I'm a nonprofit consultant in Vermont, and I recently surveyed rural nonprofit leaders about the hardest parts of the work. I wanted to hear it straight from them, not filtered through what a funder or a workshop agenda assumes is hardest.

My kids are avid readers (we have memberships at three libraries), and we do a lot of reading out loud. I believe that good picture books aren't about teaching kids to behave. They hand you a chance to try on a different existence for a while.

Our sector has the opposite instinct. Every takeaway has to be Meaningful with a capital M before it counts.

So here's what rural nonprofit leaders said, without a bow on it.

The hardest parts of the job, named by a lot of leaders

Fundraising in a small community. Burnout and capacity. Isolation, meaning few peers nearby and nobody around who really gets the job.

Nearly everyone said they'd be interested in a virtual network built specifically for rural leaders. 

Money's tight everywhere (my fruit bill would agree, my kids eat berries like it's a competitive sport), so what they want most isn't complicated: a library of guides and recordings they can use on their own time, small facilitated conversations, and warm introductions to people who can actually help.

What the write-in comments revealed

One leader wrote about how so much of what makes rural nonprofit work hard has nothing to do with mission or capacity. It's geography. Contractors who won't travel that far. No easy way to help new staff feel at home in town. Transportation costs standing between a school and a field trip.

A few other wishes from the write-ins:

A silo disintegrator. If you invent one, I know your first customers.

Access to an HR expert who can guide hiring, benefits, and the unexpected disciplinary stuff nobody warns you about.

A sabbatical fund that isn't just for executive directors.

So what do they actually want?

Remember what I said about picture books? They hand you a chance to try on a different existence for a while.

Look back at what rural leaders actually asked for. 

• A small group conversation where someone else in the room gets the job without an explanation. 

• A warm introduction instead of another cold search for help. 

• A sabbatical fund, so rest isn't only for the person at the top. 

None of that is a content request. Nobody is asking for another webinar.

They asked for a different existence for a while. One where they're not figuring it out solo, one meeting or one form at a time.

I write a newsletter for rural nonprofit leaders: survey findings like these, honest talk about the job, and lots of joy, delivered to your inbox.

If this sounded like your week, come join us.

Sign up for the newsletter →Click here.