Center for Rural Strategies

In 2007 the center established the National Rural Assembly, a coalition of left-leaning rural activists and activist organizations. The purpose of the assembly is to combine research and experience to develop policy and strategies that would advance the rural communities across America. ³

Activities

National Rural Assembly

The National Rural Assembly is a conference organized by Center for Rural Strategies held every two years for left-progressive rural activists. Presenters and facilitators at National Rural Assembly have included speakers affiliated with the Nathan Cummings Foundation, La Union del Pueblo Entero, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and the Obama Foundation. ⁴

Daily Yonder

Daily Yonder is the Center for Rural Strategies’ online news outlet that covers stories on rural areas within the United States from a left-of-center perspective. The site was established in 2007 by Bill Bishop and Julie Ardery;⁵ Bishop remains a contributing editor as of July 2025. ⁶

The news outlet covers stories and releases articles on rural areas within the United States while advocating for left-leaning and Democrat Party-linked candidates to increase outreach in said rural areas. In an interview with Nieman Lab, editor Tim Marema claimed, “What we saw is that Democratic candidates didn’t have to win rural in battleground states [to win the election]. They needed to get it a little closer — under 10 points, maybe. When they did that, then the urban advantage was more than enough to win the election for them.” ⁷

Daily Yonder has received funding from several left-of-center organizations and foundations including the Wyncote Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation, and the Rural Partner Fund. ⁸ Daily Yonder has previously partnered with media project NewsMatch to encourage fundraising efforts. NewsMatch is a project of both the left-of-center Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) and the New Revenue Hub (NRH) and is fiscally sponsored by the Miami Foundation. ^{9 10}

“The Real Beverly Hillbillies” Planned Airing

In 2003, CBS planned to air the reality-television series “The Real Beverly Hillbillies” that would display the everyday lives of people in rural America. The Center for Rural Strategies campaigned against the television series. ¹¹ CBS ultimately cancelled the production, following public pressure.

Funding

According to its website, as of 2025, major funders to the Center for Rural Strategies include left-of-center organizations such as the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Gates Foundation, the Hearthland Foundation, and the Scripps Howard Foundation. ¹²

Leadership

Dee Davis is the founder and president of the Center for Rural Strategies. He has been critical of President Donald Trump’s policies towards rural Americans saying that “rural America elected Trump. His message to rural America is, ‘I don’t care…It’s building a firewall between a promise made and a promise kept.” ¹³ Before the 2016 election, Davis suggested Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would be better for rural America: “The irony of this election is Clinton, who is not going to do well in rural areas, is working overtime to create policy and plans to reinvigorate small towns,” he said. “On the other side, Trump, who is going to do very well in rural America is embracing policies that have been at the center of eliminating rural jobs.” ¹⁴

Whitney Kimball Coe is the director of national programs. Coe’s professional background includes community organization, event planning, and public speaking focusing on rural and urban communities. She earned a master’s degree in Appalachian studies from Appalachian State University. She was featured in the Obama Foundation Summit series and has participated in Obama Foundation events as a speaker. ^{15 16}