In keeping with AgGeorgia's mission to improve the lives of Georgia's farmers, families and rural communities, a Community Mission Fund was established in 2023. The Fund's purpose is to build strong partnerships and alliances, leveraging the resources within the Fund to promote the farmer, the family and the community. The Fund's two main objectives are to invest in the future of agriculture and to impact the quality of life in rural Georgia while supporting non-profit organizations within the communities in our service area with their endeavors.
The Fund utilizes an application-based grant system with grants being awarded for up to $5,000 per request or organization per year. In 2023, AgGeorgia received an impressive forty-eight applications and awarded $55,000 to twelve local non-profit organizations. The funds were distributed in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The initiative was the recommendation of AgGeorgia CEO Rob Crain who recognized the importance of this segment of rural communities. "The Community Mission Fund provides a springboard for these great organizations to impact their communities in not only the upcoming year, but for years to come," said Crain. "We look forward to seeing the fruits of these investments and funding a new group of deserving non-profit organizations in 2024."
The twelve organizations that were recipients of the 2023 grants were:
- Adairsville High School FFA (Bartow County) - $5,000.00 This organization used their grant funds to purchase equipment, including a livestock trailer, to allow students to raise and show livestock.
- Colquitt Christian Academy (Colquitt County) - Grant funds were used to obtain a storage shed and needed supplies for Ag Education classes and hands-on learning labs.
- Crisp County Young Farmers (Crisp County) - This grant was used to purchase a mobile cattle chute. The chute will aid smaller cattle farmers in Crisp County by enhancing farming efficiency, improving animal welfare, and supporting sustainable agriculture.
- Emmanuel University (Franklin County) - Emmanuel University's Agriculture Department put their funds to use by providing a raised bed demonstration area and training courses for agriculture students, homeowners and commercial growers.
- Lakeview Fort Oglethorpe High School FFA (Catoosa County) - This FFA chapter plans to start a school-based enterprise by building a coop and raising chickens for the community. Grant funds were used to purchase supplies to build and stock the coop, as well as processing supplies.
- North Georgia Equine-n-Motion (Forsyth County) - This organization works with special needs/exceptional children from ages 4-18 that face the challenges of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down's Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and other emotional health disorders. Grant funds continue to support their existing program and assist in developing a small farmer's market for clients to participate in the marketing and retail aspect of selling the fruits of their labor.
- Southeast FFA Chapter (Whitfield County) - Grant funds were originally requested for the building of a multi-purpose livestock facility to expand their organization's animal science program, "Raising the Roof with Animal Science." However, after a devastating fire, grant funding was re-directed towards rebuilding their existing livestock barn.
- STUDIO FARMER, Inc. (Richmond County) - This organization is a veteran co-owned, limited resource farmer operated agribusiness organized for educational, scientific, literary and research purposes. Grant funds were used to assist their educational program for YBSMV (young, beginning, small, minority, veteran) farmers. This group is also instrumental in the local community garden, as well as in a hydroponic garden related to nutrition and cancer treatment research.
- TJ Elder Middle School (Washington County) - Grant funds were used to purchase equipment for a joint project between the school's agriculture and special needs departments. The purpose of this project is to educate students about raising poultry with the added bonus of being able to offer fresh, local eggs to the community.
- The Westfield School (Houston County) - The school used the grant to cover the cost for garden towers, gardening tools, seeds and educational resources for their Garden Tower project.
- Turner Middle School (Turner County) - Grant funds were used to purchase incubators, heat lamps, a protected chicken coop, and supplies for more raised garden beds, potting soil, seeds, and plugs for their agriculture education classes.
- Vienna Fire Department (Dooly County) - This grant was used towards the purchase of an off-road water tank truck that will allow their volunteer firefighters to navigate through crop land, timber tracts, and limited access locations to quickly extinguish fires.
For more information and to apply when the application period re-opens, please visit the AgGeorgia Farm Credit Community Mission Fund page.