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Dear Friends,
Rural & Migrant Ministry, Inc., is thrilled to announce that the Yield Giving Open Call and MacKenzie Scott have chosen to invest in RMM, and we are deeply honored to accept a $1 million gift. We believe that this support, in conjunction with our being chosen to partner with the Clinton Global Initiative late last year, positions RMM to be more strategic and effective in addressing the issues facing New York's farmworking and rural families.
RMM’s 40-plus-year history has given our organization deeply rooted experience in living and working in communities throughout rural New York. RMM has built an extensive network of diverse, grassroots relationships, as well as partnerships with universities, labor unions, communities of faith and nonprofit organizations. These partnerships and this experience have led to RMM’s profound and effective understanding of the issues facing rural communities.
This financial gift is an affirmation of the diverse multitudes of people who have worked tirelessly to build RMM into a vital and effective force for change. We are committed to using this major gift to invest in strengthening the infrastructure and long-term vitality of our organization. RMM has been engaged in the development of a strategic plan, and this support from the Yield Giving Open Call will enable us to take critical steps toward implementing our plan.
Yield Giving awards sizable gifts to organizations working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States. Established by MacKenzie Scott to share financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving has awarded more than $1.65 billion to some 1,900 nonprofit organizations nationwide, to use as they see fit for the benefit of others.
In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their wellbeing through foundational resources. The Open Call was managed in partnership with Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems — including issues such as racial inequality, gender inequality, access to economic opportunity and climate change.
The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each in its latest round of giving, but subsequently expanded that number. Top-rated by its peers in the nonprofit sector, RMM advanced to a second round of review by an external evaluation panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause, and underwent a final round of due diligence.
“We are pleased to receive these funds and we are determined to invest them in strengthening the ability of Rural & Migrant Ministry to stand with rural families in New York as they work to bring about change in working and living conditions,” said RMM’s Executive Director, the Rev. Richard Witt. “We invite people to partner with us, through our four rural regional centers, as we create hope, justice and empowerment in rural New York.”
“There aren't enough words to express the gratitude we feel upon receiving this honor, nor how privileged we feel for the recognition of our 40-plus-year history of changing the lives of isolated, marginalized, disenfranchised and resource-deprived communities,” said Managing Director Laura Lecour. “They and their families will benefit greatly from this acknowledgment.”
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