Volunteer Connection Opportunity

Volunteer Connection Opportunity for Your Youth Garden

With a mission to support youth in housing, health, hunger, and education, RSM and KidsGardening are working together to connect local RSM office teams with youth garden programs across the country.

Does your garden need some volunteer help? Apply to host a group of RSM volunteers!

Examples of event projects include but are not limited to, weeding, planting, building garden beds, moving soil/mulch, general garden maintenance, etc.

Apply by February 28, 2025.

Eligibility

Any tax-exempt organization, such as a school, non-profit, Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, Head Start, child care program, library, etc., located in the following cities is eligible to apply.

Baltimore (MD), Boston (MA), Charlotte (NC), Chicago (IL), Davenport (IA), Des Moines (IA), Duluth (MN), Greensboro (NC) Kansas City (MO/KS), Las Vegas (NV), Los Angeles (CA), Madison (WI), Mason City (IA), Minneapolis (MN), New York (NY), Phoenix (AZ), Richmond (VA), Rockford (IL), San Antonio (TX), San Diego (CA), Seattle (WA), San Jose (CA), Sioux Falls (SD), and Stamford (CT).

Applications are due February 28, 2025.

Award Package

One organization will be selected per city and will receive:

• A $300 award check
• Support from 20-30 volunteers for four hours at a one-day event (June - October)

Selection Priorities

The selection 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 organization 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 funding? Or are pre-existing resources (financial or otherwise) limited? Organizations experiencing the latter are given priority.

Impact: Will funding dramatically expand gardening opportunities for program participants? Does the intended impact reflect the needs of the community? Organizations with previous volunteer management experience will be given priority.

How to Apply

The deadline for application submission is Friday, February 28, 2025, at 11:59 PM PT.
All applications must be submitted online. You can download a copy of the questions as a Word document or PDF file. We strongly advise saving the questions and then pasting the answers into the online application rather than composing your answers directly into the online form. Many browsers time out 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.

Volunteer Connection Opportunity Application Word document 

Volunteer Connection Opportunity Application PDF

Award Notification and Fulfillment

The recipients will be announced and contacted by email in mid-March. Award checks will be mailed in early April.

Recipients Requirements

The recipients will need to be available for planning calls in April and ready to host 20-30 volunteers in June, or later, depending on weather and timing details.

April - Planning Calls: Starting in April, the recipients will work with the local RSM office team to plan an event that can accommodate 40-50 volunteers for up to four hours. An event planning guide will be provided by KidsGardening.

The timing of the event will be determined in the planning process, with a preference for a weekday morning beginning in June through October.

June (or later) - Host volunteers: The RSM team will bring their own gloves and protective equipment, but any necessary garden materials will need to be provided by the recipients.

Examples of event projects include but are not limited to, weeding, planting, building garden beds, moving soil/mulch, general garden maintenance, etc.

Application Technical Support

If you have any questions, please contact KidsGardening Grant Program Director Sarah Lane at [email protected].

About the Garden Build Sponsor

RSM is an accounting firm providing services in tax, assurance, and consulting with a focus on middle-market leaders. With offices across the globe, RSM strives to provide unrivaled experiences to its clients and the communities in which they live and work.

RSM's environmental efforts kicked off in 2021 and have since grown to local engagement in their 90+ offices across the U.S., Canada, India, and El Salvador. With the RSM US Foundation, whose mission is to support youth in the areas of housing, health, hunger, and education, their environmental stewardship efforts continue to expand.