The FruitGuys Community Fund in the US

Deadline: 30-Jan-23

Applications are now open for the FruitGuys Community Fund.

• Projects are scored on their impact to help farms operate more sustainably as well as strengthen community, including but not limited to:
  • Water Conservation (for example, drip irrigation & rainwater catchment)
  • Natural Pest Control (for example, owl or bat boxes)
  • Pollination (for example, beehives & pollinator hedgerows)
  • Soil Health (for example, cover crops & minimizing tillage)
  • Energy Efficiency (for example, renewable energy options like solar, geothermal & wind)
  • Heirlooms (for example, not using GMO seed, saving heirloom seeds, using heritage varieties)
  • Increase Low-Income Consumers’ Access to food (for example, expanding free or low-cost CSA shares)
  • Equity, Community Building & Education (for example, sustainability education for new farmers, students, refugees, etc.)
  • Support beginning and under-represented farmers including BIPOC and women

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicant is an owner/operator of the farm or has long-term, legal access to the land. If farming on leased land, a letter of support from the landowner specifying length of the lease agreement must be provided with the grant application.
• Agricultural nonprofits are also encouraged to apply.
• The applicant farm must be an established working farm with at least 1 year of experience that is looking to improve operations.
• They welcome farms to re-apply for the same project or a different one if you have not been funded in an earlier grant cycle.
• Farm is small to medium-sized as determined by acreage in agricultural production. Farms with more than 300 acres in agricultural production are ineligible to apply.

What they Will Not Fund

• Non soil-based farming operations (i.e. hydroponic/aquaponic growing systems)
• Land purchases
• Costs associated with labor (your project budget should only include materials and supplies)
• Projects that require a percentage of the award be used for consultants or administration
• Requests that are dependent upon receiving funding from a separate, larger grant
• General marketing costs
• They’re not currently considering applications from farms that have already received a FGCF grant.

For more information, visit FruitGuys Community Fund.