2026 Growing the Future Intergenerational Garden Grant
The 2026 Growing the Future Intergenerational Garden Grant, brought to you by Miracle-Gro and KidsGardening, is designed to support gardens that intentionally bring children and older adults together through shared gardening experiences. In 2026, 75 programs will receive a grant valued at $750.
2026 Growing the Future Intergenerational Garden Grant
In celebration of Miracle-Gro’s 75th anniversary, Miracle-Gro and KidsGardening are partnering to fund 75 intergenerational youth garden grants in 2026.
Intergenerational gardens provide opportunities for older gardeners to pass along traditions, knowledge, and skills to the next generation or share the experience of developing skills if new to gardening. In turn, young people bring their curiosity, wonder, and contagious enthusiasm for learning and life, exciting everyone involved in the growing process.
The 2026 Growing the Future Intergenerational Garden Grant is designed to support gardens that intentionally bring children and older adults together through shared gardening experiences.
In 2026, 75 programs will receive a grant valued at $750.
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Eligibility
Any nonprofit organization, school district, university, government entity, or tax-exempt organization, such as religious organizations and Tribal governments, in the United States and U.S. Territories serving at least 15 youth and seniors is eligible to apply. Applicants must be planning to use the funds to install new or improve existing gardens.
Organizations must:
- Provide proof of tax-exempt status or partner with a fiscal sponsor that has achieved this status.
- Support, work with, or serve under-resourced communities
(those most impacted by systemic inequities and situational hardships.) - Have fifteen or more youth and seniors participate in the garden program.
Funding Priorities
The selection of winners is prioritized based on demonstrated need and program impact. KidsGardening considers a variety of factors when determining needs, including:
Socioeconomic & Sociodemographic Factors: How does the program exist within or engage a community that has been systematically denied resources, whether physical assets and money or representative leadership and community services? Organizations affected by multiple socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors are given priority.
Program Funding and Support: Does an organization have access to consistent, substantial monetary support or prior grant funding? Or are pre-existing resources (financial or otherwise) limited? Organizations experiencing the latter are given priority.
Impact: Will grant funding dramatically expand learning opportunities for program participants? Does the intended impact reflect the needs of the community? Organizations working with more than 50 youth will be given priority.
Award Packages
In 2026, 75 programs will receive a grant valued at $750.
Grantees will receive:
- A $500 cash award check
- A $250 coupon to purchase essential gardening supplies from ScottsMiracleGro.com
How to apply
The deadline for application submission is Friday, May 15, 2026, at 11:59 pm PT.
You can download a copy of the questions below.
2026 Growing the Future Intergenerational Garden Grant (Word doc)
2026 Growing the Future Intergenerational Garden Grant (pdf)
Solicitud de subvencion Growing the Future Intergenerational Garden 2026 (Documento de Word)
Solicitud de subvencion Growing the Future Intergenerational Garden 2026 (Archivo pdf)
We strongly advise answering and saving the questions in a Word document and then pasting the answers into the online application rather than composing your answers directly into the online form. Many browsers timeout after 30 minutes of inactivity (or sometimes sooner), 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
Grantees will be announced and contacted by email in July. A list of grantees will also be posted on KidsGardening.org. Checks and product coupons will be distributed in late July.
Grant Recipient Requirements
Grant awardees are required to provide a quick update by September 15, 2026, and then complete a grant-end report by December 15, 2026. These reports help KidsGardening and the Miracle-Gro determine the overall impact of the grant program.
September Update:
Grantees will be provided with a link in August 2026 to the update online form. Deadline: September 15, 2026.
Update requirements include:
- One testimonial or quote about the impact of the grant
- One short video (30–60 seconds) or two high-resolution photos showing seniors and youth gardening together
- Parental release forms to accompany images of children
December Grant-End Report:
Grantees will be provided with a link in November 2026 to the 10-question online form. Deadline: December 15, 2026.
Grant-end reporting requirements include:
- A short narrative about the impact of the garden program
- Three to five photos or videos of the garden or garden programming
- Parental release forms to accompany images of children
If you do not feel that you will be able to comply with these reporting requirements, please do not apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a quality application?
Grants will fund youth-centered gardens with an intergenerational element, such as, but not limited to:
- Schools partnering with senior centers or senior volunteers
- Early childhood programs engaging grandparents or community elders
- Community gardens pairing youth beds with senior-tended beds
- A senior center-tended bed that invites a child-care center to partner for the summer
We also encourage you to explore our Grant Application Support page for advice on how to craft a standout grant application.
What are my chances of receiving a grant?
This is a competitive funding opportunity, and we anticipate receiving more than 200 applications.
Are we required to provide documentation of our tax-exempt status?
Yes. You must upload verification documents of your nonprofit status during the application process.
- 501(c)(3) organizations - Submit your IRS Determination Letter. EIN letters and W-9s are not accepted.
- Schools - Submit a letter on school district letterhead, signed by a school district official, stating that the school in question falls under the school district's jurisdiction. W-9s are not accepted.
- For other tax-exempt organizations, such as universities and religious organizations - Provide a letter on official letterhead stating that you are designated as an automatically tax-exempt organization and thus exempt from needing a 501(c)(3) documentation to claim nonprofit status with the US government. You may also submit an IRS Determination Letter. W-9s are not accepted.
- Fiscal Sponsorship - Submit your sponsor's IRS Determination Letter and a signed contract detailing the fiscal sponsorship relationship between your organizations. EIN letters and W-9s are not accepted.
My program has previously been awarded a grant from KidsGardening, am I eligible to apply for and receive a 2026 Growing the Future Intergenerational Garden Grant?
Yes, organizations that have previously been awarded other grants from KidsGardening are welcome to apply and are eligible to be selected.
What do you mean by youth and seniors as the program participants?
Youth: Ages 0 - 18 years old
Seniors: Ages 55+ years old
What can we use the $500 in funding on?
You may spend the grant funds on gardening materials such as raised bed materials, soil, plants, seeds, compost materials, tools, fencing, greenhouse or hydro/aquaponic materials, curriculum, watering supplies, observation tools, garden decor, cooking supplies, garden field trip expenses, and programming. This is not an exhaustive list but merely an example of how the funds can be used.
A maximum of 50% of the budget can be used to cover salaries or stipends.
What can we purchase with the $250 product coupon?
Grantees use their $250 product coupon for essential gardening supplies such as potting mixes, garden soils, and liquid or granular plant food available on ScottsMiracle-Gro.com.
How do I know if I've successfully submitted my application?
You will receive a confirmation email from JotForm following the submission of your application. Occasionally, these emails end up flagged as Spam, so we recommend checking your Spam box.
What if I have started my application but have not finished it? Will it be reviewed?
No, applications that are started but not submitted will not be considered for the award.
What if I submit more than one application for the same organization?
The last application submitted will be evaluated.
What if I need to update my submitted application?
To edit your submission, click the “Edit Submission” link at the top of the confirmation email sent from [email protected]. If you can not find the confirmation email, please complete a new application. We will only review the last application submitted by an organization.
How do you select grantees?
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 the grant program sponsor, who reviews the application materials and confirms the grantee selections.
I didn’t receive an email in July. Does this mean my program hasn’t been awarded a grant?
We send a notification email about the winner selection to the primary contact listed on your application. Emails are sent to both the grantees 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 primary contact’s Spam box. If you have unsubscribed from our newsletter list, there may be a delay in receiving grant communication. We encourage you to check your Spam box if you do not receive a notification email on the announcement day or to visit the KidsGardening website to view a list of 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 Grant Program Director Sarah Lane at [email protected].
About the Grant Sponsor
Intergenerational Garden Grant
In 2026, 75 programs will receive a grant valued at $750.
Apply by Friday, May 15, 2026.
Grant Application Support
Grant writing tips and how to navigate our online grant application platform.
More Grant Opportunities
Additional grant opportunities from other organizations
Grant Winners
Meet our amazing grant winners, listed by award
