Fostering Sustainable Futures for Rural Regions through Philanthropy

The goal of this project is to examine how community foundations can influence and participate in regional development in rural areas to support revitalization and sustainability. Regional development, for the purposes of this proposal, is conceived in a holistic manner encompassing social, cultural, humanitarian, community development, and capacity building. In addressing this goal, the project will achieve the following four objectives:

  1. to build a case study of two different rural community foundations in Canada to enhance understanding of how philanthropy is being utilized to make a difference to sustainability and revitalization,
  2. to share the two case studies with a national audience to gather feedback on their relevance, similarities and differences,
  3. to identify potential roles, actions, and activities of the community foundation model can facilitate regional development, and
  4. to initiate dialogue and share knowledge across actors from academia, government, private sector, and community/regional development practitioners.

Funding support for the Fostering Sustainable Futures for Rural Regions through Philanthropy is provided by the Institute for Nonprofit Studies. This initiative runs from December 2012 – March 2014.

Project Resources