11-1SG The Root Center
Grant Round:
2011 February
Grant Program:
Small Grants
Grant Type:
Other Grants
Grant amount requested:
2,500.00
Grant amount awarded:
$0.00
Attachments
Please provide a brief description of the project for which you seek funding.
Dear New England Grassroots, Thank you for considering The Root Center as a possible beneficiary of your impressive and admirable organization. Just knowing an organization like yours exists gives hope to non-profits and individuals throughout the world. Your support of The Root Center would come at a most pivotal time in our fledgling organization's existence. Please allow me to explain who we are and how your grant would be used. The Root Center is a non-profit organization based in Burlington, VT. We are dedicated to meeting the needs of society, in order of immediacy, starting with the basics such as food, shelter, energy and community. Our plan is to create community centers across the state, country and eventually the world, which will produce high-quality, nutrient-rich produce for donation directly to local populations in need, while demonstrating that food production can be done in a clean, energy-efficient manner. In doing so we will enlist the help of hundreds of volunteers, further uniting local communities in supporting those less fortunate. We will create public gardens, allowing individuals to learn how to garden in exchange for their volunteer support. A primary focus of these community centers and public gardens will be the use of clean, efficient energy systems and the reduction of the need for energy to grow food year-round, even in Vermont. We will do this by combining geodesic dome technology with waste-utilization systems, where the waste output from one system is used as the input for another. As an example we plan to create aquaponics systems within geodesic dome greenhouses where the plants regulate the PH levels of the fish tanks and the fish provide nutrients to the plants. The geodesic dome's surface area to volume ratio is such that it can heat itself entirely from passive solar heating even in Vermont winters. We will use LED grow lights in the winter for far greater efficiency and a much lower environmental impact. What little power needed will come from wind, solar, bio-harvesters and other forms of clean energy. With the creation of these “food generators” we will not only be able to provide many tons of fresh, nutrient-rich food to those in need, but will be able to involve local communities in learning about energy efficient architecture, how to grow healthy food, and how clean, environmentally-friendly sources of energy are not only feasible in meeting their needs, but are essential to a sustainable future. The need in Chittenden County for high-quality food is such that over 50% of end-recipients of the local food banks are under the age of 16. Nutrient-rich food is vital for these developing mind and due to the nature of food donations the quality of any food they are receiving is generally poor. In furtherance of our mission of providing food, we grew 2700 pounds of fresh, quality produce for the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf in half a season in 2010 in 7 back yard gardens on 1/10th of an acre and a $500 budget. We are an organization that's been run by volunteers with 7 board members and hundreds of supporters. In November The Root Center partnered with the National Gardening Association to help evolve their Vermont Garden Park headquarters in South Burlington, VT, which will allow us to create showcase vegetable gardens on 1/2 acre of land, involving the community in learning more about gardening and nutrition, and NGA has approved the creation of an aquaponics greenhouse dome at their site. We will donate the expected 25,000 pounds of produce from this site to local food banks and school lunch programs. The creation and maintenance of the outdoor gardens would require approximately $2,500 and is what your grant would be used toward. As a public garden site this would allow us to connect with hundreds of community members and organizations throughout the greater Burlington area and allow us to obtain the support we need to build the community's first public energy-efficient food generator dome. We thank you for considering The Root Center as a possible grant recipient. You are already a part of The Root Center as we believe everyone in the world is, just not everyone knows it yet. Your support would go a long way to helping us reach the rest of everyone. The Root Center was incorporated as a non-profit in the State of Vermont on August 8th, 2009. We are currently 501(c)(3) pending and hope to be approved as early as March, 2011.
Primary Issue Area:
Food
Please break-down/categorize the program expenses:
| Proposed Item | Estimated $ Amount | Would grant funds be used for this item? |
|---|---|---|
| Office Supplies/Mailings | $300.00 | |
| Gardening (Seeds) | $100.00 | Yes |
| Gardening (Tools) | $400.00 | Yes |
| Gardening (Soil prep) | $1,000.00 | Yes |
| Gardening (Greenhouse) | $800.00 | Yes |
| Gardening (Transportation) | $200.00 | Yes |
| Events/Publicity | $300.00 |
Whom does your group need to make this project happen?
Please explain how your group will engage members from your community in this project.
The Root Center will actively seek out volunteers from throughout the community through mailings, social media sites, websites, newsletters, newspaper articles, fundraising events, word of mouth, recruitment of visitors to the Vermont Garden Park, and partnerships with local community service organizations such as AmeriCorps and the Association of Africans Living in Vermont, as well as local businesses that have a community service quota. As we prove successful in gardening the ½ acre we will publish our progress through the community networks described above, thanking the volunteers and encouraging further volunteer support. We will also publish our findings on the impact we are having on the problem of hunger. We further publish material on how we were able to produce healthy, nutritious food at low cost, with gardening tips and step by step instructions for building cost-effective geodesic greenhouses that require no active heating element. In this way we will provide a service to the community while engaging new members of the community on an ongoing basis. Volunteer programs are under constant development to manage the large number of expected volunteers, with specific days of the week when particular gardening or energy-efficiency programs are being offered. The Root Center will have core volunteers on site at all hours of the business day and on weekends to answer questions and manage volunteer work.
If your group receives a NEGEF Grow grant, how do you plan to pay for remaining expenses?
| $ Amount | Source |
|---|---|
| $2,500.00 | NEGEF Grant |
| $1,000.00 | Fundraisers (American Flatbread, etc.) |
Please list these materials or services
Please describe what changes will occur in your community and its environment when your group's project is successful.
When we are successful with the first stage (outdoor gardens at NGA and small geodesic dome greenhouse) we will have created a public space where the local community will be able to learn gardening for free and be able to grow their own quality food. With all of the food from this space donated, low-income members of the community will have access to some of the highest quality food, thus improving the health of the community as a whole. Participation in creating and maintaining these gardens will provide healthy, enriching activities where members of the community can unite toward a common goal and learn more about the plight of their fellow citizens. While participating in seedling growth in our 15-foot diameter dome greenhouse, citizens will learn about the advantages of energy-efficient structures and how to reduce the energy needs of their homes through active and passive solar heating. The second stage (permanent 42-foot greenhouse dome at NGA) will provide a greater understanding of energy-efficient architecture and a greater attraction for the community to learn about clean energy through our use of solar and wind power. We believe that many members of the greater Burlington community are positive toward the idea of energy efficiency and clean energy, but currently lack the knowledge or initiative to incorporate this technology in their lives. As an example, many community members would benefit by putting solar panels on their roof but do not know what is involved in making this happen. Through public demonstration of these systems we believe we can be the catalyst for many community members to initiate greater energy-efficiency in their own homes and gardens. Throughout these stages community members will be encouraged to fill out questionnaires on their experiences at The Root Center, which will be designed to learn how successful we are at increasing the public's awareness of gardening and energy efficiency. We will also track our food donations to food banks and schools, by the pound, and utilize the food bank's data collection systems to determine the impact we are making on the demand for food. In addition we will encourage participants to write about the impact that participation in TRC programs has had on their lives and compile these writings to learn where we are effective and where we need improvement.
Please list how many people in your community your group expects to actively engage in this project.
750
What relevant skills does the group need (but does not currently have access to) to help move the initiative forward?
Accounting and law.
What relevant skills do current members of the group have to help move the initiative forward?
Our members bring together years of experience related to the non-profit sector, community organizing, fundraising, engineering, marketing, information technology, agriculture, event planning, renewable energy systems, carpentry, contracting, greenhouse design, herbalism, permaculture, horticulture, architecture, sustainable design, landscape design, education and cooperative management. Our strength as a team is due to our reinforcement of each other's unique and diverse skill sets. Over the past four years we have been impressed with how dynamically the vision of The Root Center's future has presented itself within our collective sphere of consciousness. We believe this is due to our diverse interests interacting with the vision as puzzle pieces forming a larger picture. As new members join the organization we plan to continue this process to maximize the efficiency of each members’ contribution as equals in an unfolding, shared experiment, larger than the sum of its parts.