Denver Urban-farming group in running for $4,000 grant

Bhutanese refugees Chuda Zaudam, left, and Iccha Dhungel tend to the winter crops at Feed Denver as part of the required community service under their resettlement agreement.

Digging for donations

By Yesenia Robles
The Denver Post
Sept. 30, 2010

Excerpt:

An organization in Denver that usually dedicates its time to growing gardens spent the past month cultivating donors to help it win a challenge grant.

Feed Denver is one of eight urban-farming organizations nationwide chasing a carrot dangled by Bonterra, an organic winery, and Growing Power, a Milwaukee nonprofit that promotes sustainable urban agriculture.

To win the matching grant, Feed Denver had four weeks to raise $4,000 from 50 donors. Seven days from the end of the competition, Feed Denver is in second place and has raised $1,335 from 16 donors.

Feed Denver has been pushing out the challenge message using such tools as Facebook, Twitter and online newsletters.

“We’re all learning to do fundraising, especially through social networking,” said Feed Denver’s executive director, Lisa Rogers.

This summer, Feed Denver created two farms, including a fish farm, and 20 jobs. It grew 100 pounds of produce per week and logged more than $500 in sales through five two-hour markets. It also trained 12 children and 350 adults to start urban gardens.

Read the complete article here.