An Overview
The Rural Maryland Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, formed in 2001 to
support the work of the Rural Maryland Council and, indeed, the efforts of
knowledgeable rural leaders and economic and community development practitioners
around the State who work tirelessly to help ensure that the voices of 1.6 million
residents in 18 rural counties are heard. The Foundation is governed by an
independent Board of Trustees
About Rural Maryland:
The common perception of Rural Maryland as pleasant, sparsely populated small
towns dotting a pastoral landscape of farms and forests tends to mask the reality
that many of these communities face serious challenges.
- A lack of access to affordable, quality health care, compounded with a
health care work force shortage across all medical specialties, poses risks to
the health and economic well being of rural citizens.
- Economic and technological dislocation, and increasingly exurban-type sprawl
residential development pose continued challenges.
- Agricultural and other resource-based industries continue to underpin local
economies but are increasingly under threat from national and international
competition, land development pressure, and regulatory influences.
- A lack of access to affordable, high-speed broadband services puts the more
outlying communities at a tremendous economic development disadvantage.
- And a persistent lack of decent paying job opportunities (and the related
local tax base ramifications) places many rural county and municipal governments
under great stress as they attempt to meet all the community development and
human services needs of their citizens.
Today, 1.6 million rural Marylanders continue to face a variety of challenges,
from changing economic conditions to an aging population to inadequate access
to health care to a deteriorating or inadequate physical infrastructure.
Foundation Begins Campaign to Help Rural Families
Since 2005, the Rural Maryland Council has joined
with the Annie E. Casey Foundation
to offer the Strengthening the Well-Being of Rural
Maryland Families. This program provides vulnerable rural families with the
financial management skills they need to become economically self-reliant over
time. Despite the enormous need, no taxpayer dollars have ever been used to fund
the Rural Families program.
The Rural Maryland Foundation is undertaking a fundraising campaign in 2008
to provide resources for the FY 2009 Rural Families Program. Our goal is to
raise $25,000 by September when the next grant cycle begins. You can help.
Join or renew your membership in the Rural Maryland Foundation now, and every
penny of your dues money - whether you join as an organization or as an
individual (or both) -- will be used to fund the 2008-2009 Rural Families program.
And remember: Contributions to the Rural Maryland Foundation are tax deductible.
Read the Rural Families Fact Sheet
Get a Rural Maryland Foundation Membership Form and Invoicet.
Join the Foundation today
. . . and help rural families help themselves.
Thank you for your support of Rural Maryland.
Rural Maryland Foundation :: P.O. Box 2087 :: Annapolis, MD 21401 :: 410-841-5772
