In our Building Belonging blog series, the MNA team has been writing about the work we are doing to target more resources to historically underserved groups and the ways we are considering and incorporating equity in our work. Early in the process of developing our DEI work plan, we decided to include rural organizations in the groups we target for additional resources.
When talking about nonprofits across the state, I sometimes tell people that I could draw a line just east of Helena and Bozeman and divide the state in half based on funding and resource disparities. It would be more correct to say this is a diagonal line that runs from east of the Flathead, down around Helena, and ends between Park and Sweet Grass counties, but that doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as well. People – especially if they live in the western half of the state – are often shocked to hear this.
While I don’t have all the specific data to back this claim up (at least not without going down a GuideStar rabbit-hole that would take me three days to emerge from), I have personal experience from both my role at MNA and from growing up in Fergus County, anecdotes from nonprofit leaders, wage data from our 2024 Wage & Benefit Survey, and a decent understanding of the funding landscape in Montana to at least strongly reinforce this theory. We know from working with hundreds of nonprofit leaders across the state that where you live determines what funding is available (and this, in turn, directly impacts wages you can pay to your workforce), what access you have to resources in the form of professional services and state agency expertise, and what capacity you have to even take advantage of available resources.
The funding gap is reflected in this map of average ED salaries across the state.
Overlap between rural & Native nonprofits
When MNA talks about equity, we include both rural organizations and BIPOC-led organizations in our targets. Intersectionality is an important aspect of this conversation – we know that rural organizations are underfunded compared to urban organizations, and we know that rural Eastern Montana is less funded than rural Western Montana. We know that Native-led organizations are underfunded compared to white-led organizations (Nationally, only 0.4% of all funding from large foundations is directed toward Native-led organizations – you can read more about it at nativephilanthropy.candid.org). When we consider these overlapping identities, we know that Native-led organizations in rural Eastern Montana are even more underfunded and under-resourced than their white-led counterparts across the state. In this post, I am broadly speaking about nonprofits operating in rural Eastern Montana, but there are multiple layers to the intersectionality of race, identity, and geography that impact the funding and resources available to nonprofits.
Rural Capacity Index map from Headwaters Economics – orange indicates less capacity (staffing, resources, and expertise) to apply for and manage major sources of funding
Impact of funding disparities & statewide contracting changes
When we think about the impacts of these funding and resource disparities, it’s important to remember that there isn’t less need in rural Eastern Montana – there are just fewer resources to meet those needs. Nonprofits operating in these rural communities are incredibly resourceful and resilient, but they are also stretched thin and at risk of burning out.
Lately we have seen a trend where changes to large state service contracts prioritize one statewide contract instead of regional contracts held by community-based organizations. Some of these changes have led to closures of longstanding organizations that have been coalition leaders and have deep understandings of these communities. Over the last few years, rural Montana has also seen closures of state public assistance offices for services like the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Best Beginnings childcare scholarships. and other programs – making access harder and widening the resource gap for these already underserved communities. Rural nonprofits are being asked to fill these growing gaps with fewer resources. While technology can and is being utilized to bring resources to rural Montana, it isn’t the wholesale solution to solving problems.
What MNA is doing to address gaps
To address some of these resource and capacity disparities in rural organizations, MNA has been intentional about building rural programming and partnerships. We ask all event registrants to provide their zip code so we can track rural participants, as well as offer scholarships and sliding scale fees for our programming. We launched our rural ambassador program in Eastern Montana in 2022 and have been adapting it based on what we learn each year. This program aims to provide a small amount of capacity and support for a community-based ambassador to build a local network and learn what resources would most benefit area nonprofits, including customized, no-cost trainings. This year we have five rural ambassadors across the state and anticipate hosting eight in 2025.
We also have strengthened our partnership with MSU Extension’s Community Vitality program and Montana Community Foundation’s Local Community Foundation program to create and host Rural Leadership Summits for nonprofit and community leaders to come together to learn from experts on topics like fundraising, volunteer management, tech tools, and panels of local leaders. These regional events are low-cost and geared toward board and staff leaders of rural nonprofits. We hosted three of these Rural Leadership Summits this year and plan to continue them next year. In 2025 we are also launching a Rural Nonprofit Leader member call to connect folks across the state who understand the context, challenges, and joy of working in rural Montana (register for these calls here!)
This year, as part of our commitment to resourcing rural Montana, we have hosted or spoken at events in Havre, Wolf Point, Miles City, Baker, Forsyth, Lewistown, Libby, West Yellowstone, Dillon, Polson, Hamilton, and Livingston. In fact, we’ve been doing so much traveling that we invested in a staff car.
The MNA staff car speedometer – 10,527 miles across Montana since January 2024
The funding and resource disparity that exists in Montana is bigger than any one entity – it cannot be fixed by individual foundations, state agencies, nonprofit organizations, or local governments alone. However, all of these groups can – and must – work together to ensure that rural Montana is not left behind. Nonprofits are doing incredible work in these communities, but they cannot solve structural issues. The geography of Montana means that it takes a lot of work for statewide organizations and agencies to serve Eastern Montana. Working in frontier communities is not efficient or easy, but it is imperative. Statewide organizations, agencies, and philanthropic funders have a duty and responsibility to Montana residents in every corner of the state – even if it takes a while to drive there.
MNA is committed to supporting rural nonprofits through our training and resource creation and by meeting them where they are – both physically in community and wherever along the organizational lifecycle they exist. I love rural Montana – I grew up in a small town and am deeply honored that I get to support community-builders across the state. I hope you will reach out to me with any thoughts or ideas you have about this work.
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