Writing a Winning Grant

Author: Sarah Pounders and Barbara Richardson

A common question to the NGA office is, “What makes a Youth Garden Grant application a winner?” Truly, it comes down to planning and/or implementing a good program, one that possesses enthusiastic community support, creatively meets the specific needs of the youth it serves, and is sustainable. The application simply asks that you effectively communicate the many qualities and benefits of the program in concise, descriptive language.

Once you’ve completed the application, ask someone to proofread it for you. We suggest asking a friend or family member who’s not involved with your gardening program to read your application. They can offer a fresh perspective and may be better able to identify an area that needs clarification or elaboration than someone who has helped plan or implement the garden project.

Finally, make sure to send it off by the deadline. The application deadline for the 2006 Youth Garden Grants, sponsored by The Home Depot, is November 30, 2005.
If you don't already have an application, you can download one here. Good Luck!

Here are highlights of a few 2005 Youth Garden Grant winners that are fine examples of organized and inspiring projects.

Harriet Tubman Academic Skills and Enrichment Program (HTASEP)
Poughkeepsie, New York
In 2004, HTASEP incorporated gardening into its after-school and summer program for elementary-school-aged youth with the help of The Green Teen Community Gardening Program offered by the county cooperative extension service. The goal of The Green Teen Program is to use the garden to teach underserved, ‘at-risk’ youth various life skills, with an emphasis on hands-on learning opportunities that educate students and improve their lives. Through dynamic programming, HTASEP addresses specific risk factors among the youth they serve: anti-social behavior; academic failure; lack of commitment and interest in school; and lack of bonding with community. Green Teen Program participants raise expectations for themselves and enhance their academic skills, and gain experience setting goals, resolving conflicts peacefully, and communicating effectively.

The program also addresses nutrition education, combining food preparation with other activities to teach healthy meal and snacking choices. Kids explore such issues as safe food handling, economical and nutritious foods shopping, and how the media may influence their food choices. Students sample their harvest through program activities and also take food home to share with their families.

The garden benefits the community as well, bringing living plants to an area where greenery is sparse, and providing a source of beauty, fresh food, and a place where community members can connect.

Toluca Coal Mine Park Wildflower Project
Toluca, IL
When she was 15, Brittany Dalhbach headed up a 4-H birdhouse-building project as part of the restoration of the Toluca coal mine site, a State Historic Site and interpretive park. While presenting her birdhouse project at the state fair, Brittany saw the First Lady’s Wildflowers for Illinois exhibit, and this lit a fire for her – a prairie fire, if you will. She decided then and there to find a way to bring native prairie wildflowers back to Toluca.

Brittany has spent the two years since organizing volunteers to raise money and provide in-kind support for the project. As a 10-year member of the Bennington Go-Getters 4-H Club, it comes naturally! Her application for a Youth Garden Grant clearly communicated her commitment to the project, her talent for networking, and ability to find support. She spelled out the long-term vision for the project, which includes permanent interpretive signage, and educational lectures and tours provided by the local Master Gardeners. In closing, Brittany says, “Teaching children to enjoy nature and flowers is so important, as your knowledge can never be taken away from you.” There is no doubt that she will succeed in returning the wildflowers of the prairie to Toluca.

The Garden of Eatin’
Novato, CA
In Novato, California, three early childhood programs have teamed up to bring the healthful benefits of gardening to young children and their families. The project is a response to the health crisis American kids are suffering as a result of poor nutrition; the group’s application quotes statistics that indicate epidemic levels of childhood obesity and diabetes. The project seeks to help children and their families make better-informed nutritional choices, embrace their role as caretakers of our natural resources, and excel academically while strengthening their life skills in a hands-on out-of-doors environment. What makes this project different is that the emphasis is on getting the families involved – not just in growing vegetables in the garden, but in fundamentally changing family diets to include more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Since the California State Nutrition Curriculum offers very little for early childhood educators, one of the primary goals of the Garden of Eatin’ project is to develop an integrated garden nutrition curriculum workbook.

The 240 who children attend the three centers can now grow and eat their own fresh fruits and vegetables, learning early in their lives that good food and good health are not only inseparable but achievable as well.