Rural Opportunity Institute
Rural Opportunity Institute is a nonprofit that builds trauma-informed resilience programs for rural communities in Eastern North Carolina, offering physical products (Resilience Cards, Breathing Cards), biofeedback-based services, and training curricula for schools, public agencies, first responders, and youth.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersRocky Mount, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Rural Opportunity Institute does
Rural Opportunity Institute (ROI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2017 and headquartered in Rocky Mount, North Carolina (Edgecombe County). It builds the capacity of rural communities to interrupt generational trauma through trauma-informed resilience programs, serving youth, families, public agencies, first responders, and community-based organizations across rural Eastern North Carolina and, through training and product sales, across 15 states nationally. The organization was co-founded by Vichi Jagannathan and Seth Saeugling, both former Teach for America corps members, and operates with a core staff of four supplemented by a Community Accountability Board of residents with lived experience who hold decision-making authority.
The core product surface spans physical goods (Resilience Cards, a 20-card plus 10-poster set, and Breathing Cards, an 11-card pack of breathing exercises), technology-enabled services (a Biofeedback Breathing Program using Heart Rate Variability measurement integrated with Heart Math and Whoop Science hardware), and a curriculum library (Trauma & Resilience 101, a 90-minute to 2-hour foundational training, and Reconnect for Resilience, a 14-hour in-depth training delivered in partnership with Resources for Resilience). Supporting infrastructure includes the Resilient Leaders Initiative (a 9-month cohort-based accelerator for public agencies), the Small Bets Lab (an innovation process modeled after Google X/Bell Labs), Listening Circles, Systems Mapping Training, and the Resilient Resource Hub with three podcasts (The Resilience Zone, On the Edgecombe, Finding Your Zone). Reported outcomes include a 57% reduction in anxiety symptoms for student biofeedback participants and 98% facilitator-satisfaction ratings on Reconnect for Resilience cohorts.
ROI's revenue model is hybrid-grant-and-earned: approximately 40% of the operating budget is generated by selling Resilience Cards, Breathing Cards, and fee-based training/speaking engagements to organizations outside rural Eastern North Carolina, while the remaining ~60% comes from philanthropic grants and individual donations. The organization is currently raising a $1 million capital campaign atop a historic under-$500,000-per-year operating budget. Customer segments are anchored by public-sector partners, including Edgecombe County Public Schools (listening circles, HOPE Medicaid-billable mental health services, biofeedback pilots), Pattillo, Darden, and North Edgecombe schools (biofeedback), the Edgecombe County Detention Center, and Wilson County DSS. Named foundation funders include Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Oak Foundation, New Profit, Camelback Ventures, Omidyar Network, and the OpenAI Foundation (2025 People-First AI Fund Grant).
Rural Opportunity Institute firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rural Opportunity Institute
- Legal name
- Rural Opportunity Institute
- Website
- https://ruralopportunity.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Rural Opportunity Institute is a nonprofit that builds trauma-informed resilience programs for rural communities in Eastern North Carolina, offering physical products (Resilience Cards, Breathing Cards), biofeedback-based services, and training curricula for schools, public agencies, first responders, and youth.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Rural Opportunity Institute industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Mental Health and Resilience Services
- NAICS
- Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Resilience, Preparedness Training & Exercises (HLAJAGAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Trauma-Informed Care & Crisis Response (School-Based) (EDAKAMAF), Trauma-Informed & Resilience-Building Programs (Early Childhood) (EDACAOAD)
Keywords
Where Rural Opportunity Institute is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rocky Mount
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Rural Opportunity Institute business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Training and Program Services: Revenue from selling trauma-informed training programs, Resilience Cards, and Breathing Cards to organizations outside of rural Eastern NC. ROI states 40% of their budget is covered by these revenue-generating activities.
- Philanthropic Funding: Grants and donations from foundations and individual donors. ROI is currently raising a $1 million capital campaign. Less than 1% of philanthropic dollars go to rural communities, making this a competitive funding environment.
- Product Sales: Sale of Resilience Cards, Breathing Cards, and related physical products to schools, therapy practices, and community organizations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | Resilience Skills Flashcards |
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | Resilience Skills Posters |
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | Breathing Skills Flashcards |
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | Breathing Skills Posters |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Trauma & Resilience 101 Training |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Reconnect for Resilience Training |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Rural Opportunity Institute product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Rural Opportunity Institute designs and delivers trauma-informed resilience-building products, training programs, and capacity-building services for rural communities and the public agencies that serve them. Core offerings include physical card decks (Resilience Cards, Breathing Cards), biofeedback-based breathing programs, multi-tier training curricula (Trauma & Resilience 101, Reconnect for Resilience, Systems Mapping), accelerator-style programs for public agencies (Resilient Leaders Initiative), and consulting-style engagements such as speaking and policy facilitation.
Product overview
Rural Opportunity Institute offers a suite of trauma-informed resilience-building products and programs designed for rural communities. The core offerings include physical products (Resilience Cards and Breathing Cards) that teach simple, powerful skills for calming stress and building resilience in classroom, clinical, and community settings; and technology-enabled programs like the Biofeedback Breathing Program that helps users understand and control their nervous system responses to trauma. Supporting these are training programs including Trauma & Resilience 101 (90-minute foundational training) and Reconnect for Resilience (14-hour in-depth training) offered in partnership with Resources for Resilience. ROI also runs the Resilient Leaders Initiative, a 9-month social accelerator for public agencies, and the Small Bets Lab innovation program. Additional offerings include Listening Circles, Systems Mapping Training, the Resilient Policy Program, Speaking Engagements, and the Resilient Resource Hub containing articles, podcasts (The Resilience Zone, On the Edgecombe), and videos. The organization generates approximately 40% of its budget by selling these trauma-informed solutions to communities outside rural Eastern NC.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Resilient Leaders Initiative (RLI): The first social accelerator program in the country based in a rural community, focusing on public agencies instead of startups, and centering on healing trauma.
- Small Bets Lab
- Resilient Policy Program
- Resilience Cards
- Breathing Cards
- HOPE Program
- Young Civic Leaders Initiative
Products and services
- Resilience Cards
Quantifiable outcome
- 57% decrease in anxiety symptoms within students who took part in biofeedback breathing
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Rural Opportunity Institute
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Rural Opportunity Institute technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Rural Opportunity Institute partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Resources for ResiliencecorePartnership to deliver Reconnect for Resilience training program. Resources for Resilience provides the science-based resilience tools while ROI delivers training in rural Eastern NC communities.
- Heart MathcoreHeart Math researches the heart-brain connection and provides biofeedback technology used in ROI's Biofeedback Breathing program to help users understand and control their nervous system responses.
- Edgecombe County Public SchoolscoreLongstanding partnership with school district for listening circles, biofeedback programs, trauma training for school resource officers, and the HOPE Alternative Learning Program Medicaid pilot.
- Area L AHECcoreDevelops and trains a diverse health care workforce. ROI was incubated within Area L AHEC. Partnership includes fiscal sponsorship and health workforce training.
- Teach for AmericacoreBoth co-founders were TFA corps members. Ongoing partnership for training, photography, and community engagement in NC schools.
- Engaging InquirycoreFacilitation partner for systems mapping process in East Tarboro, NC. Their CEO Karen and Principal Bailey provided guidance that led to community buy-in for the systems map.
- Acumen AcademyminorSocial impact education platform featuring ROI case study on systems practice for tackling difficult problems.
- Barton CollegeminorPartnership to create online modules for trauma awareness, replacing in-person clinical experiences during COVID-19. 14 ROI Certified Resilience Educators filmed and produced modules.
- Nash UNC HealthcareminorHealthcare organization helping improve patient access and outcomes for Nash County community members.
- Public School Forum of North CarolinacoreEulanda Thorne serves as Program Manager for Eastern NC at the Forum. Partnership for resilience education in public schools.
- Wilson County Department of Social ServicesminorPilot partnership for biofeedback breathing program to promote staff wellbeing from December 2022 - February 2023.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Rural Opportunity Institute competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights10 records
Customer concentration
Rural Opportunity Institute social profiles
Digital presenceRural Opportunity Institute financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rural Opportunity Institute leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Rural Opportunity Institute funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rural Opportunity Institute M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Rural Opportunity Institute
What does Rural Opportunity Institute do?
Rural Opportunity Institute designs and delivers trauma-informed resilience-building products, training programs, and capacity-building services for rural communities and the public agencies that serve them. Core offerings include physical card decks (Resilience Cards, Breathing Cards), biofeedback-based breathing programs, multi-tier training curricula (Trauma & Resilience 101, Reconnect for Resilience, Systems Mapping), accelerator-style programs for public agencies (Resilient Leaders Initiative), and consulting-style engagements such as speaking and policy facilitation.
Is Rural Opportunity Institute a public or private company?
Rural Opportunity Institute is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Rural Opportunity Institute founded?
Rural Opportunity Institute was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Rural Opportunity Institute based?
Rural Opportunity Institute is headquartered in Rocky Mount, United States, in the North America region.
How does Rural Opportunity Institute make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Training and Program Services are the primary driver. The others are philanthropic Funding and product Sales.
Does Rural Opportunity Institute have an API?
No public API is recorded for Rural Opportunity Institute.
What industry is Rural Opportunity Institute in?
Rural Opportunity Institute's product category is Community Mental Health and Resilience Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAJAGAL, Community Resilience, Preparedness Training & Exercises, with a secondary code of EDAKAMAF, Trauma-Informed Care & Crisis Response (School-Based). Its NAICS code is 62423 and its SIC code is 8300.