Garden Grants for Nonprofits

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.

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 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.

The United States Botanic Garden and the American Public Gardens Association are partnering to support public gardens and their partners in facilitating collaborative urban agriculture, community gardening, and other food-growing programs. For 2021, the Urban Agriculture Resilience Program seeks to promote public garden participation in community collaborations that address food security challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and that combine food growing and education. Additionally, awarded programs will share lessons learned through their programmatic collaboration.

Is your garden or organization already involved or interested in:

• An urban agriculture collaboration between a public garden and a partner organization(s)? Partners may include nonprofit organizations, local government entities (e.g., parks and recreation departments, housing authorities), small businesses, other public gardens, educational institutions, or other qualified organizations.
• Combining urban food growing and educational programming?
• Facilitating public engagement in urban food growing?
• Addressing community food security challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic?
• Building capacity in urban agriculture within and beyond the public gardens community?

If so, please consider applying for an Urban Agriculture Resilience Program award.

Funding

Award amounts range between $10,000 and $20,000.

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.)