While presenting my “Growing Outdoor Classroom” professional development this fall many participants asked for help in locating grants to help defray the costs. In an upcoming Module called “Funding & Power of Story”, I will share lots of tips and tricks to finding money and resources for your Outdoor Classroom. (Keep in touch by subscribing to my blog by adding your email to my newsletter subscription on the top right column.)
This blog post is a collection of Garden Grant Opportunities to help you get started. Many funders have annual awards with various deadlines, so you will need to click around and mark the calendar for when grants open and when deadlines are approaching. Writing grants is easier than it sounds. The best tip is to read through ALL of the guidelines and make sure to pick grants that match the focus of your outdoor classroom or garden. There are literally thousands of grants out there….and this is just a sampling!
KidsGardening Grant Opportunities
KidsGardening has the most extensive list of different grants that are awarded throughout the year. https://kidsgardening.org/grant-opportunities/
Youth Garden Grant 2020 = deadline is Dec. 17th and it looks pretty easy to apply. Garden grant for any nonprofit organization, public or private school, or youth program in the United States or US Territories planning a new garden program or expanding an established one that serves at least 15 youth between the ages of 3 and 18 is eligible to apply! https://kidsgardening.org/2020-youth-garden-grant/
Head Start Garden Grant Program
Sponsored by Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, this grant program is specifically available to Head Start Programs https://www.nhsa.org/our-work/initiative/gro-more-good-garden-grants
KaBOOM! Playground Grants
KaBoom! offers grants to improve playgrounds https://kaboom.org/grants/build_it_with_kaboom
Seed Money
Seed Money is a national nonprofit based in Maine that provides grants, crowdfunding opportunities, and training to food garden projects around the country and world. Check out their website to see the kinds of projects that have already been funded. https://seedmoney.org/
Shade Structure Grant
“The American Academy of Dermatology offers a “Shade Structure Grant Program” which awards grants of up to $8,000 to public schools and non-profit organizations for installing permanent shade structures for outdoor locations that are not protected from the sun, such as playgrounds, pools, or recreation spaces.” https://www.aad.org/member/career/volunteer/shade
Wild Ones Seeds for Education Grants
If adding native plants to your landscape is your garden focus, research the Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education Fund which awards from $150 to $500 to each selected grant project to purchase native plants and seeds to help establish a hands-on nature education area for youth engagement. https://wildones.org/ (Click on Seeds for Education near top of website)
Annies Grants for Gardens Program Grants are open each year in August, https://www.annies.com/giving-back/grants-for-gardens Or you can download a beginner’s guide to creating a school garden anytime at this link –https://www.annies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Growing-School-Gardens_Annies-Homegrown.pdf
Check out other “April’s Teaching Tree” blog posts related to Gardening and Food Education:
Communicating Food Education & Mealtime to Families
April's Teaching Tree 