Garden Grants for Nonprofits

The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) is an award-winning international nonprofit charity dedicated to planting fruitful trees and plants to alleviate world hunger, combat global warming, strengthen communities, and improve the surrounding air, soil, and water.

FTPF programs strategically donate orchards where the harvest will best serve communities for generations, at places such as community gardens, public schools, city/state parks, low-income neighborhoods, Native American reservations, international hunger relief sites, and animal sanctuaries.

What FTPF Provides

Our orchard donations are available for recipients who pledge to care for their trees and utilize them for a charitable purpose. If selected for an orchard donation, FTPF provides high-quality fruit trees and shrubs, equipment, on-site orchard design expertise and oversight, horticultural workshops, and aftercare training and manuals. We subsidize deer fencing and drip irrigation as needed, and incorporate these installations into the event day. FTPF also helps coordinate all aspects of the planting, and offers an inspirational, educational experience for volunteers interested in learning more about trees. Free arboricultural workshops are available throughout the day of the planting and, for schools, a fun, age-appropriate curriculum, with our educators, emphasizing the importance of trees for the environment and fruit in the diet is available.

Our goal is to provide enthusiastic orchardists with the physical materials and training tools needed to grow vibrant fruit trees to improve the surrounding environment and provide a local source of healthy nutrition.

Simply Organic's Giving History 

Providing consumers the opportunity to use their buying power to support the environmental and social values of organic agriculture has always been part of Simply Organic. Since 2001, we've given back more than $2 million to supporting organic agricultural development and grower communities, including:

• Helping growers in developing countries produce and market certified organic products.
• Building training centers that teach organic agriculture methods and wells that bring fresh water to villages; supporting schools, meal programs and other social projects in grower communities.
• Supporting U.S. organic research and education projects, scholarships in sustainable agriculture, and organic-growing-based social organizations such as urban gardens and community food banks.

The Simply Organic Giving Fund Grant Program

In 2018, we committed to focusing the Simply Organic Giving Fund Grant Program on addressing an issue that’s especially persistent and critical, but that is often overlooked or misunderstood: food insecurity. We’re working to help organizations across the United States and Canada to nourish the millions of food insecure in our communities by supporting organizations that provide access to healthy, organic food options. 

The Impact Fund

Our mission is to provide grants, advocacy and education to support impact litigation on behalf of marginalized communities 

Grants

The Impact Fund awards recoverable grants to legal services nonprofits, private attorneys, and/or small law firms who seek to advance justice in the areas of civil and human rights, environmental justice, and/or poverty law. 

Since being founded in 1992, the Impact Fund has granted more than $8 million in recoverable grants. We award grants four times per year, most within the range of US$10,000 to US$50,000.

Funding Sectors

Social Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants and legal support to assist in human and civil rights cases. We have helped to change dozens of laws and win cases to improve the rights of thousands.

The cases we are funding allege that:

• In California, police used excessive force against #BlackLivesMatter protesters.
• In Colorado, female police officers face losing their careers because they can’t do enough push-ups and sit-ups.
• In Ohio and New York, a gun manufacturer knowingly sells to dealers that arm criminals.
• In Massachusetts, prisoners with Hepatitis C are going untreated.
• In North Dakota, Native Americans can’t vote because of a recent voter suppression law.
• In Florida, prisoners who request mental health services are abused and, when they complain, the abuse gets worse.

Environmental Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants to support local litigation for environmental justice, with a focus on marginalized comunities. These are often cases no one else will support. 

The cases we are funding are to stop:

• Proposed mining in the Superior National Forest that would contaminate groundwater, damage wetlands, and destroy the local Native American wild-rice economy.
• Unwanted development, after a community garden in New York was bulldozed in the middle of the night.
• Pollution from a lighter fluid factory in New Jersey that is causing illness to residents in a low-income neighborhood.
• Clear-cut logging that is threatening the health and livelihood of the local indigenous community in Ontario.
• Spraying pesticides at will in California.
• A new highway bridge that is the latest in a long history of environmental hazards heaped upon an African American and Latino neighborhood in Corpus Christi, severing it from the rest of the city.

Economic Justice

The Impact Fund provides financial and other forms of support to cases fighting for economic justice. From workers' rights to consumer protection for vulnerable populations, impact litigation is a powerful tool to hold corporations accountable. 

The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Texas, people with unpaid tickets are sent to “debtors’ prison.”
• In California, landlords lose their insurance when they accept Section 8 vouchers from low-income tenants.
• In Idaho, homeless people are jailed for sleeping outdoors, even when there are no shelters to take them in.

Additional Considerations

Is your case set up for success?

No one can guarantee a victory. That's why we look for a coherent strategy and a legal team with sufficient experience and resources to give the case the best chance of success.

Have you collaborated with anyone else?

Legal work can be all-encompassing. But taking the time to talk with others who have argued (or are currently arguing) similar cases can make a huge difference in the long run.

Do you need the money?

You probably wouldn't be reading this if you didn't need financial support, but just in case: We prioritize requests from applicants who need funding to keep their case moving forward.

Have the expenses already been paid?

Our grants can only be used for expenses that have not yet been paid. Raising funds for litigation costs can feel like a juggling act, we know. We’re available to talk by phone if you need help determining when to apply.

Have you estimated what your case will cost?

Litigation costs can be hard to predict, but we’ve found there is value in planning. Once you run the numbers, you might move securing co-counsel to the top of your list. (We can help.)

Have we funded your case before?

Occasionally we will fund a case more than once. In these situations, the case has lasted several years and has a new set of challenges and expenses.

Urban Agriculture Resilience Program Capstone Cohort

In 2020, the U.S. Botanic Garden and the American Public Gardens Association initiated the Urban Agriculture Resilience Program. Since its inception, the program has provided financial awards to 73 urban agriculture projects nationwide, promoting public garden participation in collaborations that combine food growing and education while addressing food security challenges facing communities.

Having established a strong foundation of public garden engagement in community-based urban agriculture collaborations, the Urban Agriculture Resilience Program is poised to pilot a new component focused on growing urban agriculture capacity and leadership in the public gardens community.

The Urban Agriculture Resilience Program Capstone Cohort will comprise a small group of established urban agriculture projects seeking to sustain and institutionalize their work. Eligible projects may be previous Urban Agriculture Resilience Program awardees or established urban agriculture projects new to the Urban Agriculture Resilience Program. Awardees will receive mentoring and technical support from Chicago Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest to help build the sustainability of their programs.

Capstone Cohort awardees should be willing to:

• Commit staff time to participate in a mentoring program provided throughout the award period.
• Present their program models at an online forum for other awardees and peers in the public gardens community.

This is a highly competitive award category; we anticipate funding up to seven Capstone Awards. Capstone Awards will be awarded to a project only once.

Our Beginnings

SeedMoney is a Maine-based 501c nonprofit helping US and global food garden projects to thrive through grants, crowdfunding assistance and free garden planning software.

SeedMoney is the new name for what was formerly called Kitchen Gardeners International (KGI), a nonprofit founded in 2003. Over the past three years, our emphasis has gradually shifted from helping home gardeners towards offering financial and technical support to a wide variety of public food garden projects. These include community gardens, school gardens, food bank gardens, homeless shelter gardens and senior gardens, to name just a few.

SeedMoney Challenge

Each year, SeedMoney offers challenge grants to diverse food garden projects through a 30-day crowdfunding challenge. 

The grants we offer are on a sliding scale. The size of a grant a project can receive depends on how much it is able to raise over the 30-day period compared to other projects participating in the challenge. This year, we will be offering a total of 370 grants ranging from $100 to $1000.

The 2020 Gro More Good Grassroots Grant presented by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and KidsGardening is designed to bring the life-enhancing benefits of gardens to communities across the United States. Awards provide funding for the development of new and expansion of existing youth garden programs and greenspaces serving 15 or more youth. Winners will be selected based on their commitment to the maintenance and sustainability of their garden program including plans for growth and future fiscal stability.The Gro More Good Grassroots Grant is open to all nonprofit and tax exempt organizations (including schools) in the United States and US Territories. Organizations must have obtained their 501(c)(3) status or qualify as tax-exempt within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Service code.This year, 175 grants worth a collective total of $100,000 will be awarded. 150 grant recipients will be awarded a check for $500 to support their initiatives. The top 25 programs will receive a check for $1,000. Applications must be received by Friday, February 14, 2020 at 11:59 PST.

In celebration of Kubota’s 50th Anniversary in the U.S. and in the spirit of Together We Do More, Kubota’s Hometown Proud community revitalization grant program kicks off its second year in a BIG way, investing in five $100,000 community grants. Also new this year, each of the five grant winners will have a chance at an additional $100,000 Kubota Community Choice Award selected by public vote this summer!

At Kubota, we strive to give back and inspire change in the communities where our employees, dealers, and customers live and work. That is why for 2022, in celebration of our 50th Anniversary in the U.S., we are significantly increasing our investment in American communities through the Hometown Proud grant program, expanding five-fold to award $500,000 to cities, counties, or nonprofits to revitalize five local projects.

Each project application can be as diverse and imaginative as the community itself, such as:

• Cultivating a community garden
• Creating a new playground area
• Beautifying a community park
• Adding landscaping to a town square or open space
• Modernizing a fairground or rodeo arena

Our Mission

To nourish the potential in every child

Through corporate social responsibility efforts and initiatives, Chick-fil-A supports organizations dedicated to the issues of hunger, homelessness and education. It is our pleasure to support these organizations that are making a meaningful impact in the local communities Chick-fil-A serves.

True Inspiration Awards

The True Inspiration Awards™ program was created in 2015 to honor the legacy of Chick-fil-A® founder S. Truett Cathy. Through these annual grants, we are proud to celebrate and support nonprofit organizations making an impact in their local communities. True Inspiration Awards grants range from $30,000 to $350,000, with a collective $5 million awarded annually to organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

One organization will be selected as the S. Truett Cathy Honoree. The S. Truett Cathy Honoree embodies the generous, innovative spirit of Chick-fil-A’s late founder — pioneering new ways to solve problems and serve others.

Sixteen organizations will be awarded for their work in these areas:

• Caring for People (four winners): Programs or projects supporting educational initiatives, including fostering character and leadership development, academic excellence and community involvement in underserved youth. 
• Caring through Food (four winners): Programs or projects focused on addressing hunger and food insecurity facing children and their families. 
• Community (four winners): Programs or projects focused on providing housing and other direct services to support young people and their families. 
• Caring for our Planet (four winners): Programs or projects that show care for our environment and our planet, or that demonstrate environmental stewardship through initiatives directly related to our other True Inspiration Awards categories of food, community and people (i.e., community beautification, education opportunities, community gardens, outdoor classrooms, etc.)

Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) Program

The Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program provides small and mid-sized museums with partial funding toward a general conservation assessment. The assessment is a study of all of the institution's collections, buildings, and building systems, as well as its policies and procedures relating to collections care. Participants who complete the program receive an assessment report with prioritized recommendations to improve collections care. CAP is often a first step for small institutions that wish to improve the condition of their collections.

Museums of all kinds may apply for a CAP assessment. These include:

• Aquariums*
• Arboretums*
• Art museums
• Botanical gardens*
• Children’s/Youth museums
• General museums (those having two or more significant disciplines, such as a museum of art and natural history)
• Historic houses/sites
• History museums (including those housed in historic buildings)
• Natural history/anthropology museums
• Nature centers
• Planetariums
• Science/Technology museums
• Specialized museums (limited to a single distinct subject, such as a maritime museum)
• Zoological parks*

* Botanical gardens and arboretums may use CAP to assess the preservation needs of both their living and non-living collections. Institutions with fully surveyed living animal collections (such as those accredited by the AZA) may use CAP to assess the needs of their non-living collections and the animals’ physical conditions and habitats. 

Benefits

A CAP assessment may assist your institution by:

• Providing recommendations and priorities for collections care that are specific to your collections
• Facilitating the development of a long-range preservation plan
• Serving as a fundraising tool for future collections projects

Every CAP report will contain an Executive Summary that provides a prioritized list of recommendations for improving your institution’s collections care. Though you may be aware of many of these issues already, the assessment can help you decide where to invest limited resources. It may be valuable in drawing the attention of your board or leadership to collections care concerns. If you are interested in seeking grant funding or private support for conservation or preservation activities, a CAP report can provide a professional argument for the need for such work. 

Allocation and Matching Requirement

Upon acceptance into the CAP program, participants are allocated a set amount of funding toward the cost of their assessment. Allocation amounts range from $3,500 to $3,900 per assessor based on the annual operating budget of the institution. Most institutions will have two assessors (a collections assessor and a building assessor).

• Annual Budget of the Institution = Less than $250,000 , Allocation per Assessor = $3,900
• Annual Budget of the Institution = $250,000 - $750,000 , Allocation per Assessor = $3,700
• Annual Budget of the Institution = More than $750,000 , Allocation per Assessor = $3,500

The cost of a conservation assessment is determined between each assessor and institution, but the fees always include two components: 1) the professional fee and 2) reimbursable expenses. In other words: Assessment contract amount = Professional fee + Reimbursable expenses 

• Professional fee : There is no standard professional fee charged by assessors. Each assessor’s fee schedule will vary based on location, experience, etc. 
• Reimbursable expenses :The assessor’s reimbursable expenses include fees such as the cost of travel to the site, hotel costs, meals, and other on-site expenses. 

Please note that CAP is not a grant. Allocation funds will not be sent to institutions; FAIC will send payment in the allocated amount directly to the assessor.  

1:1 Match Requirement

Participating institutions are required to meet or exceed a 1:1 match of the allocated funds. This match can be reached through any combination of:

• cash expenses to meet the total fees charged by the assessors
• the value of staff, volunteer, and board time committed to the CAP project
• inkind contributions toward the project
• overhead expenses