Rural Roots Roundtable
The only membership that's just for rural nonprofit leaders.
The membership for rural nonprofit leaders, built around what you need:
peer conversations,
practical tools,
and a place to ask your burning questions.
The table is always set for you
Beta-testing member rate locked in for as long as you stay a continuous member.
Rural nonprofit work doesn't come with a smaller version of the job.
Same board, same donors, same community expectations.
Fewer resources.
Rural communities make up 19% of the country.
We only get less than 7% of the philanthropic dollars.
This is not a skill problem. It's the shape of the market you're in, and most days you're in it alone.
A few things probably feel true most weeks:
You're patching together a funding plan grant deadline by grant deadline, not building one on purpose.
The hard calls, the board conflict, the staffing gap all land on you because there's no one else to loop in.
You've decided burnout is just here to stay.
You're triaging by whatever's loudest instead of what matters most.
That's the practical difference this membership is built to make:
A funding decision gets made with input, not alone at 9pm.
A question you'd normally struggle with for months gets a real answer from people who have lived it.
A connection you need: a grant reviewer, a peer who's navigated the same board fight, a contractor recommendation, is one ask away instead of an ongoing mystery.
Picture the version of this job where the next hard board conversation isn't something you're figuring out cold.
Where a grant narrative gets a second set of eyes before it goes out, not after.
Where the person one county over who'd actually understand your Tuesday is someone you can chat with.
This membership is perfect for you if...
Do you want an ongoing place to bring whatever's going on this month?
Pull up a chair.
What's inside?
Oh, I'm so glad you asked.
Warm
introductions
Need someone who has used Little Green Light? How about someone making their first HR manual? Tell us, and we'll get you connected.
Facilitated
small-group
conversations
Quarterly small groups, some organized by topic (submit your questions ahead of time!), some grouped by role or department.
Resource
library
A growing set of guides and templates, starting with a monthly drop and expanding based on what members ask for. Will include a shorter and a longer version - choose your own adventure!
Monthly
coaching
office hours
One live hour a month. Submit a question in that time, and I'll answer. Once membership hits 250, office hours go weekly.
Calls with
experts
Part presentation, part open Q&A, with funders, consultants, and practitioners who work with organizations like yours.
Speed
networking
Quarterly, structured, fast, low-pressure, FUN. More of the network in less time than a single coffee chat.
Weekly
funding & sector
news digest
Relevant funding opportunities, sector news, and shares from our members, curated and delivered into your inbox.
Surprises...
To keep us all on our toes together.
Bonus: A second set of eyes
You know that feeling… hitting send on a grant narrative or board report and just crossing your fingers and toes that you didn't miss something. Add document review to your membership for just $45 a month and stop guessing. One document a month - whatever's keeping you up at night - gets a real second look before it goes out the door.
Hi, I'm Abbey Harlow!
I've spent more than 20 years working alongside nonprofit leaders, first on staff, then as a strategic planning consultant, meeting designer, and coach.
I run my nonprofit consultant practice out of my small town in Vermont, working with leaders navigating strategy, leadership, and the specific exhaustion (and joy) of doing important work with limited resources.
I built the Rural Roots Roundtable for one reason:
I kept hearing rural nonprofit leaders say that they loved the work . They just wished they had more people at the table.
So I built the table. Welcome!
Meet
the founder.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Expert calls will be recorded, and notes will be taken from facilitated small group calls. For speed networking, you just have to be there ;)
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As much or as little as you have. Got a busy season? Don't worry. We'll keep your chair warm.
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This is month by month. Cancel anytime. If you rejoin at a later date, the current monthly price will be in affect.
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Great! Email abbey.drake.harlow@gmail.com
One last thing...
Rural nonprofit leaders like us solve problems every day that don't have clean answers, with less funding and less backup than we would want.
That's exactly who the Rural Roots Roundtable was built for.
There’s no magic moment where it will seem totally right for you to join.
Things don’t usually work that way.
But there’s a table inside full of people who knew they couldn't wait. And that table is set and waiting for you, too.