Ocean Hour Farm

Grant Giving

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Are you looking to transition to regenerative land management practices or have a project that could benefit our food-and-fiber shed?

 

Read on to learn more about Ocean Hour Farm’s grant giving program.

 

The pressure to transition to regenerative land management has left conventional farmers and other land stewards with a lot of unanswered questions about the economic, social, and environmental impacts of the proposed practices. Without a full understanding of what to expect and a lack of systems to support this approach to earth care, many are hesitant or unable to take the risk.

 

Ocean Hour Farm’s grant program funds efforts to fill these knowledge and infrastructure gaps to accelerate and support an inclusive transition to regenerative land management in our local food-and-fiber shed.

 

Ocean Hour Farm will accept applications from November 1, 2024, to January 31, 2025. Application review begins in February 2025.

Funding Priorities

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT & TRANSITION MENTORING

Accessible and varied training opportunities are needed to support farmers and other land stewards in implementing and adapting regenerative land management practices. We are therefore interested in supporting initiatives including, but not limited to, workforce development programs, advising support, skill-specific training and other opportunities that empower farmers, land stewards, and workers in the agriculture and landscape industry to apply regenerative practices centered in Traditional Ecological Knowledge and whole systems thinking.

REDESIGNING FOOD & FIBER SYSTEMS

The current system that farmers and other land stewards are operating within was designed with an extractive lens and, in turn, favors industrial-scale agriculture and an input-heavy approach to earth care. Therefore, we prioritize the design and creation of appropriate infrastructure and tools to accelerate the establishment of viable regenerative food and fiber systems. Projects may address challenges in processing facilities, supply chain, season extension, cooperative economic models and more.

REDISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES

As our food and fiber systems are redesigned, they must work well for all communities of people, not just a select few. One area where inequality is most pervasive is land access. Supporting BIPOC communities in reclaiming agricultural resources and building capital (in all its forms) is a key component of an inclusive transition. Funded projects may address land access, representation in agricultural careers, traditional ways of knowing and more.

DATA COLLECTION

While the link between land management practices and their impacts on the environment, communities and the economy has been studied for decades, most of this data is not easily accessible, lacks contextual information and is not standardized for cross-referencing and analysis. Filling these gaps will be essential to promote effective, site-specific decision-making around land management practices that will ultimately accelerate the transition to regenerative and resilient societies. We are interested in supporting data collection to help evaluate the economic, social, and environmental impacts and feasibility of regenerative land management.

The ideal grant project would include some aspect of all four of these priorities. We encourage applicants to look at the challenge with a whole systems approach.

Eligibility

 

  • Projects should offer a direct benefit to (but are not required to be located in) our food-and-fiber shed, roughly a 100-mile radius from Newport, Rhode Island.
  • Applicants may have nonprofit status or be a for-profit or individual pursuing a project that offers a social benefit.
  • Filling data, programmatic or systems gaps in regenerative land management.
  • Thoughtfully designed and have taken into consideration the social, economic and environmental impacts.
  • Grounded in either Traditional Ecological Knowledge and/or Western Science.
  • Collaborative, with at least one other entity having meaningful involvement or direct participation by multiple community members.
  • Beneficial to existing community infrastructure.
  • Any data collected is open source, meaning there is a planned avenue for making the information publicly available. 
  • Our grant funding must be tied to a specific project with measurable outcomes. We currently do not offer general funding or endowment funding.

 

Unsure if your project fits into our strategic priorities? We encourage you to contact grants@oceanhourfarm.org to ask questions before submitting your application. 

 

Estimated 100 mile radius from Newport, Rhode Island

For reference, this region is:

Climate: Temperate Oceanic

Plant Hardiness Zone: 6 & 7

Precipitation: Annual rainfall around 54 inches per year

Sunlight: Approximately 15 hours during the summer solstice; 9 hours during the winter solstice

Chill Hours: ~2000

Grant Awards

Typical grant awards range from $10,000 – $75,000, with an average grant size of $25,000. 

Grant Model

Ocean Hour Farm will utilize a Grants Advisory Committee as part of its grant review process. The group comprises of community leaders who are directly engaged in our food-and-fiber shed and can offer valuable perspectives on proposed projects. Members could include farmers, fisherfolk, food policy advocates, community-based organization leaders, composters and beyond.