SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — Compeer Financial’s Fund for Rural America, the Farm Credit cooperative’s giving program, has awarded 34 General Use Grants, totaling $199,179.
General Use Grants fund initiatives and organizations whose work enriches agriculture and rural America, aligning with Compeer Financial’s mission.
These grants will directly impact the lives of 718,000 people and will touch 5.4 million lives. Twenty-four percent of grants will support projects with a direct farmer impact, 26% will support agriculture education initiatives and 32% address food insecurity.
Illinois recipients were:
• After the Peanut Foundation — Lil Ag’ University.
• C.W. Avery Family YMCA — garden supplies for summer camp.
• Cornerstone Community Wellness Inc. — general support to provide low-cost services.
• Farm Foundation — Young Farmer Accelerator Program.
• FHN Foundation — new EKG machines.
• Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership of Illinois — educating students about food insecurity in rural America and a volunteer food packing experience.
• Jamieson Community Center — purchasing nutritious staple foods to provide a pantry box with a week’s worth of food.
• Livingston County Extension Council and Pontiac Townships High School FFA — Meals of Hope food packaging events.
• McHenry-Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District — producer outreach meeting.
• Northern Illinois Food Bank — purchasing a walkie-rider pallet mover to safely and effectively handle products.
• River Bend Food Bank — cooler and freezer for Galesburg branch expansion.
• Streatorland Community Food Pantry — purchasing a new v-nose trailer with large weight capacity allowing the pantry to transport more food.
Grants also were awarded to organizations and initiatives in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Since the program was established in 2018, the fund has awarded 301 General Use Grants, totaling over $1.6 million. The fund will offer this grant again in May 2022 to provide funding for summer 2022.
“The General Use Grant program impacts the communities where Compeer clients and team members live and work,” said Karen Schieler, senior corporate giving specialist at Compeer Financial. “The grants embody our commitment to enriching agriculture and rural America, and to the farmers and communities we serve.”