GARDEN FUTURES GRANTS

In early 2021 The Garden Conservancy launched a new initiative—since named the Garden Futures Grant Program through which we award grants typically ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to small public gardens and organizations nationwide that are making a significant impact in their communities through garden-based programming. The grant program began as a response to the many inquiries for aid we received from small public gardens as a result of the financial hardship of COVID-19.

We are committed to turning this grant initiative into a permanent program, and in 2022, The Garden Conservancy worked to develop a formal grant application and review process. The Conservancy researched best practices and created an equitable online application process that would be as simple and efficient as possible for applicants.

Another piece of the new grant application process was the creation of a national advisory committee to assist with reviewing applicants: a group of respected individuals within the world of gardening who would bring varied and diverse perspectives and experiences to the conversation.

In considering grant applications, the committee took into account factors such as community impact, diversity of populations served, geographic region, and attention to sustainable gardening practices. The Garden Conservancy’s grant program is unique in that we are committed to awarding grants for general operating support, with as few “strings attached” as possible for grant recipients.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, in 2022, the Garden Futures Grants program awarded $155,000 to 19 organizations across the country.

We have already started to witness the impact of our grants beyond just the donation amount. One of the 2022 grant recipients was GreenSpacesLA, a newly founded nonprofit in Los Angeles, CA that partners with underserved urban neighborhoods to create and maintain community gardens. The organization’s co-founder Stacy Twilley recently shared with the Conservancy:

Conservancy grant, we were awarded an additional grant from our LA County Supervisor to create a second Unity garden in Watts, which we are starting in December 2022.”