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Compeer Client Services

General Use Grants Awarded

For Immediate Release


Contact:

Nora Nolden, Communications Consultant

[email protected] or (651) 245-6804

 

 

Compeer Financial Awards $228K in General Use Grants

34 Grants Awarded to Organizations in Compeer Territory

 

Sun Prairie, Wis., (July XX, 2022)  The Fund for Rural America, Compeer Financial’s corporate giving program, has awarded 34 General Use Grants, totaling $228,340. General Use Grants fund initiatives and organizations whose work enriches agriculture and rural America, aligning with Compeer Financial’s mission. 

In total, the 34 grants will directly impact the lives of over 828,000 people, including farmers, youth, high school students and people facing food insecurity. 

Since the program was established in 2018, the Fund has awarded 335 General Use Grants, totaling over $1.9 million.

“The general use grants align with Compeer Financial’s mission of serving the needs of our clients, agriculture and rural America,” said Karen Schieler, senior corporate giving specialist at Compeer. “The applicants found new and innovative ideas through which they will better the future of rural communities with these grants.”

The following 34 organizations in Compeer Financial’s territory receiving support from the General Use Grant Program:

 

Illinois

Advocate Good Shepherd: purchasing a commercial refrigerator for Smart Farm Food Supply Project

American Farmland Trust: hosting farmer-to-farmer workshops highlighting soil health and edge-of-field practices to improve water quality in the Vermilion River Watershed

Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences: professional development for urban high school agriculture teachers to collaborate and develop a shared urban agriculture curriculum aligned with state standards

Elizabeth Community Ambulance Service: technology improvements to provide a hands-on, interactive learning environment to licensed personnel through continuing education

Farm Foundation: Young Agri-Food Leaders Program

Illinois Farmers Market Association: technical assistance for Farmers Market Managers to develop and implement data collection methods

Midwest Food Bank: replacing a broken freezer door in Food Bank warehouse

Nutrients for Life Foundation: Agriculture Careers breakout boxes and workshops

Quincy Children's Museum: outreach experience programming

 

Minnesota

Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio: culturally specific food and fresh produce food distribution program in Austin, Minnesota

Farm Commons, Inc.: Farmer Fellows Cohort - Winter 2022

Farmamerica - MN Ag Interpretive Center: exploring careers in agriculture through hands-on and virtual reality experiences

FM360: expansion and evolution of Farmers Market Metrics in Minnesota

Grace Place Collaborative: commercial freezer and refrigerator for Community Food Share program

Great River Greening: expanding continuous living cover through community education

Land Stewardship Project: Farm Beginnings and Climate Resiliency trainings

MN Farm Bureau Foundation: printing new Agriculture Transportation Handbooks

Second Harvest North Central Food Bank, Inc.: purchasing a pallet wrapper

The Village Agricultural Cooperative: infrastructure for new urban farm

United Way of Freeborn County: Welcome Pantry

Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center: building capacity for a comprehensive apprenticeship and farm incubator program

 

Wisconsin

Baraboo Children’s Museum, Inc.: purchasing a milkable cow exhibit

Boys & Girls Club of Dane County: Walworth County Summer Monthly Meal Distribution Project

CESA 03: Hydroponic Growing System

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin: scissors lift

Foxhead Regenerative Agriculture Project: developing a local Land Conservation Program

GrassWorks Inc: coordinating outreach and implementing regenerative agriculture conservation education

Jackson County Childcare Network: Farm to ECE Mobile Learning Lab

Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance: supporting farmer-led conservation and supply chain collaboration

Operation HELP: farmers market and food harvest vouchers

REAP Food Group: supporting REAP's Farm Fresh Atlas, BIPOC farmers, and educational programs

Rooted WI, Inc: infrastructure and capacity building for specialty crop farmers

Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin: purchasing commercial canopy tents for the Mobile Pantry Program

YMCA of the North – Camp St. Croix: Camp St. Croix Grow and Gather Farm Fence

 

About the Fund for Rural America

The Compeer Financial Fund for Rural America is the corporate giving program of Compeer Financial, structured to support Compeer Financial’s mission to enrich agriculture and rural America. Compeer Financial’s Board of Directors has dedicated one percent of annual net earnings to support the Fund’s focus areas of agricultural advocacy and development, agriculture education, cooperative initiatives, rural development and community enrichment; and youth engagement. The Fund is managed by a Board of Trustees, made up of team members from Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin and members of the Compeer Financial Board of Directors. More information about opportunities available through the Fund can be found at Compeer.com/giving-back.

 

About Compeer Financial

Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural communities. The $27.7 billion organization provides loans, leases, risk management and other financial services throughout 144 counties in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Based in the Upper Midwest, Compeer Financial exists to champion the hopes and dreams of rural America, while providing personalized service and expertise to clients and the agriculture industry.

Compeer Financial is the third largest cooperative of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of lending institutions supporting agriculture and rural communities with reliable, consistent credit and financial services. Learn more about Compeer Financial.

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