Learn how to build progressive power in rural communities, the challenges facing the movement, and the critical importance of rural organizing. Listen to Nathaniel G. Pearlman's conversation with Rural Democracy Initiative Director Sarah Jaynes on The Great Battlefield.

It’s been a momentous, often stressful, and exciting year. The year began with thrilling wins in the Georgia special election that transformed the US Senate. Just weeks later, the anti-democracy faction fueled a deadly attack on our nation’s Capitol. We’re ending the year with historic infrastructure funding and a promising increase in new jobs. While COVID and new variants are a continued threat, hospitalizations due to COVID are significantly down compared to the start of the year.

The report, created by political analyst Mike Lux, reviews voting trends to establish the importance of rural voters and strategies for funding rural civic engagement.

Groups around the country are leading powerful racial justice organizing in rural communities. At Rural Democracy Initiative (RDI) we’re celebrating this important work by sharing six stories from groups we fund.

Park County, Montana is using Federal funding to partner with Yellowstone Bend Citizens Council (YBCC) to launch a new solar project. New solar arrays will reduce energy costs for low-income residents, a public school, and a county fairgrounds exhibit building. In addition to cost savings, it also reduces greenhouses emissions and is a critical component to avoiding the most devastating impacts of climate change.