[1]

As we round out 2010, my email inbox is inundated with requests from great organizations for end of the year tax deductible donations. I’m sure yours is, too. At Seacoast Eat Local, we haven’t always been the most bold at asking for donations.

As we’ve grown as an organization (hosting 11 [2] Winter Farmers’ Market events each season, a growing email/facebook/web network, the annual publication of [3] Seacoast Harvest, up to 8,000 copies this year, co-hosting workshops, events, festivals and serving as an information hub for locally grown food on the seacoast as well as an important resource for farmers) and looking forward to our additional ambitious goals in the next few years (most notably, bringing the ability for farmers’ markets to accept SNAP/food stamps to our area), we’ve been able to accomplish a lot on a pretty bare bones budget.

We’ve had organizationally significant and timely support from two organizations that we’d like to thank again here. The [4] New England Grassroots Environment Fund, out of Vermont, gives small grants to grassroots groups. They funded our second year of Seacoast Harvest, allowing us to expand from a small, 4 page brochure to the comprehensive resource it is today. They also currently serve as our fiscal agent, accepting donations and grants on our behalf and making themselves generally available as an incredible resource. [5] The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Piscataqua Region provided us with a grant that is now allowing us to undergo a strategic planning process as we grow into a more sustainable organization. They have also provided an initial grant for the SNAP project bringing food stamps to farmers’ markets. They have pledged partial funding (50% of the first year) for the next three years.

Which brings me to the ask. While we still believe you can get a lot done with not a lot of money and our current budgets reflect an 85% volunteer run organization, the scope of what we are trying to accomplish has grown significantly. If you can give a financial donation, we will put your money to good use. You can donate online or email [6] info@seacoasteatlocal.org to mail a donation.

[7] Donate to Seacoast Eat Local

Specify Seacoast Eat Local as your donation destination. New England Grassroots Environment Fund (NEGEF) is Seacoast Eat Local’s 501(c)3 tax deductible fiscal agent

This community is incredible, and there are a lot of ways to contribute to positive change in the area of local food and agriculture, from shopping for locally grown foods and forwarding our email newsletters to growing your own garden and sharing some of the harvest with a food pantry. The growth of Seacoast Eat Local is a direct reflection of the growth of interest and actions of all of you - we want to thank you for however you participate in supporting the health of our environment, community, culture and economy through local food and agriculture.

Happy New Year from Seacoast Eat Local!