Rural Action

What Rural Action does

Rural Action is a membership-based nonprofit headquartered in The Plains, Ohio, that works across Appalachian Ohio. It grew out of an earlier citizen-action group, the Appalachian Ohio Public Interest Campaign, and took its current form in 1991. Its aim is to build a healthier regional economy and environment at the same time, through work in sustainable agriculture, forestry, watershed restoration, zero waste and recycling, environmental education, energy, and support for local social enterprises and tourism.

Most of the work is hands-on and local. Watershed staff restore streams damaged by past mining in places such as the Monday Creek and Sunday Creek watersheds, and that work earned a 2006 award for excellence in abandoned mine land reclamation. The zero-waste team runs recycling events, and the food and farming program supports local growers. In 2022 the group reported diverting nearly 224,000 pounds of material from landfills, distributing $450,000 to local farmers, and installing 45 nest boxes for the hellbender, a large native salamander. It reports about 57 full-time-equivalent staff across five offices, and it hosts AmeriCorps members who serve on restoration and education projects.

Rural Action holds a four-star rating from Charity Navigator. Because it is a membership organization, the first $20 of a donation counts as membership dues and anything above that is treated as a tax-deductible gift. Members take part as volunteers, participants and decision-makers.

Key facts

• Diverted 223,846 pounds of material from the waste stream in 2022 (Rural Action 2022 annual report)
• Reported $450,000 in funds distributed to local farmers in 2022 (2022 annual report)
• Installed 45 hellbender salamander nest boxes in 2022 (2022 annual report)
• Membership-based, with 600+ members, about 57 full-time-equivalent staff and 5 offices in Appalachian Ohio (About page)

Before you give

• The first $20 of a donation is applied to membership dues; the amount above that is treated as a tax-deductible gift (donate page).
• Gifts of stock or property, in-kind gifts, and corporate matched gifts are arranged by contacting Rural Action (donate page).
• Donations can be made in honor or memory of someone (donate page).