Weaning from Grant Dependency
This is important to consider from both the FCC perspective and individual clubs.
With modern communication technologies and the ease of producing print and video materials nowadays, FCC could remain lean in perpetuity and still support an annual cadre of new clubs. There are a couple of ways we can do this. Firstly, our focus will be on peer-networks instead of top-down instruction, for example by having our second and third year grantees mentor new colleagues. Secondly, we expect farmers will know how to farm. What we need to offer is guidance on how they teach novices how to do so, all while forming a new club with procedural templates and guidance on culture formation. Our curricula would teach farmers how to become coaches. Coaching is a profession that recognizes the existing developmental state of a client (cognitive, physical, emotional) and adapts instruction accordingly. There are also generalized research-based guidelines for how to teach someone new skills. A farmer-coach’s job is not to farm for others, but to put new farmers into play on their fields in ways that foster success. This kind of curriculum is not offered anywhere else, and if there are a hundred farming clubs running by 2030 that can pay professional farmers, then we could charge for our services and certify new farming club professionals.
Someone who joins a farming club and sticks with it for three years will be an effective team member, perhaps with a particular skill set that others come to admire (such as weeding carrots, finding pests, facilitation, or sharpening tools). While the grant helped with start-up costs, we would want farmers to be transparent about the real costs to run the club and prepare club members for eventually taking care of these themselves. Once you know how to grow your own food we expect it will become obvious that it is cheaper financially to do so than it would be to buy it in the grocery store. Confluence Farming Club members work about 90 hours a year to cover nearly all of their produce needs, for example. For the cost of a gym membership, a family could instead support a farmer-coach and grow their own food.
GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS
- Sign up to be alerted to new grant cycles below
- In the interim, work to build your club membership naturally and leverage regional grants and private funders
- consider creative ways to start small now working with area service clubs, food banks, schools, churches, and local government
- send in your video testimonials on how its going so we can help inspire others to take action
- Consider creative fundraising strategies such as launching a giving circle to help your farming club launch and help others in your region do the same.
- if you lock in a major donor to launch your farm, encourage them to consider funding our upcoming grant cycle to expand the nation-wide Farming Club Coalition
Fiscal Sponsorship
Instead of forming an independent 501c3, the FCC is in discussion with an aligned organization to be fiscally sponsored. This will allow Jason Bradford and Craig Litwin to be focused on the development of curricula and network building, and give funders the confidence of an experienced team handling accounts.