NCRP STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK ROLLOUT – MINNEAPOLIS
Our fifth NCRP Strategic Framework Rollout event was held Jan. 12, 2017, in Minneapolis. The following themes emerged from the discussion at this event:
- Many foundations who don’t do as much rural work struggle to see an entry point.
- Foundations won’t know how to do rural work if they don’t have relationships there are only trusting models and theories of change forged in an urban context.
- Rural people are very good at leveraging their resources, to get things done with what they have. And rural communities are rich with relationships and trust: the essential ingredients for change.
- Philanthropy’s got to keep its foot on the gas, to do what it can to drive prosperity to all people: rural/urban, white/of-color, women and men, different abilities, seen and unseen. And that may mean getting out of our offices, getting out of our comfort zones, going places that may not have an airport.
- NCRP’s role of industry provocateur is a really important one. We don’t have to agree with every stance, we don’t have to agree with every tactic. The value is in pushing us all to hold ourselves accountable to be more intentional, more thoughtful and to have higher standards.
- How we talk about issues, what assumptions we make about shared beliefs, who we engage in conversation, how we engage them – these are critically important calculations if we actually want to see any sustainable change.
