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Vermont · Nonprofit

CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC

CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC (Vermont) receives grants from 48 organizations whose IRS filings report $15,295,111 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($2,816,930). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$4.9M
Funders on record
48
Grants received
$15M
Net assets
$1.1M
21/48 repeat fundersgrants exceed reported revenue in one year
01What it does

What Center on Rural Innovation Inc does

Mission

Creating opportunities that empower rural people to thrive in the tech economy.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Cori's rural innovation network offers rural leaders access to a first-of-its kind community of practice where they can collaborate with peers across the country to advance their tech economies, connect to national funders and investors, and leverage curated solutions to build a resilient economic future for their communities.

    $1,662,226 spent$86,300 earned by the program
    40% of program spending

  2. Cori is shifting the narrative about what is possible in small towns across the u.s. With original research and storytelling that offers actionable insights, analysis, and recommendations on economic challenges and opportunities facing rural america.

    $750,241 spent$177,404 earned by the program
    18% of program spending

  3. As a capacity-building organization, cori helps connect rural communities to the expertise, programs, national partnerships, and investment that can unlock their potential for innovation and economic resilience.

    $1,563,655 spent$322,374 earned by the program
    38% of program spending

  4. We launched the cori innovation fund (cif) in 2020, a seed fund, to invest in tech-enabled startups located in rural opportunity zones. Cif seeks attractive technology-enabled operating startups in rural geographies, which are under-served by traditional venture capital institutions. We identify, fund, and support the best and most innovative tech entrepreneurs in rural america, enhancing economic growth and tech job creation in small communities across the united states.

    $187,810 spent$4,895 earned by the program
    5% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,163,932.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2019, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2019, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20192019 Revenue 100 ($1.8M) Expenses 100 ($1.1M) Net assets 100 ($1.0M)2020 Revenue 207 ($3.8M) Expenses 123 ($1.3M) Net assets 334 ($3.5M)2021 Revenue 104 ($1.9M) Expenses 275 ($3.0M) Net assets 226 ($2.4M)2022 Revenue 192 ($3.5M) Expenses 432 ($4.8M) Net assets 107 ($1.1M)2023 Revenue 331 ($6.0M) Expenses 477 ($5.2M) Net assets 184 ($1.9M)2024 Revenue 266 ($4.9M) Expenses 519 ($5.7M) Net assets 103 ($1.1M)
201920202021202220232024
Revenue (266)Expenses (519)Net assets (103)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $1.1M to $3.9M (+264%).

$1.1M
$3.9M
$4.0M
$3.6M
$3.5M
$2.1M
201920202021202220232024
Total assetsTotal liabilities

How it's funded, over time

Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.

2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2020 1% · 2021 2% · 2022 0% · 2023 3% · 2024 13%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

87% of CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (60% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 4,444 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 6 reported years ran a deficit.

$727k
’19
$2.4M
’20
−$1.1M
’21
−$1.2M
’22
$801k
’23
−$841k
’24
0.8
months of
reserve

Leadership and staff

The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.

Chief executive

Matt Dunne

Director, executive director, president

Board chair

Lee Rom

Director / chair

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

201920202021202220232024
Listed91010131012
Joined·+2+1+4+3+3
No longer listed·11161
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 3 funders to 16 funders, grant income rose $150k → $2.7M.

Funder
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24*
'25*
'26*
total
Dalio Family Fund Incunclassified
$125k
Connect Humanityunclassified
$125k
funders
3
5
6
12
20
16
18
8
1

14 of 48 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 37% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

From the IRS filings of CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 48 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How concentrated its funding is

CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 18% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left

58% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC.

18%
largest funder
43%
top three
~11
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 67% · 2019 65% · 2020 57% · 2021 32% · 2022 26% · 2023 37% — diversifying over time.

“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How long its funders stay

38% of CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 44% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y

Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.

Where its funders are

CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Vermont, across 15 states in all.

NH
MN
IL
WI
NY
NJ
CT
CA
MO
VA
MD
DE
AR
DC
AL

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Vermont out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $5.7M arriving through sponsors registered in 10 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC has grown faster than half of the 4,206 community improvement nonprofits its size.

Operating margin−17% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve0.8mo · bottom quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)22% · above the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,206 community improvement nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024

Government funding CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC receives

Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $2.0M on record — $2.0M federal, $590 state.

Federal$2.0M
grants $2.0Mcontracts $0
19
22
23
24
Top agencies
  • Department of Labor$1.5M
  • National Science Foundation$300k
  • Department of Commerce$105k
  • Corporation for National and Community Service$102k
State$590
20
21
Top programs
  • Registration for Meetings&Conf$590

Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.

Organizations like CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC

Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.

In Vermont

People Power Initiatives Inc85%Project Harmony Inc82%Cristosal Inc81%Collective Change Lab Inc81%Rights & Democracy Education Fund Inc80%Maliasili Initiatives Inc80%NFI Vermont Inc80%Rights & Democracy Project Inc80%

Nationally

Riverside Research Institute87%Citiesrise Inc87%Hope Center for the Arts87%Socialventures86%Toniic Institute86%Partnership for Rhode Island85%Richmond Promise Inc85%Center for Responsible Innovation Ltd85%
05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

73% of spending goes to programs.

Program 73%Management 19%Fundraising 8%

Governance

7
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

45%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

VT

Part of a family of 3 related entities

  • Cori Innovation Fund LLC · partnership
  • Cori Innovation Fund II LP · partnership
  • Cif Management Inc · corp_trust

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf

Questions and answers

Who funds CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC?
CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC (Vermont) receives grants from 48 organizations whose IRS filings report $15,295,111 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($2,816,930). 21 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC have?
IRS filings report 48 organizations giving $15,295,111 in grants to CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC, 21 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC?
FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $2,816,930 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like CENTER ON RURAL INNOVATION INC find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Vermont. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2019–2024), and the filings of 48 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing