Rural Dynamics Inc.

Rural Dynamics Inc., doing business as RDI, is a tax assistance and community development nonprofit based in Great Falls, Montana, that receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient from the Internal Revenue Service, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the Department of Health and Human Services to operate volunteer-staffed tax preparation and financial literacy programs across Montana and Idaho. RDI operates exclusively as a grant recipient (94% of awards as prime recipient, 6% as sub-recipient) and does not hold federal contracts or contract vehicles; its federal footprint consists entirely of matching grants and cooperative agreements under federal grant programs.

RDI's primary capability centers on administering Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) matching grants under CFDA 21.009, through which the organization provides free tax return preparation and electronic filing services to low- to moderate-income individuals, elderly taxpayers, persons with disabilities, non-English speakers, rural residents, and military families. The organization also operates Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program cooperative agreements, which fund volunteer training and free tax counseling specifically for taxpayers aged 60 and older, and Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) grants under which RDI provides tax representation before the IRS for taxpayers with incomes not exceeding 250 percent of federal poverty guidelines. Recent grant awards include a $125,000 VITA matching grant from the Internal Revenue Service effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026; multiple TCE cooperative agreements from the IRS spanning 2021–2026; and a $173,864 AmeriCorps VISTA project grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CFDA 94.013) awarded August 25, 2024 to support supervisor costs, benefits, and criminal history checks for VISTA participants engaged in poverty-fighting community development work across Montana and Idaho.

The Internal Revenue Service accounts for 25 of RDI's 31 total awards, with the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the Department of the Treasury together representing the remaining six awards. RDI has obligated approximately $6.2 million across all federal grants since 2008, with award activity averaging two to four grants per year over the past five years. Two awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete opportunity. RDI's grant structure requires matching contributions equal to federal awards received; the organization acts as a first-year AmeriCorps VISTA sponsor and delivers tax services through volunteer-staffed sites meeting IRS program guidance for return production goals, electronic filing capacity, and quality control measures.