Giving Gardens Fund

We're of the belief that as individuals and collectives - whether teams, organizations, cities, states, nations, networks - there is a critical need for public-goods and the supporting time, treasure, and talent necessary to bring those to fruition. And, frankly, we think, we need to be more intentional about sharing those stories in order to provide models, cross-references, and building blocks for others to do similar work - especially when those models have sustainable funding streams. So, here's a little look behind the scenes of our small effort to give back...

Every season, we set aside 1% of our biz revenues into a "Giving Gardens Fund." We use this to offset the true-costs of giving... free food gardening consultations to low-income schools and community organizations; in-kind donations/deep discounts for our direct engagement & support of community garden projects like the refugee garden at the YMCA's New American Welcome Center we refurbished (above); and, occasionally, free garden installations altogether (like one for an after school art therapy program that serves foster children). Additionally, this past year, we launched the Little Seed Library project in Jacksonville by building and, well, "seeding" several around the community (like the one below at White Harvest Farms), which provide a platform for gardeners to freely give and take seeds.

Our numbers aren't huge, but we're proud of them, nonetheless, because as we grow, our capacity to give back will grow proportionately. In the last few years as of 2022, we've allocated $5000+ to our Giving Garden Fund, which has been leveraged to offer in excess of $7500 in-kind products & services to school and community gardens and to launch the Little Seed Library concept in Duval County.