NEEDING A LITTLE ADVICE ON GRANTS

[Urbanfarmerkc]

I have just started working for the Extension office in my county and learned immediately we are in desperate need for new incubators!!!

Does anyone know a grant program that would provide grant funding for in school programs and/or a sponsor who might be willing to take a project like this on?

We are going to want incubators that self turn and hold at least a dozen eggs. There are also classrooms who will be purchasing their own incubators so there is potential for a lot of exposure!

Thanks for your help/advice.

Dave Wilson

 

[dretd]

This is going to be a tough one and will require plenty of dedication and cold-calling on your part. Some of this depends if you are a 501c3 or just asking for donations. You could start talking to any businesses in your area that would like some visibiity. You will have your best luck with going to ones with an Ag interest like feed stores/mills and other institutions like banks. Real estate agencies may also be interested/willing to help out.

You may have luck also with the Rotary club since you can tie it in to helping youth in some way.

Call up your local paper and see if they will do a piece and say that you are looking for donations. You can organize fundraisers with the kids that will get the incubators. Talking to the PTA/PTO may be a good first step. My kids do fundraising a lot for their schools and one thing that has been successful is a garage sale with folks donating items and the organization getting the proceeds. It will only work if you can get parents and community members on-board to help because it is impossible for one person to tackle.

Be sure to have the kids that will benefit actually put in some time. People appreciate things they have have to work for much more than things that were given to them. Good Luck!

 

[Urbanfarmerkc]

Those are great suggestions. I am already starting to collect local business names for this. There doesn't seem to be a lot of foundations that focus on agriculture any longer. That is really rather sad...

Anyway, thanks for the advice!

Dave