Nominating a farmer for a For Farmers grant has a lot of benefits to the farm, the farmer, and the overall community.
In 2023, farmer Gretta Winkelbauer of Short Leg Farm in Pecatonica, Illinois, was nominated twenty-three times by various community members for a For Farmers Movement grant. They knew her for her delicious goat cheese, luxurious goat milk soap, and cute goats. Many had visited her farm. Nominating her was a no-brainer.
Gretta was overwhelmed by the support. She felt validated and seen. Of course, she applied for a grant. How could she not, with such a groundswell of enthusiasm?
The For Farmers grant review team voted unanimously to fund Gretta's application. They voted to support the highest level grant of $1000 to help Gretta install a watering system in her barn to provide consistent fresh water to her herd of dairy goats. Until this point, Gretta had carried water from her house to the barn every day, several times a day, in every season. Imagine what Gretta could do with all that time and energy once water flowed freely.
Gretta estimated that the entire project would cost around $5000. She also shared her plan for filling the gap. For Farmers supported Gretta's project and looked forward to seeing it come to fruition.
Gretta's nominators were overjoyed that their nominee was awarded a top grant. They celebrated this win on social media, but then something extraordinary happened.
They put their heads together, invited everyone they knew, and collected enough donations from the local community to fund the ENTIRE project. One hundred percent.
This is a success story. I want to underscore how vital community is, especially to farmers, throughout this grant process. For farmers, the nomination process is an opportunity to build community and engage the community you already have. For non-farmers, the nomination process is an opportunity to get involved in your community and with your local farms in a way that has a real and lasting impact.
Farmers may apply for a For Farmers grant without a nomination. But I don't recommend it. If you are a farmer and you want to apply for a grant, do it. But don't leave your community out of the conversation.
Here is what I suggest:
Tell your community that they can nominate you for a grant.
Share the nomination opportunity on social media (you can get content from my IG @xoxofarmgirl that is easy to share)
Share the nomination opportunity in a personal email to friends or in your newsletter
If you want to go a step further, you can share the opportunity with a wider group by printing the attached flyer, and posting it on a community bulletin board, at your farmer's market, at your farmstand, etc.
Nominate your farmers. Even if they don't apply for a grant this year, they will feel good that you thought of them. This is part of the mission of the For Farmers Movement and it's so easy for you to take this simple action.
Dana DiPrima is the founder of the For Farmers Movement. For Farmers supports American farmers by sharing their stories, replacing myths with facts, and providing them with grants and other helpful resources. Dana is the host of One Bite is Everything, the podcast that uncovers what you don't know about your food from a lot of fun angles. She authors a weekly letter in addition to this blog. You can subscribe here. And you can join the For Farmers Movement to support your farmers here. You can also follow her on Instagram and Threads.
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