Grace Farms Foundation

Grace Farms Foundation is a private operating foundation — fundamentally different from traditional grantmaking foundations. Founded in 2009 and headquartered on an 80-acre campus in New Canaan, Connecticut, the foundation creates impact primarily through its physical space, programs, and convening power rather than monetary grants. The campus features the River Building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects SANAA, which serves as a hub for five interconnected initiatives: Nature, Arts, Justice, Community, and Faith. The foundation's most prominent programmatic work is the Design for Freedom initiative, launched in 2017 by CEO and Founder Sharon Prince, which aims to eradicate forced and child labor from building materials supply chains. This initiative has grown into a global movement engaging architects, construction firms, manufacturers, universities, government agencies, and investors. Grace Farms also provides Space Grants to nonprofits, offering its facilities for collaborative work. With approximately $125 million in assets, the foundation channels most resources into direct program operations rather than external grantmaking.

Grace Farms Foundation's funding patterns are atypical for a foundation of its asset size. As a private operating foundation, the vast majority of its approximately $125 million in assets funds direct program operations — maintaining the 80-acre campus, running events and exhibitions, operating the Design for Freedom initiative, and hosting community programs — rather than making monetary grants to external organizations. Tax filings indicate that monetary grants have been minimal and decreasing in recent years, with the Yale Center for Faith and Culture being the primary (and sometimes sole) external grantee. The foundation's Space Grants program provides in-kind support by allowing nonprofits to use Grace Farms facilities for meetings, retreats, and collaborative work at no cost. The Design for Freedom initiative directs resources toward research, toolkits, competitions, summits, and partnerships with academic institutions rather than traditional grants. This operating model means the foundation's actual community impact is delivered through programming and convening rather than through a grants pipeline.

Grace Farms is best compared to other place-based operating foundations that deliver impact through their physical spaces rather than external grantmaking. Like Crystal Bridges and Longwood Gardens, Grace Farms combines architectural distinction with programmatic mission — but at a smaller scale. What distinguishes Grace Farms from these peers is its Justice initiative and the Design for Freedom campaign, which gives the foundation a global advocacy dimension beyond its local campus operations. Most place-based operating foundations focus on arts and nature; Grace Farms uniquely adds anti-trafficking and supply chain ethics to its portfolio. For grant seekers, this means treating Grace Farms as a potential programmatic partner or Space Grant host rather than a traditional funder.

The Design for Freedom initiative continues to be Grace Farms Foundation's most visible and growing program. In 2025, the foundation and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) announced winners of the 2025 Design for Freedom Competition. Registration opened for the 2026 Design for Freedom Summit, which brings together leaders from architecture, construction, technology, manufacturing, finance, government, academia, and real estate to advance ethical building practices. The foundation released the Design for Freedom International Guidance & Toolkit addressing forced labor in building materials supply chains, legal compliance, the role of insurers and investors, and the issue of prison labor. Educational partnerships expanded to include Cooper Union, IE Business School (Madrid), Illinois Institute of Technology, NYU, Parsons, Pratt Institute, and Princeton University. The campus continues to offer free admission with advance registration, Tuesday through Sunday programming across its five initiative areas.

Grace Farms Foundation is NOT a traditional grantmaker, so standard grant application strategies do not apply. However, there are meaningful ways to engage: (1) Space Grants: Nonprofits can apply to use Grace Farms facilities for collaborative work, retreats, and meetings at no cost. Contact info@gracefarms.org or call 203.920.1702 to inquire about Space Grant availability. (2) Design for Freedom partnerships: Organizations working on supply chain ethics, anti-trafficking, ethical building materials, or forced labor issues can explore partnership with the Design for Freedom initiative through designforfreedom.org. (3) Academic institutions can participate in the annual Design for Freedom Competition through ACSA partnership or join the educational consortium. (4) Architecture, construction, and manufacturing firms can engage through the Design for Freedom Summit and pilot projects. (5) Arts and cultural organizations seeking exhibition or performance opportunities at the River Building should connect through the foundation's Arts initiative. (6) Faith-based organizations aligned with Grace Farms' ecumenical Christian orientation may explore connections through the Faith initiative and the Yale Center for Faith and Culture partnership. (7) Visit gracefarms.org and register for campus events to build relationships with staff and understand current priorities firsthand.