As Democrats struggle to rebuild their brand with working-class and rural voters, new evidence points to a surprisingly effective way to increase trust and connection: rebuilding the nonpartisan community organizations that were once crucial for providing the party a solid anchor in rural and small-town America. Building on this work, and scaling it up dramatically, may make all the difference for the party’s prospects in red America.

Over the past two years, the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative (RUBI), a group working to bridge America’s rural-urban divide, has used its Community Works program to unite working-class Americans to address what it describes as a “trust crisis” in the country. The program targets deep mistrust of liberals, Democrats, the “experts” of the managerial class, and government itself — and works to change the messaging that reaches these communities.

Community Works acts as a kind of invisible hand in local collaborations on everything from road and river cleanups to “home repair, food distribution, diaper drives, kids’ crafts activities, hurricane relief, smoke alarm installations, IT, tax prep assistance, an Easter egg hunt, and a STEM summer camp.”