Purpose

Emerson Collective is a social impact organization that works to advance society’s most calcified systems. Founded by Laurene Powell Jobs in 2011, our work is centered on education, immigration, health, and the environment, with justice as our goal. We believe that dynamic, new approaches are needed in order to address the most critical global problems. To meet these evolving needs, we employ a range of tools and tactics – from philanthropy and venture capital, to policy and advocacy – to create and protect equitable opportunities for all people.

This April, we are excited to launch a special initiative focused on community and school gardens. The goal of this initiative is to support the creation, improvement, or expansion of hundreds of community gardens and school gardens in the U.S., driven by our belief in and appreciation for the importance of nature for healthy individuals and the wellbeing of communities.

We invite proposals from 501c3 nonprofit organizations and schools ready to build, improve, or expand community or school gardens across the U.S. Selected organizations will receive a two-year grant, providing funding of up to $10,000 in the first year and $5,000 in the second year, to transform or renovate spaces into gardens for the shared benefit of the community or school.

To Apply

If interested, we invite you to apply by completing this brief application by April 30th, 2022.

In an effort to make this opportunity light-touch, this application asks for a narrative describing your project that is no more than two pages in length, plus a 1-page budget.

Grant recipients will be notified of any award via email by May 30th.

Questions can be directed to GardenOpportunity@emersoncollective.com.

Considerations

If you’re considering whether a garden is right for your community, we recommend that you reflect on our considerations for building a garden.