Search Through Organic Farming and Agriculture Grants in California in the U.S.

AgWest Farm Credit

AgWest Farm Credit is an agricultural lending cooperative with more than a century of experience serving farmers, ranchers, timber harvesters, and aquatic producers throughout the West. 

Rural Community Grants

AgWest Farm Credit is committed to improving the economic and social well-being of rural communities.

We are looking for creative and collaborative approaches to address challenges and provide opportunities to people who live in rural communities. This program provides grants to non-profit organizations for projects that improve rural communities within Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. This includes efforts such as building or improving facilities; purchasing necessary equipment to facilitate a local program; and funding capital improvements which enhance a community’s infrastructure, viability and/or prosperity.

Examples of rural community grant projects

• Fire engine for rural fire department
• Multi-purpose community building
• Improving community park facilities
• Computers for a community center’s educational classes

Grant amounts

Maximum grant request is $5000. Due to growing demand, the average amount awarded is between $500 and $2,500. An organization may only be awarded grant funds once per calendar year.

Making community possible

At U.S. Bank, we are dedicated to supporting our communities through responsive and humbled actions focused on addressing racial and economic inequities and creating lasting change in our communities. Through our Community Possible Grant Program, we are partnering with organizations that focus on economic and workforce advancement, safe and affordable housing and communities connected through arts and culture.

The U.S. Bank Foundation is committed to making Community Possible through Work, Home and Play. We advance this work through collaborative grant making to bring equitable and lasting change through our focus on sustainable, high-impact funding with 501c3 nonprofit partners.

How we partner with nonprofits

We focus on collaborative grantmaking and sustainable, high-impact funding with 501(c)(3) nonprofit partners. We partner with organizations that support:

• Economic and workforce advancement
• Safe and affordable housing
• Community arts and culture

Our strategy

Our community affairs and foundation team work closely with U.S. Bank regional leadership, business resource groups and our National Community Advisory Committee to ensure that prevailing needs are addressed in all the communities we serve.

To make the most meaningful impact, we prioritize organizations that:

• Focus on economic development issues related to work, home and play
• Address more than one of the grant pillars (work, home and play)
• Are based in and serve designated U.S. Bank communities
• Advance diversity, equity and inclusion

Background

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation seeks to dramatically improve the lives of underserved communities across the globe by supporting scalable, innovative, and impact-first solutions that leverage existing systems and stakeholders. Our goal is to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic products or services that have a proven ability to positively impact the lives of underserved people, and nurture those organizations at the early stages by providing capacity, capital, and community.

Our application process is designed to be open and accessible, and we accept applications year round from across our priority geographies and sectors. Borrowing from our venture capital legacy, we find exceptional entrepreneurs and provide them with: 

Capacity

• The core of DRK’s model is deep and extensive operational and technical support for each portfolio organization, both through dedicated hands-on Board service and specialist capacity-building resources for fundraising, board and organizational development, leadership, financial support, and scaling strategy,

Capital

• DRK provides up to $300,000 USD in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period, and

Community

• DRK convenes our portfolio and alumni annually, facilitating connections and community. 

What We Fund

DRK Foundation funds early-stage social impact organizations solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

Early stage: Organizations who are early stage, which we define as post-pilot and pre-scale. This typically means: 

• Your program, product or service is already being used in the market or in the field, 
• You have early indication that your model is having its intended impact on the beneficiary populations,
• Your organization is relatively young (ideally between two and five years old, although we will consider both younger and older organizations).

Venture funding: In the case of for profits, we typically support Seed to Series A organizations, and never lead rounds; we also generally but not exclusively refrain from participating in financings exceeding a $15M USD post-money valuation.  

Community Grants

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are committed to auto and home safety programs and activities that help people manage the risks of everyday life.
• We invest in education, economic empowerment and community development projects, programs and services that help people realize their dreams.
• We help maintain the vibrancy of our communities by assisting nonprofits that support community revitalization.

Good Neighbor Citizenship company grants focus on safety, community development and education.

Focus Areas

Safety Grants

We strive to keep our customers and communities safe. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Auto safety — improving driver, passenger, vehicle or roadway safety
• Home safety — shielding homes from fires, crime or natural disasters
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Disaster recovery

Community Development

We support nonprofits that invest and develop stronger neighborhoods. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Affordable housing — home construction and repair
• Commercial/small business development
• Job training
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Financial literacy
• Sustainable housing and transportation
• Food insecurity

Education

Our education funding is directed toward initiatives that support the following programs:

• Higher education
• K-12 academic performance
• K-12 STEM
• Pathways for college and career success

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Culture Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those that enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent. Supported organizations include arts schools, ballets, museums, operas, performing arts centers, symphonies and theaters.

Funding Priorities in Culture

In the recent past, 25% of total funding has been allocated to Culture. Organizations with budgets over $10 million have received 60% of the funding in Culture.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted toward new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation only accepts unsolicited proposals for specific areas within the education, family economic stability and childhood health sectors in select countries where we work, namely the United States, India and South Africa.

As a guideline, the foundation does not fund more than 25% of a project’s budget or more than 10% of an organization’s total annual operating expenses.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has always recognized the power of providing grants to partner organizations that we knew were already working hard to improve the lives of urban children living in poverty. By aligning with organizations that are already making a difference, we continue to make an immediate impact on the lives of thousands of children.

Foundation priorities:

We fund social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities.

Partnerships

We collaborate with a range of organizations focused on creating opportunities for children and families living in urban poverty, with a deep emphasis on measuring impact. Our funding advances projects already making an impact in education, health, and family economic stability. Through these enduring and long-standing partnerships, we create lasting change together.

Overview

The Oak Woodlands Conservation Program offers landowners, conservation organizations, cities and counties, an opportunity to obtain funding for projects designed to conserve and restore California's oak woodlands. While the Program is statewide in nature, it provides opportunities to address oak woodland issues on a regional priority basis.

The Program is designed to help local efforts achieve oak woodland protection. More importantly, this Program provides a mechanism to bring ranchers and conservationists together in a manner that allows both to achieve that which is so valued - sustainable ranch and farming operations and healthy oak woodlands.

Eligible Easement Acquisition, Restoration or Long-Term Agreement Projects

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 1363, the Act requires that no less than 80 percent of the funds be used for the following type of projects:

Grants for the purchase of oak woodland easements.

The holder of the conservation easement shall ensure, on an annual basis that the conservation easement conditions have been met for that year. To facilitate this annual review, a Baseline Condition Report shall be prepared that identifies the biological resources that are present on the property and covered under the conservation easement. The Act requires that priority be given to projects designed to protect oak woodlands in perpetuity with conservation easements.

Grants for restoration or enhancement projects.

Project proposals must contain an appropriate management plan that describes the restoration effort and the management practices that will be used to ensure the restoration or enhancement effort achieves the goals of the landowner and the goals of the project.

Grant for long-term leases.

Projects are designed to protect oak woodlands for purposes of open space, viewshed, wildlife habitat or alternative grazing opportunities. Such leases must be managed according to a management plan prepared to meet the goals stated in the long-term lease or project agreement. 

Grants for cost-sharing incentive payments. 

Projects designed to achieve conservation objectives and the landowner is willing to enter into long-term agreements. Such agreements shall include management practices that benefit the goals of the landowner and the oak woodlands. The length of the long-term agreement will be dependent upon the nature of the project, the goals of the landowner and benefits to the oak woodlands. Typical long-term agreements could run 15, to 45-years. Cost-share incentive payments could include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:

• Compensation for not cutting trees for firewood.
• Long-term payment to keep the land in open space, managed according to a plan designed to benefit the landowner and the oak woodlands.
• Reimbursement for conservation improvements such as fencing, solar panels, grazing cages to protect young oak saplings, alternative water sources, tree planting and tree maintenance.
• Compensation for alternative grazing practices such as up-front payments to defer grazing on restoration areas.
• Areas would be managed according to a plan designed to benefit the goals of the landowner and the restoration of the oak woodlands.

Applicants are encouraged to seek input from the local Fish and Game Biologist or other resource professionals when developing proposals that request funding for conservation easements, development of management plans or long-term agreements.

Eligible Public Education, Outreach and Technical Assistance Projects

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 1363, the Act allows for 20 percent of the funds to be used for the following type of projects:

• Grants for public education and outreach by local governments, park and open space districts, resource conservation districts and nonprofit organizations.
• Assistance to local government entities, park and open space districts, resource conservation districts and nonprofit organization for the development and implementation of oak conservation elements in local general plans.
• Technical Assistance.

PNC Foundation

Strengthening and enriching the lives of our neighbors in communities where we live and work.

Vision & Mission

For decades, we have provided resources to seed ideas, foster development initiatives and encourage leadership in nonprofit organizations where imagination and determination are at work enhancing people's lives everyday.

The PNC Foundation's priority is to form partnerships with community-based nonprofit organizations in order to enhance educational opportunities, with an emphasis on early childhood education, and to promote the growth of communities through economic development initiatives.

Foundation Grant

The PNC Foundation supports a variety of nonprofit organizations with a special emphasis on those that work to achieve sustainability and touch a diverse population, in particular, those that support early childhood education and/or economic development.

Education

The PNC Foundation supports educational programs for children and youth, particularly early childhood education initiatives that meet the criteria established through PNC Grow Up Great. Specifically, PNC Grow Up Great grants must:

• Support early education initiatives that benefit children from birth to age five; and
• Serve a majority of children (>50%) from low- to moderate-income families; and
• Adhere to all other standard PNC Foundation guidelines, as outlined on the PNC Foundation website, applicant eligibility quiz, as well as the Foundation policies and procedures; and
• Include one or a combination of the following:
  • direct services/programs for children in their classroom or community;
  • professional development/workforce development for early childhood educators;
  • family and/or community engagement in children’s early learning
• Additional considerations:
  • The grant focus should include math, science, reading, vocabulary development, the arts, financial education, or social/emotional development.
  • The grant recipient, or collaborative partner, should have early childhood education as an area of focus. If the organization’s focus is beyond birth to age five, the specific grant must be earmarked for birth to age five.
  • Incorporate opportunities for PNC volunteers in classroom or non-classroom-based activities.

Economic Development

Economic development organizations, including those which enhance the quality of life through neighborhood revitalization, cultural enrichment and human services are given support. Priority is given to community development initiatives that strategically promote the growth of low-and moderate-income communities and/or provide services to these communities.

• Affordable Housing
  • The PNC Foundation understands the critical need for affordable housing for low-and moderate-income individuals.
  • We are committed to providing support to nonprofit organizations that:
    • give counseling and services to help these individuals maintain their housing stock;
    • offer transitional housing units and programs; and/or
    • offer credit counseling assistance to individuals, helping them to prepare for homeownership.
• Community Development
  • Because small businesses are often critical components of community growth and help foster business development, the PNC Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations that
    • offer technical assistance to, or loan programs for, small businesses located in low-and moderate-income areas or
    • support small businesses that employ low-and moderate-income individuals.
• Community Services
  • Support is given to social services organizations that benefit the health, education, quality of life or provide essential services for low-and moderate-income individuals and families.
  • The PNC Foundation supports job training programs and organizations that provide essential services for their families.
• Arts & Culture
  • Support is given for cultural enrichment programs benefitting the community.
• Revitalization & Stabilization of Low-and Moderate-Income Areas
  • The PNC Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that serve low-and moderate-income neighborhoods by improving living and working conditions.
  • Support is given to organizations that help stabilize communities, eliminate blight and attract and retain businesses and residents to the community.

The Sidney Stern Memorial Trust is devoted solely to the funding of charitable, scientific, medical and educational organizations.

The Board endeavors to support soundly-managed charitable organizations that give service with a broad scope, have a substantial effect on their target populations, and contribute materially to the general welfare. The Board does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

Perdue Farms is a fourth-generation, family owned U.S. food and agricultural company. We were founded on trust—a value that carries through everything we do. Through our two operating divisions, Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness, we’re making steps every day toward our goal of becoming the most trusted name in food and agricultural products. Our path forward is about getting better, not just bigger.

We're Committed to Being Careful Stewards. Stewardship is one of our company's core values. Our stewardship platform, "We believe in responsible food and agriculture®," challenges us to continually improve. Learn more about the progress we've made in the areas of food, environment, animal care, people, community and our partners.

What we support

We believe in putting our resources where there is a direct benefit to a broad-based spectrum of the community.

• We strive to strengthen our communities by focusing our efforts on agriculture and the environment, education, fighting hunger and poverty, health and social services, and public safety
• We also support organizations that celebrate the heritages and cultures of our communities

Our Responsibility

• Food Producing: Quality Food
• Environment: Protecting the Environment
• Animal Care: Providing for the Welfare of Animals
• People: Caring About Others

Grant Priority

Gaia Fund’s highest priority is to address the environmental problems caused by prevailing agricultural practices.

California is our nation’s most productive agricultural state and, as studies have consistently shown, prevailing practices related to the U.S. conventional food and farming system carry high environmental and human welfare costs. With this in mind, the Fund seeks to foster the transition of California’s food and farming system to one that is sustainable, integrating the goals of best organic practices, responsible environmental stewardship, profitability, and social and economic equity.

The Fund focuses on sustainable agriculture methods which, concurrently, produce nutritious food crops, mitigate climate change, protect natural resources, and promote biodiversity.

The fund considers requests for california initiatives that:

• Encourage farmers to adopt sustainable practices
• Support sustainable farming that operates on a smaller commercial scale and that serves local markets
• Train individuals for careers in sustainable farming
• Preserve land that will be farmed sustainably

The current focus is on the following food crops:

• vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grains. 

Capital and Endowment Campaigns

Gaia Fund will consider capital and endowment campaign requests, but assigns such requests a lower priority. Grant awards in support of capital and endowment are typically consistent with the grant amounts awarded for specific programs.

Renewals

The Fund may elect to renew general support or project grants in succeeding years, but renewal is not guaranteed and grantees are cautioned to plan accordingly. Non-renewed general support or project grants will be ineligible for reconsideration until at least two years have passed since the last grant was awarded.

About the Foundation

Jesse W. Couch lived a life of zeal, honor, and dedication to the betterment of his community. The Couch family now humbly stewards the foundation he created to carry on his legacy of service for future generations. We believe that impact is best accomplished through partnerships with local organizations that know the people and communities they serve. We invest in and support efforts to protect the environment, further conservation and preservation initiatives, and save historical architecture that preserves community heritage. We also support initiatives that promote wellness and mental health and organizations seeking to provide and further education for all communities.

Annual Grant Focus

Each year, we seek to partner with and support non-profit organizations making an impact in the focus areas listed here.  The focus areas for 2025 are:

• Animal Wellbeing: We are dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations that nurture compassion and respect for all living animals. We must have animal-focused organizations that advocate for animal rights and provide humane treatment across all spectrums.
• Early Childhood Education: We are looking for schools that are providing young children with a creative and balanced approach to education. Things we love in early childhood curriculums:
  • Life Skills
  • Collaboration With Their Peers and Teachers   
  • Having Fun   
  • Montessori Teachings   
  • Project Based Teachings   
  • Diversity   
  • More Time Outside   
  • Less Screen Time
• Teachers: Teachers are essential to providing children with the best possible education. We must invest in their future and are always looking for teams that help them succeed in educating future generations.
• Get Outside: Being outside can improve memory, fight depression, lower blood pressure, and more! We support organizations that facilitate and encourage more outdoor activities that help create healthier communities. 

Perdue Farms is the family-owned parent company of Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness. Perdue Farms are dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for everyone we touch through innovative food and agricultural products.

Through Perdue Farms Perdue, Harvestland and Coleman Natural food brands; through Perdue Farms agricultural products and services; and through Perdue Farms stewardship and corporate responsibility programs, Perdue Farms are committed to making Perdue the most trusted name in food and agricultural products. At Perdue, Perdue Farms believe in responsible food and agriculture.What We Support

• We strive to strengthen our communities by focusing our efforts on agriculture and the environment, education, fighting hunger and poverty, health and social services, and public safety
• We also support organizations that celebrate the heritages and cultures of our communities
• We may give additional preference to organizations in which our associates have direct involvement, but the overarching consideration is the betterment of the community

Our Vision

Sustainability involves economic viability, environmental sensitivity, and social responsiveness, with emphasis on working with and preserving nature. Innovation involves creativity and new ideas that make this world a better place to live.

The foundation seeks to foster environmental restoration, preservation and education with emphasis on seed moneys that lead to establishing demonstration projects that link rural and urban settings. Projects could orient toward use of resources in sustainable ways, integration of food production, technology, economics, and community development in harmonious ways with the natural world, preservation of wildlife habitat as well as the diversity of wild and domestic plants and animals, and conservation of wilderness and open space. Of interest might be projects designed to restore and maintain biological diversity of flora and fauna or establishment of seed banks, sustainable land use, or appropriate technology for alternative energy resources. Efforts to find space in tight urban areas, bring the countryside to the city in the form of gardens, landscaping, and space are encouraged. Likewise, efforts to provide space and alternative living to urban people in a rural area are welcome.

A particular concern is with sustaining agriculture through organic, biodynamic, permacultural and other processes, training young people to be farmers, and linking farms to communities through community supported agriculture. Another area of need would be support for small alternative presses and periodicals that focus on issues and problems and their resolution and desire to impact broadly on society with their creativity and new ideas.

The foundation sponsors Laguna Wilderness Press that publishes books featuring the work of concerned artists, photographers, and environmentalists. Its books move in two directions: (1) to depict nature and pristine wilderness areas through photography and essay; (2) to focus on changing landscape and the impact of urban growth, technology, and development on natural beauty and resources.

With its interest in LWP and its home base in southern California, the foundation desires to direct attention to environmental groups and concerns in Laguna Beach, especially preservation and restoration of areas under conservation in the open space known as the Laguna Greenbelt or Wilderness and including the Laguna Bluebelt; projects that expand open space in the inner greenbelt, promote community gardening, including in its schools, restore wherever possible the canyon creeks to their natural setting, and help to establish the legacy of a unique place and its traditions of village diverse planning and vision, plein air painting, and historic homes and sites.

Project Types

Projects could orient toward use of resources in sustainable ways, preservation of wildlife habitats, conservation of wilderness, integration of food production, technology, economics, and community development in harmonious ways with the natural world. Also, another area of interest is support for small alternative presses and periodicals that show creativity and new ideas, and focus on issues and problems.

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

Dairy Plus Program (CA)

The California Department of Food and Agriculture's (CDFA) Dairy Plus Program will award competitive grants to California dairy farms for the implementation of advanced manure management practices that address both methane emissions and nitrogen and salt surplus.

The California Dairy Research Foundation (CDRF), in collaboration with CDFA and several other organizations, has been awarded $85 million in funding by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC) opportunity. Until the specified time, this project will provide incentives for dairy producers to adopt advanced climate-smart manure management practices, measure greenhouse gas (GHG) and nutrient benefits associated with implemented practices, provide outreach and technical assistance, and develop climate-smart product markets. Approximately $75 million of the total awarded amount will support the implementation of advanced manure management practices through the new Dairy Plus Program.

Incentive funds for this program will supplement the existing CDFA Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP) and Dairy Digester Research and Development Program (DDRDP), which remain as standalone programs. Dairies interested in pursuing a more comprehensive project than what CDFA supports through AMMP or DDRDP funding alone, addressing both manure methane emission and nitrogen and salt surplus, may apply for additional funding via the Dairy Plus Program. In addition, past recipients with successfully completed or recipients with in progress AMMP or DDRDP projects may also apply for funding through the Dairy Plus Program.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number NR233A750004G048. 

Funding

Project funding awarded at $750 per cow, for a maximum of $1,250,000.

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation Vision

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, "A Foundation for All", was established in 2002. It was begun in order to give a clear voice for those who wish to be a part of the many, worthy, forces for change in our world.

We are a foundation whose purpose is to look ahead towards the future, giving the past its due by remembering where we came from, and how much we can all accomplish together. We aim to make the critical difference on our planet by recognizing and having respect for our ever changing world. We respect all Life, the Environment, and all People, no matter who they are.

Georgia-Pacific Foundation

Established in 1958, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation sets aside resources to improve life in the communities where we operate. We’ve worked with thousands of outstanding community-based programs, service projects and disaster relief efforts, focusing our investment in four areas we believe make the most impact:

• education,
• environment,
• enrichment and
• entrepreneurship.

Investment Priorities

• Aligns with GP’s mission and values
• Aligns with GP’s Four Focus Areas of giving: Education, Environment, Enrichment of Community and Entrepreneurship
• Serves communities where GP has manufacturing facilities
• Creates value by contributing to and positively impacting long term well-being and sustainability of GP communities

Background

The UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP) is a statewide program of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). UC SAREP envisions a food and farming system that:

• supports resilience through diversified production, marketing, and distribution systems,
• values all food system workers and supports their physical, economic, and social wellbeing,
• contributes to the health and vitality of urban, rural, and Tribal communities,
• is environmentally regenerative, using resources for production and distribution in a way that protects the environment in trust for future generations, including under changing climate conditions, and
• is culturally responsive and reflects the ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity of California.

Funding Priority Areas 

Priority Area 1:  Support California’s farmers, ranchers, and land stewards of all scales in piloting and transitioning to:

• environmentally regenerative approaches to producing crops and livestock (including but not limited to soil health, organic and agroecological practices, integrated pest management, crop diversification);
• pathways for realizing economic return from ecologically-sound crop management practices and fair labor practices;
• marketing and distribution strategies that support diversified, decentralized, and locally-based supply chains;
• strategies that promote producer-to-producer networking and/or producer-to-supply chain networking.

Priority Area 2:  Support California’s rural, urban, and Tribal communities in identifying and implementing strategies to:

• expand access to healthy, sustainably produced, culturally appropriate foods;
• ensure worker wellbeing across the food chain;
• minimize the community and environmental costs of food production and distribution;
• strengthen connections between consumers and producers;
• establish and strengthen producer-to-producer connections and producer-to-supply chain connections.

Proposal Categories

Proposals are requested for three types of projects: 

• Planning Grants
  • Planning grants are intended to support processes that bring together diverse stakeholders to plan for larger, more complex research and outreach projects for which larger funds are being sought.
  • Examples of previously funded Planning projects include:
    • the creation of a new food policy council;
    • exploring how green jobs for women farmworkers can improve their working conditions and the well-being of their communities;
    • building a research team and developing plans for conducting a life cycle analysis of California’s beef production system; and
    • community food access planning in East Salinas.
• Education and Outreach Grants
  • Education and outreach grants include educational events, materials and outreach components of research projects.
  • Examples of previously funded Education and Outreach projects include:
    • providing legal guidance to low-income entrepreneurs interested in urban and suburban farming,
    • home-based food businesses and cooperatively owned agricultural companies in the San Francisco Bay Area;
    • helping Southeast Asian and other small farmers in Sacramento connect with processors and buyers;
    • implementing a bilingual educational campaign to communicate the importance of locally and sustainably grown produce from farmers of diverse backgrounds in Napa County; and
    • developing and documenting opportunities and success stories for ecosystem services provided by rangeland stewardship.
• Applied Research Grants
  • These projects are intended to fund original, applied research in the above Program Priority Areas.
  • An example of a previously funded research grant includes funding to study the effects of livestock guardian dogs on wildlife species and the potential for conflict with recreationists.
  • Research projects should include an outreach component.

Funding Availability

Individual grants will be limited to a maximum of $10,000, with one Applied Research Grant awarded up to $20,000.

The UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP) is a statewide program of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR). UC SAREP envisions a food and farming system that:

• supports resilience through diversified production, marketing, and distribution systems,
• values all food system workers and supports their physical, economic, and social wellbeing,
• contributes to the health and vitality of urban, rural, and Tribal communities,
• is environmentally regenerative, using resources for production and distribution in a way that protects the environment in trust for future generations, including under changing climate conditions, and   
• is culturally responsive and reflects the ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity of California.

Program Priority Areas

We are interested in projects that build the capacity of farming and food systems businesses and organizations to become reflective, adaptive learning organizations that can respond effectively to ecological, economic, and social change and disruption.

UC SAREP will fund projects that fall within two priority areas:

Priority Area 1: Support California’s farmers, ranchers, and Tribal and non-Tribal land stewards of all scales in piloting, evaluating, and transitioning to:

• environmentally regenerative approaches to producing crops and livestock (including but not limited to soil health, organic and agroecological practices, integrated pest management, crop diversification);
• pathways for realizing economic return from ecologically-sound crop management practices and fair labor practices;
• marketing and distribution strategies that support diversified, decentralized, and locally-based supply chains;
• strategies that promote producer-to-producer networking and/or producer-to-supply chain networking.

Priority Area 2: Support California’s rural, urban, and Tribal communities in identifying, implementing, and evaluating strategies to:

• expand access to healthy, sustainably produced, culturally appropriate foods;
• ensure worker wellbeing across the food chain;
• minimize the community and environmental costs of food production and distribution; 
• strengthen connections between consumers and producers;
• establish and strengthen producer-to-producer connections and producer-to-supply chain connections.

Priority will be given to projects that directly benefit and involve ANY of the following priority groups:

• SB535 Disadvantaged Communities 
• A map of disadvantaged communities in California for the purposes of SB535 
• Tribal communities, and/or
• socially disadvantaged farmers, ranchers, and land stewards 
• A “socially disadvantaged group” means a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender discrimination.
  • These groups include the following: African Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, Female farmers and ranchers (2020 Report to the California Legislature on the Farmer Equity Act).

Ameriprise Financial Grantmaking

At Ameriprise Financial, giving back is deeply rooted in our culture. We’ve initiated positive change in the communities where we live and work for more than 120 years. We believe our community involvement enables us to actively live our values. Through grant making, volunteerism and employee and financial advisor gift matching programs, we support a diverse group of over 6,000 nonprofits across the country.

Focus Areas

Awarding grant dollars to nonprofits is one way we strengthen our communities and help individuals on a path to financial independence. To ensure we're meeting the needs of our communities and making an even greater collective impact, we focus on three key giving areas when awarding grants.

Volunteer engagement is a priority across all focus areas:

The engagement of Ameriprise employees and financial advisors is a critical component of our philanthropy. Whether it’s serving on a nonprofit board, engaging friends, clients and community members in volunteering or providing skills-based support, our relationships with nonprofits go deep. For this reason, we give priority across all focus areas to applications where there is active volunteer engagement of Ameriprise advisors and employees. 

Meeting Basic Needs

At Ameriprise Financial, we help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind. That’s satisfying, meaningful work. We also help the people in our neighborhoods who struggle to meet basic needs such as where their next meal comes from, where they’ll sleep tonight or how they’ll find a higher wage job. We’re here to help them through the three platforms of our Meeting Basic Needs focus area.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Hunger
• Food banks, food shelves and food pantries, daily meal programs or meal services for the homebound
• Hunger-relief programs targeted to meet the special needs of children, ethnic populations or veterans
• Food programs run by nonprofits where hunger is not their sole focus, for example a youth meal program at the YWCA or a backpack program run by a Boys & Girls Club
• Shelter
• Emergency shelter, including youth homelessness
• Transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Housing-first models (programs quickly providing housing and then addressing needed services)
• Achieving and maintaining home ownership, repair and maintenance efforts helping keep seniors, veterans and other populations in their homes 
• Adult Self-Sufficiency: Programs serving adults age 21 and older that help address the following areas:
• Basic hard and soft skills that help adults achieve economic and family stability
• Basic financial and budgeting skills
• Increase employability and wages, including work readiness and job transitions
• Employment of disabled adults

Supporting Community Vitality

We believe communities should be strong, healthy and resilient. We want livable places for all, where neighbors look out for one another, cultural events are well-attended and people pull together in times of crisis and joy. We work to create economic vitality and cultural enrichment through the following areas of focus.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Community Development
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Economic development
• Strengthening and supporting small businesses and nonprofits through technical expertise
• Cultural Enrichment
• Arts education
• Access for underserved populations
• Diverse artists and performances that spark topical community conversations 

Volunteer Driven Causes: Ameriprise employees and financial advisors are outstanding volunteers who serve in teams and also as individuals bringing personal skill-sets to nonprofits. Volunteering is part of the culture at Ameriprise and we are proud to support communities through contributions of both service and financial resources. 

Funding for Volunteer-Driven Causes is determined by current Ameriprise volunteerism. In general, funding is in proportion to the size of the Ameriprise volunteer team supporting a nonprofit. A team may include employees, financial advisors and/or staff or a combination of any Ameriprise volunteers. 

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

About

Established in 1919 by the California State Legislature and signed into law by Governor William Stephens, the Department of Food and Agriculture is responsible for ensuring the state's food safety, the protection of the state's agriculture from invasive species, and promoting the California agricultural industry.

 CA Farm to School Incubator Grant Program

The California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program will award competitive grants to support projects that cultivate equity, nurture students, build climate resilience, and create scalable and sustainable change.

Funding Priorities

 The California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program will award additional points during the grant review process for projects that:

• Engage students from underserved communities
• Serve schools located among priority populations that are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change
• Include small to midsize California food producers
• Include veteran California food producers, socially disadvantaged California food producers, and/or limited-resource farm households in California.
• Include California food producers who utilize climate smart agriculture practices, climate smart agriculture production systems like certified organic or transitioning to certified organic, or other regenerative strategies that increase resilience to climate change, improve the health of communities and soil, protect water and air quality, increase biodiversity, and help store carbon in the soil.

To support a systems approach to advancing farm to school throughout the state, the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program offers four funding tracks.

• Track 1: The California Farm to School K-12 Procurement and Education Grant
• Track 2: The California Farm to School Partnership Grant
• Track 3: The California Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE) Grant
• Track 4: The California Farm to School Producer Grant

Program OverviewCDFA's Farm to Community Food Hubs Program has up to $13.75 million available to award in competitive grants for organizations developing and expanding community food hubs in California. Up to ten percent of the funding will be set aside for California Native American Tribes and Tribal-led nonprofit organizations.This new grant program was established to pilot investments in (1) planning activities and (2) food aggregation and distribution infrastructure and operational costs needed for community food hubs to increase purchasing of local, environmentally sustainable, climate smart, and equitably produced food by schools and other institutions. These investments aim to build a better food system economy, support the local farming and indigenous food production economies, accelerate climate adaptation and resilience, and employ food system workers with fair wages and working conditions. 

Purpose

The purpose of the Farm to Community Food Hubs Program aligns with California Food and Agricultural Code (Sections 590-593). The Farm to Community Food Hubs Program aims to incentivize the creation and permanency of public-serving aggregation and distribution enterprises (i.e., community food hubs – read definition below) by investing in planning activities and piloting investments in the capital aggregation and distribution infrastructure needed to:

• Increase purchasing of local, environmentally sustainable, climate-smart, and equitably produced food by schools and other institutions
• Build a better food system economy
• Support the local farming and Indigenous food production economies
• Accelerate climate adaptation and resilience and
• Employ food system workers with fair wages and working conditions.

Program Priorities

This competitive grant program will fund community food hub projects that:

• Serve California food producers, such as farmers, ranchers, seafood harvesters, and California Native American Tribes, Tribal members, or Native American people using Indigenous food production practices
• Prioritize serving California food producers that represent at least one of the following:
  • Operate on 500 acres or less
  • Are cooperatively owned
  • Are using sustainable, climate smart, or regenerative agriculture practices or production systems;
  • Socially disadvantaged food producer
  • Veteran food producer
  • Beginning food producer
  • Limited resource food producer
  • Disabled food producer
• Prioritize distributing California food to public institutions and nonprofit organizations, with an emphasis on public schools, food banks, and other food distribution nonprofit organizations serving low-income communities in the region.
• Cultivate financial sustainability via strategies that help cover long-term costs 

Biologically Integrated Farming Systems Program

The goal of the revitalized Biologically Integrated Farming Systems grant program is to provide outreach of innovative, biologically integrated plant-based farming systems that reduce chemical pesticide inputs. CDFA is responsible for supporting agricultural production in California by fostering innovative, efficient and scientifically sound practices. Projects from this program should demonstrate IPM-based alternative pest management options that focus on economical and efficacious biological and cultural pest management techniques that allow growers to maintain yields and quality.

Project Priorities

The focus of this RFP is to help growers transition away from non-selective, biologically disruptive pesticides, especially those of high regulatory concern. The BIFS program supports the demonstration, refinement, and outreach of SPM-based farming systems that are economically viable and protective of human health and the environment. All aspects of the farming system may be considered as they relate to pest management, including factors such as adjacent landscapes, whether they are farmed or not. 

For the current solicitation, CDFA is prioritizing projects focusing on the following topic:

• Dacthal (dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, DCPA) alternatives in Brassica and onion crops
• Neonicotinoid alternatives in tomato
• Lygus management in cotton
• Fumigant alternatives

Projects will typically include all the following elements: 

• On-farm demonstration/evaluation of an innovative, biologically based farming system that employs SPM strategies;
• A collaborative outreach effort for sharing technical information about the farming system with growers, PCAs, commodity groups, and others engaged in pest management, and;
• An organized program for monitoring key biological and economic variables to inform on-farm decision making and evaluate project success.

Funding

CDFA will select proposals based on the criteria presented below in the Evaluation Criteria section. Total funding available is $1 million, and the maximum project budget is $1 million. CDFA expects to fund one project.

Background

Thornton ("Tawny") S. Glide, Jr. and his wife, Katrina ("Scatter") Dangberg Glide, were long-time residents of the T.S. Glide Ranch in Yolo County, California. They owned and operated farms and ranches in and about Northern California. Their interests were horses and other animals, farming, preserving open spaces, and civic endeavors. 

Upon their respective deaths in July 1995, they established the Thornton S. Glide, Jr. and Katrina D. Glide Foundation, a perpetual California charitable trust. Its purpose is to provide benefits for qualified organizations committed to animal protection organizations, other land and wildlife conservancy groups, agricultural purposes, preservation of land in its natural state, and opera, symphony, and other similar civic organizations.