At The FruitGuys Community Fund we’re putting the finishing touches on our Barnraiser Project, a crowdfunding site dedicated to sustainable food and farming. This year, we are looking to supplement the grants we award to small, independent, American farms across the country. Every year we receive more requests than we can fulfill. In 2015, we were able to award $35,843 to eight small farms out of 70+ applications. This year, we recieved 110 applications, a 55% increase. There’s such a need to help. That’s why we want to extend our reach. Through our Barnraiser campaign, our goal is to raise an additional $10,000 allowing us to support up to five more farms.
Mark Your Calendar!
Our Barnraiser crowdfunding campaign officially launches on Monday, February 22. Mark your calendar and check back here for all the details. In the meantime, make sure you follow and like us on social media:
To be successful, we need your help. If you’re a fan of sustainable and socially-responsible food production, help us spread the word! Of course, if you’d like to donate before the campaign starts, we’d love that too.
Besides donating dollars, you can also donate your time. We’re a small nonprofit organization and we’d love help building our community. To apply go to our volunteer questionnaire.
Help Us Help More Small Farms
Each of The FruitGuys Community Fund grants have big impacts on small, independent American farms.
In 2014, Bountiful Hope Farms in Monroe, WI, received a $2,750 grant to install a drip irrigation system, hoop houses, and raised beds on a three-acre farm that serves those in need. The nonprofit organization donates 100 percent of their produce to local food pantries and food banks in their community.
“We installed the drip irrigation system throughout the entire garden as well as six raised beds and a hoop house. As expected, the impact of the drip irrigation system has been profound. It allowed us to expand the size of the garden and deliver high-quality produce to our client food pantries throughout the region consistently throughout the growing season. We were able to utilize our labor on weeding and harvesting rather than manual watering efforts. The hoop house and raised beds will allow us to begin donations much earlier than we have previously done. We broke our previous donation record; increasing to 8,900 pounds up from a previous high of 3,200 pounds. This exceeded our wildest expectations and gave us the nudge we need to keep producing at these high levels for years to come.” –- Melissa Burch, Founder and Project Manager
Take a look at all of our alumni grantees and see our grants in action!
We look forward to sharing more information about our Barnraiser Project next week. See you then!
