Help rural states, Montana Sen. Max Baucus asks the National Council of Foundations Monday in Pittsburgh at its annual conference

Foundations that have neglected rural America ought to double their grants to states like Montana over the next five years, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., told the National Council of Foundations Monday in Pittsburgh at its annual conference.

His speech, as reported in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, drew attention because Baucus is the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees tax laws and regulation of charities and foundations.

"Rural America has the need," Baucus was quoted as saying by the Chronicle. "But rural America has not received the grants. That just does not seem fair."

Statistics cited by Baucus showed that 10 rural states received $35 per resident in foundation grants in 2005 or about a third the national average of $104 per resident, the Chronicle said. Those states receiving the least money from foundations are Alaska, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, Vermont and Wyoming.

"The Philanthropic Divide" from the Big Sky Institute for the Advancement of Nonprofits http://www.matr.net/files/ThePhilanthropicDivide.doc

BEYOND CITY LIMITS: THE PHILANTHROPIC NEEDS OF RURAL AMERICA http://ncrp.org/downloads/PDF/Beyond_City_Limits.pdf

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/05/09/news/state/50-help-rural.txt