Shining Light on Rural Realities

The Rural Visibility Project is a yearlong campaign designed to center rural priorities through community-driven dialogue between local, state, and regional entities. This organizing strategy, powered by rural people and structured around monthly themes, shifts public attention to the realities, concerns, and possibilities that matter in the places we call home.

Purpose of the Project: To spark consistent, sustained, community led conversations grounded in real data and lived experience. With the support of monthly topic experts and rural people sharing out information on- and offline, these conversations aim to generate more rurally informed solutions, policies, and decisions, while also fostering greater local action and leadership on each issue.

Through the project, we hope to see greater awareness of the need for rural policy expertise and focus in the PNW, an increase in understanding of rural issues and approaches, stronger connections between local action and state-level policy makers, and more rural people engaged in local and state advocacy and policymaking.

Monthly Discussion Themes

January – Rural Culture and Commercebr /> February – Rural Capacity, Philanthropy, Funding, and Capital
March – Rural Economic Models and the Forestry Sector
April – Rural Policy, Leadership, TA and Media
May – Wildfire Response and Resiliency & Public Safety
June – Housing Access and Affordability
July – Infrastructure and Transportation
August – Education, Labor, and Workforce
September – Mental Health and Caregiving
October – Conservation, Land Use, Water and Renewable Energy
November – Tribal Heritage, Arts, and Culture
December – Rural Health Access and Affordability

The Rural Visibility Project will soft launch in October 2025 with a focus on Rural Economic Models. The official launch of the Rural Visibility Project will occur January 2026.

How to Engage with the Rural Visibility Project

Issue Leaders: Issue Leaders are individuals and representatives of organizations that have knowledge and expertise in a monthly topic. They will:

Plan the Month
1. Suggest topic focus and guiding questions.
2. Gather key data, stories, and examples of your issue topic.
Share the Story
1. Share information on the topic through your organization’s communication channels. Use
hashtags provided by RDI.
2. Help local storytellers, leaders, and policymakers join the conversation.
Host a Conversation or Lead a Ruralition
1. Participate in two virtual design meetings with RDI for an online discussion with rural
champions, decision makers, service providers and funders.
2. Attend virtual discussions that focus on your issue topic.
3. Support and convene rural leaders who are interested in taking action on your issue topic.

Rural Champions: Rural Champions are anyone who lives, serves, or supports rural areas and are interested in learning more about a specific monthly topic and helping spread information online to their networks. They also have opportunities to engage with others who care about the same issue topics throughout the year.

They will:

Share and Amplify the Story
1. Repost stories around monthly topic from your community or other communities across the
state. Use hashtags provided by RDI.
Be Engaged and Invite Others to Participate
1. Bring in emerging leaders, youth, and neighbors to join conversations and efforts.
2. Engage in online and offline conversations and events related to monthly topics.
Stay Curious and Energize Local Work
1. Work with community leaders, elected officials and associations to strengthen local and
statewide efforts.
2. Explore what is happening in your community around the issues you care about and share
lessons learned with RVP network.

Rural Champions are highly encouraged to attend informational sessions for their topic month of choice: these virtual gatherings will be hosted by RDI to provide information and toolkits, and to be available for questions.

These virtual sessions will be scheduled three weeks in advance of the beginning of each month.

 

Legislators / Policy Makers / Funders: key player in state and local government who create policy; statewide and local entities whos missions align with – and funds go toward – rural community interests and priorities.

They will:

  1. Engage with RVP by listening, learning, and connecting with rural constituents and grantees;
    deepen understanding of rural realities.
  2. Incorporate rural voices in legislative platforms and policies.
  3. Participate in conversations to better understand local challenges and opportunities.
  4. Contribute expertise, resources, and networks to strengthen funding and capacity.
  5. Share information and encourage peer learning across funding communities.

Have questions or need more information? Contact kschaffer (at) rdiinc.org.

MEET OUR TEAM

Heidi Khokhar

Executive Director
hkhokhar (at) rdiinc.org

Kendra Schaffer

Networks and Engagement Manager
kschaffer (at) rdiinc.org

Alison Cassin

Outreach and Program Coordinator
acassin (at) rdiinc.org

Mary Follo

Hatfield Fellow
mfollo (at) rdiinc.org

Mira Bartell

Hatfield Fellow
mbartell (at) rdiinc.org