Empire Ag Founder Jonathon Haralson Joins Rural Gone Urban Foundation Board
When Empire Ag launched, our mission was clear: create tools and strategies that help producers run their operations like the businesses they are. That same vision for legacy, resilience, and sustainability is what led our founder, Jonathon Haralson, to join the board of the Rural Gone Urban Foundation.
The Foundation, established in 2022, is small in size but mighty in its impact. Built for women who know firsthand the grit it takes to run businesses, raise families, and face cancer diagnoses, the organization focuses on three core programs:
Scholarships for rural students chasing big dreams beyond their hometowns.
Small Business Grants for women entrepreneurs with slim margins and bold ideas, providing funding for marketing assets like websites, branding, and social media strategy.
Love Bombs, judgment-free micro-grants that allow women in the trenches of cancer treatment to focus on making memories with their families without the weight of financial stress.
Jonathon said the Foundation’s mission lines up closely with the work we do every day at Empire Ag.
“This isn’t just about dollars moving from one account to another,” Haralson said. “Every scholarship, every business grant, every Love Bomb represents someone’s story. Someone’s future. If you’ve been given tools, you use them to lift others — and that’s exactly what this Foundation is doing.”
For Haralson, the decision to join the board wasn’t about adding another title. It was about responsibility.
“I know what it’s like to watch margins tighten and wonder how you’re going to make it work. I know what it takes to keep a family and a business moving when the odds aren’t in your favor. The Foundation is stepping in at exactly those moments for rural women and families, and I wanted to be part of it.”
The Rural Gone Urban Foundation grew from its founder’s own story. Brooke Taylor launched the nonprofit after facing stage 4 cancer diagnosis. She knew rural women didn’t need saving, but they did need access to resources that matched their hustle and heart. Since its first year, the Foundation has funded marketing campaigns for rural-owned businesses, no-gpa-required scholarships for students from rural communities, and Love Bombs that have allowed families to take trips, buy Christmas gifts, or simply breathe focus on something that isn’t cancer.
“Jonathon understands both sides of this work — the financial strategy and the human heartbeat,” Taylor said. “That balance is exactly what our board needs as we grow.”
Haralson, a lifelong Texan raising his family in the same state where his roots run deep, brings decades of experience in ranching, finance, and business ownership. He founded Empire Ag on the idea that producers deserve more than cookie-cutter advice — they deserve relationship-driven counsel that secures both their operations and their legacies.
Now, he’s carrying that same philosophy into his role with the Foundation.
At Empire Ag, we believe business is about people first. We’re proud to see our founder take that belief beyond our walls and into a nonprofit that is rewriting what support for rural women and families looks like.
To learn more about the Rural Gone Urban Foundation or to support its programs, visit ruralgoneurban.org.
Facing the Storm
We often talk about the resilience it takes to face the storm. Not to run from it, but to move through it with intention. That’s the same spirit the Rural Gone Urban Foundation embodies. Whether it’s a student stepping into the unknown, a small business owner pushing past slim margins, or a woman navigating the hardest chapter of her life, the Foundation shows up when it matters most.
Jonathon’s decision to serve on this board is rooted in that same belief — that true strength isn’t found in avoiding challenges but in meeting them head-on, together.
