Rural Democracy Initiative
“Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.” — Thurgood Marshall
KABF gave a grant to Rural Democracy Initiative (RDI) in 2021. Because of their amazing work, which has been recognized throughout the U.S., we gave another grant in 2023. RDI includes the Heartland Fund and the Rural Victory Fund. They give grants to nonprofits working hard to make rural life fair, just and democratic.
Executive Director and good friend to KABF, Sarah Jaynes, was happy to send us an update summarizing RDI’s 2023 successes. They started the year with a bang, determined to fight for a much better farm bill than what has been on the books. Partnering with Farm Action, HEAL Food Alliance, and Clean Up the River Environment (CURE) the goal was to make sure that the latest Farm Bill “supports healthy food, a clean environment, and rural people,” Jayne said.
RDI’s Rural Map and Dashboard is a new and impressive tool that others can use to help plan political campaigns and conduct political research. As Jaynes explained: “The tool helps answer the most common question: ‘what is rural’? It also includes nonpartisan ideology and issue scores, demographic information, and benchmark election results. Users can sort the data by state, county, and congressional district. We now can more accurately analyze rural electoral, issue and demographic trends.”
A great example of RDI at work happened in Wisconsin, a state that has been at the forefront of critical issues facing most of the nation. The Wisconsin Supreme Court was heating up to be a tough judicial race with a lot at stake. Whoever won would go on to decide the right to choose, voting rights, and fair elections. Jayne stated: “The Heartland Fund and Rural Victory Fund together granted close to $1 million to a dozen groups making change in small-town and rural Wisconsin. Thanks in part to the Wisconsin Rural Coalition and our grantees, support for pro-democracy candidates is increasing year over year. Pro-democracy Justice Protasiewicz performed better in small towns and rural areas than she did in the Milwaukee suburbs.” Protasiewicz won her race by large margins. Rural voters are making their voices heard thanks to RDI and its partners.
Executive Director and good friend to KABF, Sarah Jaynes, was happy to send us an update summarizing RDI’s 2023 successes. They started the year with a bang, determined to fight for a much better farm bill than what has been on the books. Partnering with Farm Action, HEAL Food Alliance, and Clean Up the River Environment (CURE) the goal was to make sure that the latest Farm Bill “supports healthy food, a clean environment, and rural people,” Jayne said.
RDI’s Rural Map and Dashboard is a new and impressive tool that others can use to help plan political campaigns and conduct political research. As Jaynes explained: “The tool helps answer the most common question: ‘what is rural’? It also includes nonpartisan ideology and issue scores, demographic information, and benchmark election results. Users can sort the data by state, county, and congressional district. We now can more accurately analyze rural electoral, issue and demographic trends.”
A great example of RDI at work happened in Wisconsin, a state that has been at the forefront of critical issues facing most of the nation. The Wisconsin Supreme Court was heating up to be a tough judicial race with a lot at stake. Whoever won would go on to decide the right to choose, voting rights, and fair elections. Jayne stated: “The Heartland Fund and Rural Victory Fund together granted close to $1 million to a dozen groups making change in small-town and rural Wisconsin. Thanks in part to the Wisconsin Rural Coalition and our grantees, support for pro-democracy candidates is increasing year over year. Pro-democracy Justice Protasiewicz performed better in small towns and rural areas than she did in the Milwaukee suburbs.” Protasiewicz won her race by large margins. Rural voters are making their voices heard thanks to RDI and its partners.
RDI’s overall mission is to positively impact policies in rural America. To accomplish this goal, they helped organize the Rural Policy Action Summit. As RDI states on its website: “Over fifty rural advocates from around the country met in Omaha, Nebraska to identify key federal and state policies designed to support rural people and the places they live. Advocates discussed priority legislation and executive action that will ensure all working families, no matter where they live or the color of their skin, have the opportunity and tools to build a good life and strengthen their communities.” From the information garnered at the summit, RDI published the 2023 Rural Policy Action Report. As Jaynes told us, “...[the] advocates identified the top federal and state policies to support rural people and places, creating new tools and strengthening relationships to advocate for our most urgent priorities.”
RDI made voting rights a priority again in 2023. Georgia is a state that has passed voter suppression laws continually since 2013 when the United States Supreme Court gutted the voting rights act, which was passed as part of the civil rights legislation of the 1960’s. One of Georgia’s latest laws was to criminalize passing out bottled water to people standing in long lines waiting to vote. These long lines were a problem Georgia intentionally created by not allowing mail-in voting and by eliminating the number of places to vote, especially in areas populated by BIPOC voters. Despite the obstacles, people showed up to cast their ballots in the heat, waiting in lines that extended for blocks and lasted up to six hours. As Jayne told us, “When Black organizers in Georgia faced the threat of criminal charges for giving water to people waiting in line to vote; RDI grantees Black Voters Matter, Rep GA, and others fought back to win in court.”
For more information about RDI, visit their website.
RDI made voting rights a priority again in 2023. Georgia is a state that has passed voter suppression laws continually since 2013 when the United States Supreme Court gutted the voting rights act, which was passed as part of the civil rights legislation of the 1960’s. One of Georgia’s latest laws was to criminalize passing out bottled water to people standing in long lines waiting to vote. These long lines were a problem Georgia intentionally created by not allowing mail-in voting and by eliminating the number of places to vote, especially in areas populated by BIPOC voters. Despite the obstacles, people showed up to cast their ballots in the heat, waiting in lines that extended for blocks and lasted up to six hours. As Jayne told us, “When Black organizers in Georgia faced the threat of criminal charges for giving water to people waiting in line to vote; RDI grantees Black Voters Matter, Rep GA, and others fought back to win in court.”
For more information about RDI, visit their website.
