The Barry Community Foundation in Michigan builds all kinds of assets – not just financial ones. Creating stronger communities means investing in relationships and ideas, taking calculated risks and creatively challenging the status quo.

Rural communities are diverse. When attempting to address the racial wealth gap in rural areas, planners need to remember that “housing hardship” may not look the same, but it’s just as real.

The explosions at the Boston Marathon and West, Texas, occurred within days of each other and had similar catastrophic results. But the media and fundraising response to the two tragedies shows that Boston and West are worlds apart. It’s one measurement of the philanthropic gap between rural and urban America.

1 in 2 new rural residents is Hispanic • Blast-site map shows detail of damage • Democrat-voting record-setter is rural • Jet passengers -- better broadband than rural residents? • Fly technology wins U.N. prize.