Youth Garden Grant

Since 1982, the Youth Garden Grant has supported school and youth educational garden projects that enhance the quality of life for students and their communities.

Congratulations to the 2022 Youth Garden Grant winners!

Eligibility

Any nonprofit organization, public or private school, or youth program in the United States or US Territories planning a new garden program or expanding an established one that serves at least 15 youth between the ages of 3 and 18 is eligible to apply. Previous Youth Garden Grant winners are not eligible.

We prioritize the following when selecting winners…

The selection of winners is prioritized based on demonstrated need and program impact. KidsGardening considers a variety of factors when determining need, including….

Economic & Demographic Factors: Does the program exist within or engage an under-resourced community? Is program leadership representative of youth participating in the program?
Program Funding and Support: Does a program have limited access to resources and/or consistent monetary support, including recent grant funding?
Impact: Will grant funding expand learning opportunities for program participants? Does the intended impact of the program reflect the needs of the community?

Youth Garden Grant Award Packages

The 2022 Youth Garden Grant is sponsored by KidsGardening’s generous donor base and our Sunshine and Seed Money sponsors.

A total of 50 programs will be awarded Youth Garden Grants in 2022.

40 Winners will receive award packages valued at $1050 that include:

$250 cash prize from KidsGardening
A variety of gardening tools and supplies including:
- Fifty seed kits from American Meadows
- Mushroom growing kit from Back to the Roots
- Vegetable seed variety pack from Botanical Interests
- Tool kit from Corona Tools
- Hose nozzle from Dramm Corporation
- Tubtrug and paper pot press from Gardener’s Supply Company
- Vegetable seed variety pack from High Mowing
- 1 pound bag of fertilizer from JavaCycle
- Big bag bed from SmartPots
- Plant support kit from Thriving Design
- Curriculum package from KidsGardening

5 Corona Tools Specialty Winners

Will receive the above award package plus a $1000 tool package from Corona Tools.

5 Garden Tower Specialty Winners

Will receive the $1050 award package plus an indoor growing kit from Garden Tower valued at $1150. The indoor growing kit will include two Garden Tower 2's, two Premium Caster Kits, four Large Moisture Monitoring Proves, Dr. Earth Premium Organic Plant Food, and a $50 gift card towards purchasing local potting soil.

How to apply

The deadline for application submission is Friday, December 17, 2021 at 11:59pm PST.

All applications must be submitted online. You can download a copy of the questions to view ahead of time as a Word doc or Pdf file . We strongly advise saving the questions into a Word document and then copying and pasting the answers into the application rather than composing your answers directly into the online form. Many browsers are set to timeout after 30 minutes of inactivity (or sometimes sooner) and so you may lose your work if it takes longer than your browser's setting to complete or save your entry.

Award Notification and Fulfilment

Winners will be announced and contacted by email on Friday, January 28, 2022. A list of winners will also be posted on KidsGardening.org on that date. Awards will be distributed in February 2022.

Grant Recipient Requirements

Grant awardees will be required to report on their garden’s progress within six months of receiving the award. These reports help KidsGardening determine the overall impact of the grant program and gather ongoing support for youth gardening.

Reporting requirements include:

5-10 digital images of the school garden, including photos of recipients using the products from the YGG award package
Parental release forms to accompany photos that include images of recognizable children
Completion of an online survey focusing on the impact of the grant and garden programming on participating youth and community members. (We will not request receipts or proof of grant funding spending).

If you do not feel that you will be able to comply with these reporting requirements, please do not apply. Recipients who do not complete these requirements will not be eligible to apply for future awards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are my chances of winning a Youth Garden Grant?

The Youth Garden Grant is our most competitive funding opportunity. We typically receive between 750-850 applications each grant cycle.

My program has previously been awarded a grant from KidsGardening, am I eligible to apply for and receive a Youth Garden Grant?

Previous Youth Garden Grant winners are not eligible. Programs that have previously been awarded other grants from KidsGardening are welcome to apply and are eligible to be selected. That being said, given the high number of applications we receive for our various grant funding opportunities, it is unlikely you will be awarded multiple KidsGardening grants in a single calendar year or in back to back years.

What makes a good Youth Garden Grant application?

The Youth Garden Grant differs from our other grant programs in that winning programs receive a product package in addition to a monetary award. As such, a competitive application will demonstrate a clear need for the product package items. Please be as precise and descriptive as possible when outlining how the assorted gardening supplies and tools would benefit your program.

We also encourage you to explore our Grant Writing Tips resource for general advice about crafting a standout grant application.

I’m having difficulty with LimeSurvey, the grant application platform. What do I do?

Check out our LimeSurvey tutorial which has helpful tips for navigating the application process and troubleshooting common issues.

How do I know if I’ve successfully submitted my application?

You will receive a confirmation email from LimeSurvey following the submission of your application. Occasionally these emails end up flagged as Spam, so we recommend checking your Spam box.

How do you select grant winners?

We have a team of grant readers that evaluates applications and supporting materials over the course of about a month. A single application typically goes through three rounds of evaluation before being selected as a winner. In the initial round, a single reader will review an application, using a standardized scoring rubric, judging it on assorted criteria including but not limited to demonstrated need, program sustainability and impact, and clear fit with grant objectives. High quality applicants are then selected to undergo a second round of evaluations. In this phase of the review process, each member of the grant selection committee reads all second round applications before meeting to engage in group deliberation and finalist selection. These finalists are then recommended to grant program sponsors, who review application materials and confirm winner selections.

I didn’t receive an email on Friday, January 28, 2022, the day of the winner announcement. Does this mean my program hasn’t been awarded a grant?

We send a notification email about Youth Garden Grant selection to the main contact as listed on your application. Emails are sent to both winning programs and those that were not selected for this year’s grant. Because these emails are sent out en masse, this communication is frequently flagged in the main contact’s Spam box. We encourage you to check your Spam box if you do not receive a notification email on the day of the announcement or to visit our website to view a list of the 2022 Youth Garden Grant winners.

Grant Application Technical Support

If you have any questions that were not addressed in the above Frequently Asked Questions section, please contact KidsGardening Senior Education Specialist Sarah Pounders at [email protected].