The Rural Urban Bridge Initiative (RUBI) is a Democratic Party-aligned advocacy organization that promotes increased Democratic Party engagement with rural America. RUBI argues that the Democratic Party has become too focused on urban and college-educated voters at the expense of rural voters. RUBI promotes policies such as direct financial support to non-white farmers, increased public transportation and bicycling infrastructure, denser commercial centers, and weather-dependent energy. ^{1 2 3}

History and Activities

The Rural Urban Bridge Initiative (RUBI) was founded by former Democratic congressional candidate Anthony Flaccavento, California political writer Erica Etelson, and former corporate lawyer Cody Lonning. RUBI argues that polarization towards the Democratic Party is due to “liberal politicians, parties, groups and media” that “neglect or sneer at the legitimate grievances and worries of working and middle-class rural communities.” ^{4 2 5}

RUBI urges Democrats and other left-of-center individuals to change their approach to rural America to re-establish trust with rural Americans. This includes urging people to “set aside stereotypical assumptions about people based on their zip code or formal education,” to talk about racism “in ways that don’t trigger defensiveness.” ⁴

RUBI has four focus areas: trainings to address the rural-urban divide, briefings from experts, publishing best practices, and promoting community engagement. These four focus areas are designed to help “progressive populist programs take root in rural communities.” ⁶

RUBI also produces policy documents. In one major policy document co-published with Progressive Democrats of America titled “A Rural New Deal,” RUBI supports antitrust enforcement, re-establishing regional supply chains, reversing corporate concentration, adopting carbon sequestration, expanding land banks and direct support to non-white farmers, promoting unionization, expanding broadband access, promoting composting, promoting public transportation and more condensed commercial and housing centers, supporting weather-dependent energy, and expanding bike paths and pedestrian-focused downtowns. ^{2 3}

RUBI also has a “Community Works” Initiative to support local community activities like blood drives, food donations, and trash pickups. ²

From 2021 to 2024, RUBI claimed that it hosted 60 trainings for 130 left-of-center and Democratic Party groups, hosted trainings for over 3,000 people in 15 states, launched four Community Works programs in Virginia, produced 30 podcast episodes, and issued three publications. ¹

Relations with the Democratic National Committee (DNC)

The Rural Urban Bridge Initiative (RUBI) has lobbied the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to advocate more resources to rural causes, including funding more advertisements in rural districts. In its letter to the DNC, RUBI promised to “fix the Democratic Party’s deficits with rural and working-class voters,” which RUBI claims the party ignored in the 2024 election by focusing on “its urban, college-educated loyalists and donors.” RUBI claimed it was not enough for the Democratic Party to focus “solely on the threats and horrors of MAGA,” and that instead Democrats and their donors should invest in local and state Democratic Parties, recruit working class and rural candidates, apologize for the North American Free Trade Agreement, focus on economic populism, and create a DNC rural council. ^{2 7}

People

The Rural Urban Bridge Initiative (RUBI) was founded by former Democratic congressional candidate Anthony Flaccavento, California political writer Erica Etelson, and former corporate lawyer Cody Lonning. ^{2 8}

Flaccevento is also the executive director of Rural Urban Bridge. In 2018, Flaccavento was the Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. House from Virginia’s 9th District.  Flaccavento won the Democratic Party primary with 10,756 to 2,921 votes, and lost the general election to Republican Rep. H. Morgan Griffith by 160,933 to 85,833 votes. Flaccavento previously ran against Rep. Griffith for the same seat in 2012 where he lost 184,882 to 116,400 votes. Previously, Flaccavento was the executive director of Appalachian Sustainable Development and, as of March 2024, he was also the owner of SCALE, Inc., a sustainable development consulting firm. ^{8 9 10}

Financials

According to tax filings, in 2022, the Rural Urban Bridge Initiatives reported $238,532 in revenue, $92,406 in expenses, and $146,172 in assets. Of its revenue, $10,435 was received from fundraising events and $128,800 was received from gifts, grants, and other contributions. ¹¹

1. “Donate.” RUBI. Accessed March 31, 2025. https://ruralurbanbridge.org/donate.
2. Vassallo, Justin. “Sowing a Rural Insurgency.” The American Prospect. March 21, 2025. Accessed March 31, 2025. https://prospect.org/politics/2025-03-21-sowing-rural-insurgency-democrats/.
3. “A Rural New Deal.” RUBI. September 2023. Accessed March 31, 2025. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/610d482f3b9e856192886fe1/t/64ff7b03a6b4ca2bab7d2573/1695312480682/RuralNewDeal%3ARUBIandPDA.pdf.
4. “About.” RUBI. Accessed March 31, 2025. https://ruralurbanbridge.org/about.
5. “The Rural-Urban Divide.” RUBI. Accessed March 31, 2025. https://ruralurbanbridge.org/the-rural-urban-divide.
6. “OU Work.” RUBI. Accessed March 31, 2025. https://ruralurbanbridge.org/our-work.
7. “Letter to the Democratic National Committee, Specific Recommendations.” RUBI. Accessed March 31, 2024. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/610d482f3b9e856192886fe1/t/67bf1eead91b737456067216/1740578538329/DNC+Demands%2C+bacground+doc%2C+final+.pdf.
8. “Staff and Board.” RUBI. Accessed March 31, 2025. https://ruralurbanbridge.org/staffboardpartners.
9. “Anthony Flaccavento.” Ballotpedia. Accessed March 31, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Anthony_Flaccavento.
10. “Anthony Flaccavento.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 31, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-flaccavento-12949b32/.
11. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. Form 990. Rural Urban Bridge Initiative. 2022.