Giving Compass' Take:

• The 'rust belt boomerang' is a term that describes when individuals who grew up in rust belt states return to their hometowns to help increase economic opportunity in that region. 

• How will the increase of young professionals to an area help spur economic growth?  How can philanthropists and social entrepreneurs do more to help the rust belt communities? 

•  Read about the impact of small rural foundations. 

It’s not news that the Rust Belt states have been hit hard by poverty and population decline for decades as manufacturing jobs moved off-shore and abandoned factories started haunting the heartland’s landscape.

Take the case of Youngstown, Ohio. Deindustralized and economically depressed, it lost 30 percent of its population between 1990 and 2010 and experienced huge population decline between 2010 and 2012 when more than 50,000 residents left. (Current population: 64,312)

Last year, a study revealed a modest but growing trend of young professionals and "knowledge workers" returning to the region. The study is written by sociologist Jill Harrison, who conducted in-depth interviews with 22 "returnees" that have chosen to move back to Youngstown after having left.

"While the decision to return home," writes Richard Florida at CitiLab, "is an emotionally charged one that often invokes economic opportunity or family... it is powerfully shaped by the qualities of home itself. Harrison calls this 'place character,' the deep, authentic character of a place itself."

And while chasing money may not be their primary motivation, there are unique economic opportunities that emerge in a struggling city like Youngstown. "One thing about being back here is that you are a big fish in a small pond," said a returnee quoted by CityLab. "In New York and Chicago there is no way. You are a cog in a great big machine.”

Read the full article about "the Rust Belt boomerang" by Macarena Olsen at Philanthropy Daily.