Kellogg Foundation gives $7 million to Center for Rural Strategies and partners for policy work

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is giving nearly $7 million to a national partnership of nonprofits to build support for policies that help rural children and families. "The partnership, led by the Rural Supporting Organization of the Center for Rural Strategies in Whitesburg, Ky., will assist networks of citizen groups and public-sector organizations working to expand opportunities for people living in America’s rural communities," a news release says.

The project will include more than 500 organizations in 47 states. "Too often rural America is out of sight, out of mind in the national conversation," center President Dee Davis said. "This work provides a way for groups to create a powerful rural voice." Other primary partners are North Carolina State University's Institute for Emerging Issues, MDC Inc. of Chapel Hill, N.C., and Innovation Network for Communities of Beaver Island, Mich.

The three-year grant will support, among other things, training for rural practitioners in policy development and advocacy, online tools to help rural groups communicate and organize, and meetings of the National Rural Assembly, a gathering for rural youth April 22-25 in New Mexico. For the Kellogg announcement, click here.