FAITC School Garden Grant

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Description

Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc. 2026-2027 School Garden Grants

The School Garden Grants are meant to supplement FAITC’s Gardening for Grades, Gardening for Nutrition, and STEMming Up Gardening, three books that take Florida teachers through the process of developing a school garden and include lessons to help teachers use the garden to teach health, science, language arts, math, technology, engineering, and other subjects.

FAITC’s School Garden Grant Program is designed to fund school garden projects that will educate Florida’s students about the importance of agriculture, healthier meal options, and allow teachers to use a school garden to teach Florida standards.

Those who receive funding for a school garden project will need to request a free copy of Gardening for Grades, Gardening for Nutritionand/or STEMming Up Gardening, books for teachers to help them get the most out of their school gardens, including tips on securing funding, planting Florida fruits and vegetables, and using the garden to teach more than a two-dozen lesson plans and activities. A requirement of the grant is that teachers teach at least one lesson from one of FAITC’s three school garden curricula. If none of these lessons work for you, search the National Agriculture in the Classroom Curriculum Matrix.

Eligible Applicants:

  • Certified teachers in Florida engaged in classroom instruction at the pre‐kindergarten through 12th grade level who wish to create a school garden to enhance students’ understanding of agriculture. Private, public, and charter schools are all eligible. The grant checks must be made out to a school; they will not be made out to a teacher.

Application Breakdown and Helpful Hints:  

  • Description and Purpose: The description is the “what” and the purpose is the “why”.
    • This year, we are allowing you to make a video that covers the description, purpose, and location. This video cannot be longer than 5 minutes. Add the video link in this section of the application.
    • Word count is minimum, not maximum.
    • Please check your grammar and use capitalized letters and punctuation as needed.
  • Garden Vision Statement: This is an overall statement, not just a one-year goal. Think about your who, what, why and how for your school garden. 
  • SMART Goals – For this school year!!
    • These can be related to healthy living, growth in knowledge, social-emotional learning, student-based, family-based, or school-based.
    • List at least three goals, preferably more, that you would like to accomplish this school year using the garden.
    • Your goal needs to be specific and focus on one thing per goal. Your goal needs to be measurable; tell us how you will measure this and by how much you want it to grow. Is this growth that you are measuring a reasonable ask in one school year? Your goals should only be related to the garden project. And when would you like this goal to be completed by? Make sure that this is within the school year.
    • Use online resources if needed! 
  • Budget
    • List each item you wish to purchase for the project, put a price per item, and how many of each item you would like to purchase.
    • Do not be general with your items.
      • Incorrect: General: Plants = $20
      • Correct: Itemized & detailed: Tomato plants at $3.25 x 4 plants = $13
      • Incorrect: General: Tools = $50
      • Correct: Itemized & detailed: Trowels at $5.75 x 25 = $143.75
    • Your school should be tax-exempt; if so, do not include tax in your budget.
    • State what the item will be used for; it must tie into your project description.
    • Check with your bookkeeper before submitting your grant proposal. Make sure you are allowed to purchase your items from your specified store. 
  • Timeline of Your Project
    • Must be detailed and include the garden work and the educational component.
    • A detailed timeline shows FAITC that you have thoroughly thought through the entire garden project.
    • Include what you will do each month to ensure the project’s success. We understand some months will have more tasks than others.

Rules

Grant Application Submission Guidelines:

  • Application: Must be completed and submitted via the Reviewr platform provided, and all fields MUST be filled out.
  • You will be prompted to set up a free account and will then have access to the grant application and all needed resources to apply for the grant.
  • If any changes in the project or budget are made throughout the project, recipients must send an email with changes to sponholtz@agtag.org.

1. Overall Grant Guidelines:

  • Any grant application that is not submitted via the Reviewr website will not be considered for funding.
  • Students must be directly involved in the project.
  • School administration must be aware of and approve of the school garden project.
  • The garden must be on the school campus.
  • The use of at least one lesson from Gardening for Grades, Gardening for Nutrition and/or STEMming Up Gardening must be demonstrated in the application and final report. (available for free from Florida Agriculture in the Classroom)
  • A pre- and post-test for each lesson used must be administered to the students participating in the project. Pre- and post-test results must be included in the final report. Pre‐ and post‐tests can be found at the end of each lesson, but teachers can create their own tests if they coordinate with a FAITC lesson. If you are unable to find a FAITC lesson that works, you can use a National Ag in the Classroom lesson.
  • Some amount of in‐kind or monetary contributions is recommended; this can be in the form of volunteer time or store discounts.
  • Only one grant will be awarded per school.
  • If your school has received a grant in the past and did not turn in a final report, your school is not eligible until the previous grant has been closed out.
  • The final report is due to FAITC via the Reviewr website no later than May 15, 2027.

2. Grant Funding:

  • The School Garden Grants are $500, and the budget you submit must be equal to or slightly higher than that amount.
  • Budget MUST be submitted on the application website, and ALL sections of the spreadsheet must be filled out.
  • Grant money CAN be used for any gardening supplies, suggestions of acceptable items:
    • Seeds (fruits and vegetables)
    • Soil
    • Plants (fruits and vegetables)
    • Fertilizer
    • Raised bed materials
    • Greenhouse materials
    • Hydroponics materials
    • Irrigation/watering system materials
    • Gardening tools
  • Grant money CANNOT be used for:
    • Transportation
    • Field trip entry fees
    • Salary or compensation
    • Clothing, promotional items, or giveaways