Changing the Rural Narrative
The Trust for Civic Life invests in the Adirondacks
Walk into any local Stewart’s Shop, post office, community meeting, or concert in the Adirondack region and the sense of community is palpable. People look each other in the eyes, smile, ask about pets or grandchildren, and — without fail — talk about the weather.
In 2024, Adirondack Community Foundation was selected to be one of 20 inaugural grantees working to reinvigorate rural, often high-poverty regions by the Trust for Civic Life, a collaborative of 15 high-profile national funders from across the political spectrum. They recognize that rural America receives only 7% of the nation’s philanthropic funding despite being home to 20% of the population. This rare investment by national philanthropy in small groups in rural America is having a profound positive impact here in the Adirondacks.
Despite a national narrative that suggests the country’s divisions are too vast to bridge, here in the Adirondacks people are still open to believing in each other and local institutions. In fact, in a recent Trust for Civic Life survey, 60% expressed strong trust in local schools, businesses, and police. Our neighbors are coming together to address housing shortages, volunteer for fire departments and school boards, and rally to save local landmarks. Adirondack Community Foundation is a quiet force standing alongside so many of these civic heroes.
We are using the Trust for Civic Life’s funding to develop in-person opportunities to connect, understand, and move forward together, increase social connection and rejuvenate volunteerism, to ensure the Adirondack region is a place in which our children can see a pathway to a future “at home” and a place others want to move to.
Small towns across the Adirondacks are much more complex than most people know; they are filled with talented people possessing unique skills from all walks of life. To exemplify what the Trust for Civic Life calls “everyday democracy,” our work is helping people see one another as individuals with common interests and members of the Adirondack community, not just tied to political affiliations.
The Trust understands that community foundations are uniquely positioned to bring together community members of all stripes and act as a platform for people to solve issues that are within their control, and that matter to them. If we empower people here, it will have ripple effects across the state and at the national level.
