Podcasts about national rural assembly

286: Small Shops, Big Needs: Leadership Lessons for Rural Nonprofits (Allen Smart)SUMMARYAre you a small nonprofit leader struggling to secure the funding and partnerships you need to make an impact in your community? You're not alone—many rural organizations face the same uphill battle. But what if there were ways to leverage your unique position and connect with the right funders, even with limited resources? In episode 286 of Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, Allen Smart, a rural philanthropy expert, highlights the importance of connecting with funders, the growing role of intermediaries, and ways to build meaningful, cross-county collaborations. Learn how rural nonprofits can leverage their deep community ties, engage local expertise, and turn small-scale efforts into high-impact initiatives. Whether you're a small-shop leader or aiming to better support rural communities, this episode offers actionable strategies and insights for long-term sustainability and success.ABOUT ALLENAllen Smart is a national advocate for improving philanthropic practices through his group, PhilanthropywoRx. He works with funders, rural organizations, and nonprofits on strategy, research, and coaching. Previously, Allen served as Interim President and VP of Programs at the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and VP of Programs at the Rapides Foundation. He also held leadership roles in community development and grants administration. Allen holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois at Chicago and degrees from the University of Michigan and Macalester College. A frequent writer and speaker, he contributes to platforms like Inside Philanthropy and The Daily Yonder and presents at national organizations, including Grantmakers in Health and National Rural Assembly. He also serves on several nonprofit boards focused on community health and philanthropy.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESReady for your next leadership opportunity? Visit our partners at Armstrong McGuireHeartland by Sarah SmarshAccess numerous supporting resources for rural nonprofits hereHave you gotten Patton's book Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership: Seven Keys to Advancing Your Career in the Philanthropic Sector – Now available on AudibleDon't miss our weekly Thursday Leadership Lens for the latest on nonprofit leadership

Today's episode is with peacemaker, author, speaker, and advocate Diana Oestreich and we discuss her book ” Waging Peace” and why this book spoke to me. I select some of my favorite passages of her book that resonated with my experience and is the story of so many active duty and veterans across the world. We discuss how we met and what it's like leaving the wilderness and connecting with others who desire friendship and community. Diana shares what it means to love people and treat people like they actually matter. We delve into the military industrial complex, military culture, and the culture of fear. Diana and I talk about the importance of naming sexual assault, suicide, racism, and other issues we witnessed and/or experienced. Diana Oestreich is a Combat Soldier turned Peacemaker. She heard God's call to love her enemies in the most unlikely place: on the battlefield of the Iraq war. Diana is an Activist, Veteran, Sexual assault nurse, and relentless practitioner of Peace. Whether speaking across the country or in Iran and Iraq or at her son's middle school in Minnesota she empowers us to identify political or religious divides to cross our own “enemy lines” in order to wage peace. Because Justice and Joy can't wait. Diana is the founder of The Waging Peace Project, a movement activating everyday peacemakers to commit acts of courage for the sake of justice + joy, rooted in a relentless belief in the power of love to transform ourselves and the world around us. Her first book was Amazon's #1 New Release in War and Peace. Waging Peace exposes the false divide between loving our country and living out our faith's call to love our enemies–whether we perceive our enemy as the neighbor with an opposing political viewpoint, the clerk wearing a head-covering, or the refugee from a war-torn country. By showing that us-versus-them is a false choice, this book will inspire each of us to choose love over fear. Diana, her partner Jake and their two sons, Bridger and Zelalem live along the shores of Gitche Gumme on unceded Ojibwe land. She is raising her Black son to know his worth and her white son to work for justice. They are an Ethiopian-American family woven together through adoption and a shared love for bad jokes and competitive card games. www.dianaoestreich.com https://www.dianaoestreich.com/waging-peace-project https://www.facebook.com/DianaKOestreich https://www.instagram.com/dianaoestreich Diana's work has been featured on: Government for Grown Ups by Sharon McMahon, For the Love Podcast with Jen Hatmaker, Preemptive Love Coalition, Red Letter Christians, Red River radio, Duluth News tribune, Veterans for Peace, League of Women Voters, American Association of University Women, Duke Endowment, National Rural Assembly, Alworth Center for the study of Peace and Justice studies, Micah Synagogue, Forging Peace Conference, Womens Speakers Collective, Rural Women's Summit, Community College of Denver Military Sexual Trauma Panel and many podcasts across the land.

In this episode of Rural Health Leadership Radio, we’re talking about improving economic and social conditions in rural communities around the world. We’re having that conversation with Dee Davis, President of the Center for Rural Strategies. “Life is what happens when you’re not making plans.” ~Dee Davis Dee Davis is the founder and president of the Center for Rural Strategies. Dee has helped design and lead national public information campaigns on topics as diverse as commercial television programming and federal banking policy. Dee began his media career in 1973 as a trainee at Appalshop, an arts and cultural center devoted to exploring Appalachian life and social issues in Whitesburg, Kentucky. As Appalshop's executive producer, the organization created more than 50 public TV documentaries, established a media training program for Appalachian youth, and launched initiatives that use media as a strategic tool in organization and development. Dee is the chair of the National Rural Assembly steering committee; he is a member of the Rural Advisory Committee of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Fund for Innovative Television, and Feral Arts of Brisbane, Australia. He is also a member of the Institute for Rural Journalism’s national advisory board. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Work and the Economy. Dee is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship. Dee is also the former Chair of the board of directors of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation.

We can't fully know ourselves without other people. At the 2018 National Rural Assembly, legendary activist Ruby Sales said, “It is in community and in relationship with others that we locate a self that we can never find being isolated. It is in community and in relationship with each other that we come to know the consciousness and the spirit of god that is in each of us.” #tuesdayswithtawana is a weekly broadcast building community one episode at a time. As a breast cancer survivor in active treatment and a Ph.D. student, this is a creative way to build community in the midst of multiple pandemics. Let's build community together.

This special episode (Part 2) continues a panel discussion at the first-ever Rural Women’s Summit, presented by the National Rural Assembly, which was moderated by Michelle. The discussion was focused on Women Leading Interfaith Movements in Rural America.   The panelists included Rev. Dr. Robin Dease from the United Methodist Church, in the Hartsville, South Carolina Conference; Rev. Jen Bailey from Faith Matters/People’s Supper; and Okolo Rashid from the International Museum of Muslim Cultures. To deal with economic disparities, Rashid asserts, it’s important for residents to be empowered to deal with those inequities on their own. Bailey cites a group called Nuns and Nones, an alliance of spiritually diverse millennials, Catholic sisters, and key local partners who leverage local resources to create a more just, equitable, and loving world. On the topic of improving the health of their local communities, Dease notes that, in her district, there’s a concept called God’s Acres, in which farmers devote one acre of their land to provide healthy food for free to community members in need. Be sure to also listen to Part 1of this Special Episode #1 of Rural Matters.

In this report the “Firestarters,” six women from around rural America, share stories of personal struggles and community victories as they work to build up and strengthen their home regions. The Firestarters spoke at the closing session of the Rural Women’s Summit, where over 200 women from throughout the nation came together in Greenville, SC, on October 27-29. The summit was designed to encourage and support rural women leaders, who often are on the front lines of community action but may not have the traditional titles, respect and resources of community leaders. Anna Claussen, a Minnesota farm girl and founder of Voices for Rural Resilience, introduces the Firestarters, and Diana Oestrich, Iraq War veteran and key relationships officer for the Preemptive Love Coalition, provides closing remarks. The Rural Women’s Summit was produced by the National Rural Assembly, part of the Center for Rural Strategies, which also publishes the Daily Yonder. #RuralWomenLead

This special episode (Part 1) involves a panel discussion at the first-ever Rural Women's Summit, presented by the National Rural Assembly, which was moderated by Michelle. The discussion was focused on Women Leading Interfaith Movements in Rural America. The panelists include Rev. Dr. Robin Dease from the United Methodist Church in Hartsville, South Carolina Conference; Rev, Jen Bailey from Faith Matters/People's Supper; and Okolo Rashid from the International Museum of Muslim Cultures. Mental health issues are extremely important in rural communities, according to Dease, and it's interfaith dialogues that are often essential in dealing with that complex topic. Rashid notes that in Muslim religion, there is the concept of one original faith, but it is not dependent on religion per se, but something that is found in all human beings - the sharing of a shared humanity. Bailey points out that spiritual care is more significant than ever today because of the increasingly violence and polarization in our society. In general, Bailey asks, what does it mean for people of faith to stand strong in the face of the increasing conflict between the existing power structure and those who are not as privileged or not part of the majority? Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks to hear Part 2 of this Special Episode#1 of Rural Matters.

Michelle chats with two very important advocates in the rural space: Whitney Kimball Coe, coordinator of the National Rural Assembly, a rural movement comprised of activities and partnerships geared toward building better policy and more opportunity across the country; (the Rural Assembly is part of Rural Strategies, which also includes Daily Yonder, a definite go-to read for anyone interested in rural matters); and Edyael Del Carmen Casaperalta, Fellow at the American Indian Law Program at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, where she researches and writes about federal Indian law, international human rights, indigenous peoples’ rights, and telecommunications and technology. Coe has established a focus on building civic courage in communities and is directly tied to a practice of participation in her hometown of Athens, TN. Del Carmen Casaperalta is a budding attorney dedicated to serving indigenous peoples and poor communities in telecommunications and technology law matters. The National Rural Assembly is holding its first Rural Women’s Summit Oct. 28-29 in Greenville SC. The Summit will begin with a panel comprising women journalists and will include sessions covering running for public office, curating your own story, gender, identity, and power. Rural Matters will be recording a podcast live from the Summit, #ruralwomenlead. For more information, visit ruralassembly.org. This episode was sponsored by Bryan Telemedicine, https://www.bryanhealth.com/services/telemedicine/; Phynd, www.phynd.com; REC Foundation, roboticseducation.org; For the Win Robotics, frw-robotic.com; and the Rural Assembly, ruralassembly.org.     

In this episode we bring you excerpts from the Firestarters: seven committed citizens who kicked off the National Rural Assembly in Durham, NC in May 2018 with personal stories about the work they do to address issues and build civic courage in rural America.

If you use the Internet, or are one of the many rural residents who hope to get the Internet, December 14 was a big day. Under a plan proposed by Anjit Pai, President Trump’s choice for chairman, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3 to 2 to dismantle Net Neutrality, the open Internet principles that more than 80 percent of Americans support. FCC commissioners also voted along party lines to eliminate Internet as a utility, or Title II service. That will result in a loss in universal service requirements and consumer protections. What does this mean for rural parts of the country that are still struggling to get high speed Internet services? What does this mean for rural parts of the country that are still struggling to get high speed Internet services? We asked Whitney Kimball Coe, a young woman raising a family in Athens, TN, a small town south of Knoxville. She also coordinates the National Rural Assembly and is director of national programs for the Center for Rural Strategies. For our report, she adapted an editorial she wrote for the Daily Post Athenian in which she relates her concerns about the impact the FCC changes will have on rural communities such as those in our WMMT listening area.

The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) move to repeal Net Neutrality and classification of Broadband Internet as a Title II Telecommunications Service could have significant impact on rural America, where the digital divide is already the largest. In this edition of Mountain Talk, host Mimi Pickering explores potential impacts with economist Roberto Gallardo from Mississippi State University Extension Services and Christopher Mitchell, Director of Community Broadband Networks at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. We also hear from a 2015 interview with Edyael Casaperalta, representing the Rural Broadband Working Group of the National Rural Assembly, on the 2015 reclassification of broadband as a Title II Telecommunications Service and its potential to reduce the digital divide, increase competition, and protect consumers. Finally, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn talks about her work on the FCC to increase access and affordability for people of color, low income, and rural communities. Her term at the FCC will soon end but she promises to continue to speak for those who are not typically represented and calls on all individuals and organizations to make their voices heard at the FCC at every opportunity.

The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) move to repeal Net Neutrality and classification of Broadband Internet as a Title II Telecommunications Service could have significant impact on rural America, where the digital divide is already the largest. In this edition of Mountain Talk, host Mimi Pickering explores potential impacts with economist Roberto Gallardo from Mississippi State University Extension Services and Christopher Mitchell, Director of Community Broadband Networks at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. We also hear from a 2015 interview with Edyael Casaperalta, representing the Rural Broadband Working Group of the National Rural Assembly, on the 2015 reclassification of broadband as a Title II Telecommunications Service and its potential to reduce the digital divide, increase competition, and protect consumers. Finally, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn talks about her work on the FCC to increase access and affordability for people of color, low income, and rural communities. Her term at the FCC will soon end but she promises to continue to speak for those who are not typically represented and calls on all individuals and organizations to make their voices heard at the FCC at every opportunity.