access and availability to broadband and other issues like health that arise because of it. I can take what was learned to explore project and funding opportunities in the area of research to move some of this forward.”
– RAN Participant
We also continued our work with our six Regional Leadership Committees in 2020. Composed of regionally based nonprofits and community foundations, the goal of these committees is to continue building momentum and supporting local needs in the nonprofit sector between Rural Philanthropy Days* conferences.
*As with all other facets of our lives, the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted the Rural Philanthropy Days (RPD) program. To protect the health of our communities, we made the difficult decision to postpone the Northeast (NE) and Heart of Colorado (HOC) RPD conferences to 2021. The postponement of the 2020 conferences required us to push back our full regional RPD cycle by one year. Therefore, the next NW RPD, previously slated for 2021, will now occur in 2022.
51
committee members
383
volunteer hours
$10,930.82
in value of volunteer hours
Spotlight: San Luis Valley Regional Leadership Committee
The San Luis Valley Regional Leadership Committee (SLV RLC) conducted a needs assessment with nonprofit partners in July of 2020. Broadband access was identified as a critical need with rural communities lacking equitable access to reliable internet. Consistent and quality internet connection poses a significant barrier to accessing virtual education, telemedicine, e-commerce markets, social interaction, and civic engagement.
In October of 2020, the SLV RLC convened the Regional Broadband Collaboration Summit to identify potential projects and discuss key issues around accessibility, affordability, relevancy, and collaborative organizing. The perspectives of 50+ diverse community members were uplifted and through robust dialogue, these stakeholders reaffirmed that equity cannot be achieved if certain communities do not have sufficient technology access for participation.
Building off of the connections forged at the Regional Broadband Collaboration Summit, the SLV RLC partnered with the San Luis Valley Development Resources Group Broadband Technical Steering Committee (BTSC). We are working to leverage our nonprofit community networks to encourage the participation of diverse stakeholders including those furthest from opportunity.
Platinum Seal of Transparency
