Philanthropy’s Rural Blind Spot

The most economically distressed communities are the least likely to apply for funding and the least likely to have the local resources to address inequity. This timely analysis of New Jersey Health Initiatives, a statewide grantmaking program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, shows how two aspects of distress—lack of human capital and economic disadvantage—predict communities’ likelihood of both applying for and receiving funding, explores the reasons for these inequities, and provides real-world examples of how funders can successfully modify their operations and programming to better serve these communities.