Grant Application and Guidelines
2011 Application Deadline is May 11, 2011
Nourishing North Carolina (NNC) is a partnership between Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and the NC Recreation & Park Association to establish or enhance community gardens in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties by the end of 2013. The North Carolina Community Garden Partners have joined us in the venture to increase access to and consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables to North Carolina’s citizens. Funds will be awarded in each county to implement the project.
General Information/Guidelines:
· Nourishing North Carolina (NNC) will be funding community gardens in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties throughout 2011, 2012 and 2013 with an average of 33 each year.
· Funding up to $3000 is available per county. The funding may be awarded to one garden or may be divided among several gardens based on applications received. A collaborative application to fund more than one garden per county will be given priority over competitive applications within a county.
· Grants will be awarded over the next three years. The first deadline for submitting an application is May 11, 2011. Additional applications will be accepted in 2012 and 2013.
· NNC is looking to fund gardens that have strong collaboration between parks & recreation and the community. Priority will be given to applications where parks & recreation, the health department and cooperative extension are involved. Where this isn’t feasible applications showing other strong support will be considered.
· Priority will be given to gardens that will be sited on parks & recreation property, but where that is not feasible, gardens sited on other public lands will be considered.
· Funding may be requested to establish a new garden or enhance an existing garden.
· Funding may not be used for land acquisition.
· Funding may be used for purchasing supplies, materials, plants, planting material, fencing, etc.
· Produce from NNC funded gardens cannot be sold.
· Gardens located in food deserts or areas that will be providing fresh produce to underserved/at-risk-populations will be given higher consideration. A food desert is any area where healthy, affordable food is difficult to obtain. It is prevalent in rural as well as urban areas and is most prevalent in low-socioeconomic minority communities, and is associated with a variety of diet-related health problems.
Scope:
This is a three year project and participating organizations are expected to report and provide updates on their garden over the duration of the program. NNC grantees that adhere to the reporting schedule will be eligible to receive additional funding for year two and three to assist in the continuation and growth of the garden.
· Gardens initially funded in 2011 are eligible to receive an additional $750 in 2012 & 2013 for a total of $4500 pending success of the garden and reporting of required information. This additional funding will be provided annually. Three years of reporting required.
· Gardens initially funded in 2012 are eligible to receive an additional $750 in 2013 for a total of $3750 pending success of the garden and reporting of required information. This additional funding will be provided annually. Two years of reporting required.
· Gardens initially funded in 2013 will receive the $3000 grant with no additional funding. One year of reporting required.
Requirements
· NNC gardens are required to designate a garden manager as the point of contact and who is responsible for all reporting plus management of the garden team. (The American Gardening Association recommends strongly that any new garden have at least 10 participating members, assuring that, despite attrition, the garden will have adequate support to be well maintained.)
· Participating NNC gardens must have a committed garden team with at least ten team members from sponsoring organizations and community representatives.
· The garden manager is expected to share information about and from Nourishing North Carolina with those that participate in the local garden.
· Applicants must have a written plan with timeline on the steps the team will take to implement their garden project.
· At least 10% of produce must be donated to local food pantries, homeless shelters or food rescue organizations.
· NNC gardens will be provided signage, designating the garden as part of the Nourishing NC network, which is to be erected in the garden area.
· NNC gardens will be expected to register with the NC Community Garden Partners (no charge).
· NNC gardens will be expected to share success stories, photos, etc. that can be used in promotional materials to spotlight the success of their garden.
· NNC gardens are encouraged to plan celebrations and educational outreach events – i.e., the first harvest, the largest tomato, cooking and preserving classes, growing workshops, donations to social support organizations (such as homeless shelter/food pantries, etc.)
· The garden manager is expected to provide NCRPA with 2 weeks notice of such planned events.
Reporting:
NNC grantees will be required to report online regularly about:
· The harvests from their garden.
· The number of individuals that are consuming produce from the garden.
· The number of individuals/work hours spent in the garden.
· The amount of harvest shared with food pantries, homeless shelters, food recovery organizations, etc.
· Success stories and special events affiliated with their garden.
Questions about the Nourishing North Carolina project should be directed to:
Michelle Wells
Program Director
NC Recreation & Park Association
883 Washington St, Raleigh, NC 27605
919-832-5868
This program is a partnership between
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and
the North Carolina Recreation & Park Association
In cooperation with the NC Community Garden Partners
Nourishing North Carolina Application
This application should be submitted to Michelle Wells at the NC Recreation & Park Association by 5pm on May 11, 2011. Please type your information in the form below, save the file to your system, and send as an email attachment to . You will receive confirmation of your application being received. Note: There are 2 additional attachments noted below that are required for your application to be considered complete.
Location/Agency
County: Craven
Park & Recreation Agency Name: New Bern Parks and Recreation
Director’s Name: Thurman C. Hardison
Garden Manager who is responsible for reporting to Nourishing NC
Name: Thurman C. Hardison
Agency (if applicable): New Bern Parks and Recreation
Phone (include area code): 252-639-2900
Email:
Garden Information:
Name of Park where Nourishing NC Garden will be:
Street Address of Park:
City: State: Zip:
If your garden will not be located on park property, please give name/location of requested site and a brief description of why it is not being located on park property: Cypress St. Gardens; City property(vacant lot); this is an existing garden(four years) that we are partnering with Cooperative Extension and residents of the neighborhood.
Is this a new or existing garden? Existing
If existing, how long has it been a working garden? four
If this is a garden to be revived, how long has the garden been non-working? N/A
Does this garden location have access to water? Yes No
Please tell us about the population this garden will serve. Does this garden target one or more of the potentially underserved/at-risk-populations? A number of the plots are rented; some of the plots are managed and operated as a parks and recreation program for underserved children and their parents who live in the neighborhood.
Funding Needs:
What are the funding needs for this garden? Be specific with how the funding will be used: Funds are needed to fence in the property, which has been subjected to poaching/looting over the years.
Amount of funding requested (max $3000): $3000
Community Partners: List community partners and the role they will play in supporting the NNC garden. (Information will be verified with the contacts listed below)
Cooperative Extension Contact Name: Tom Glascow
Phone: 252-633-1477 Email:
What role will they play? Consulting
Health Department Contact Name: Holly Blake
Phone: 252-636-4920 Email:
What role will they play? Health promotions
Have you made contact with your local Master Gardeners? Yes No
If yes, please list the contact person: Yasmin Santiago
Phone: 252-633-0999 Email:
What role will they play? Consulting
Additional Community Partners:
Agency Name: Religious Community Service
Contact Name: currently vacant
Phone: 252-633-2767 Email:
What role will they play? Potential source of food distribution(they have a community soup kitchen).
Agency Name: Craven County Senior Services
Contact Name:
Phone: 252-638-1790 Email:
What role will they play? Gardening activity for seniors
Agency Name: New Bern Parks and Recreation BEAR After-school Program
Contact Name: Cynthia Smith
Phone: 252-639-2912 Email:
What role will they play? student involvement
Agency Name:
Contact Name:
Phone: Email:
What role will they play?
Agency Name:
Contact Name:
Phone: Email:
What role will they play?
Agency Name:
Contact Name:
Phone: Email:
What role will they play?
(If additional space is needed to list community partners, please check here and list on a separate page.
Submit this additional page as an attachment with your emailed application)
Produce Partner(s): The agency, organization, homeless shelter, food pantry, food rescue organization, etc. that our garden will donate at least 10% of our produce to:
Name of Agency/Group: Religious Community Service
Contact Person:
Address: 919 George Street
City: New Bern State: NC Zip: 28560
Email: Phone:
Name of Agency/Group: Craven County Senior Services
Contact Person:
Address: George Street
City: New Bern State: NC Zip: 28560
Email: Phone: 252-638-1790
Name of Agency/Group:
Contact Person:
Address:
City: State: Zip:
Email: Phone:
Garden Team: Please list at least ten individuals who will have an active role in garden work and who make up the garden team; list their organizational affiliation if applicable and the role they will play.
1. Name: Jack Halweg Organization (if applicable): Parks and Recreation
Their role: provide oversight
2. Name: Brian Bowden Organization (if applicable): Parks and Recreation
Their role: provide oversight
3. Name: Julius Parham Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Garden Manager/Volunteer
4. Name: Audrey Williams Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Lead Gardener/Volunteer
5. Name: Mary Johnson Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Volunteer/Volunteer
6. Name: Jane Horner Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Volunteer
7. Name: Darlene Dunlop Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Lead Gardener/Volunteer
8. Name: Freda Pyron Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Master Gardener/Volunteer
9. Name: Koi Ksor Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Volunteer
10. Name: Thurman C. Hardison Organization (if applicable): Parks and Recreation
Their role: Reporter/Recorder
Narrative: For questions with character limits, MS Word can provide you this information by using the Word Count function
Please provide a brief narrative of your community garden project and needs: Include strategy and evidence that your approach can be effective in achieving the goals of the Nourishing NC project. You can find the goals online at www.ncrpa.net/NourishingNC
Max of 2000 characters including spaces:
Because this is an existing garden, there are already strong indicators of sustainability…community involvement and committment, civic leadership, ample resources, and relatively moderate temperatures. Our strategies are to: enhance the existing, and add an "inclusion and sharing component" this is currently missing.
How do you plan to create a garden that will have a long and vibrant role in the community? Max of 2000 characters including spaces
Our plan is to continue to support the garden's grass root efforts. These intiatives should be "rooted" in community, with local government support(Parks and Recreation) as secondary, not primary. This continues to engage the citizens, and create true ownership and responsibility.
Does your agency have any other community gardens? If yes, tell us about the location of these gardens, the age of the gardens and who is utilizing them.
Yes…..H Street in the Duffyfield Community of New Bern; lot is flood plain mitigated property. This is the first year of the gardens; they are designed to get the community involved in gardening. Duffyfield is a predominately African-American community, with a large portion of its residents socially and economically underserved.
Required Attachments: Send these two attachments with your application.
- In one document, include a visual representation of the garden: plot description, either a drawn site plan or photographs along with measurements and compass orientation (N/S/E/W).
- A written plan with timeline on the steps the team will take to implement their garden project
Fiscal Agent: Please list the name and address of the agency that should receive the funds and will be responsible for paying the bills
Agency Name: New Bern Parks and Recreation Contact: Thurman C. Hardison
Address: P.O. Box 1129
City: New Bern State: NC Zip: 28560
By submitting this application, we agree to adhere to the guidelines and requirements outlined in this application if selected and funded as a Nourishing NC garden. Typing your name below and submitting this application is equivalent to your electronic signature.
Park & Recreation Director: Thurman C. Hardison
Garden Manager: Julius Parham
Nourishing North Carolina (NNC) Grant Application & Guidelines Page 1 of 10
April 2011