Wildseeds Grants

Wildseeds Grants is sponsored by Wildseeds Fund. The Wildseeds Grants program is the primary offering for non-profit, grassroots organizations. Inspired by Octavia Butler, it resources movement organizers committed to justice and systemic transformation while ensuring thriving communities.

Wildseeds Grants - Wildseeds Fund Our Work Wildseeds Grants Growing the power of cultural organizers to shift narratives 2026 Application Cycle The 2026 Wildseeds Grants cycle is currelntly closed. Updates on applications will be provided in June 2026. The Wildseeds Grants program is our primary offering for non-profit, grassroots organizations.

Wildseeds, inspired by the wisdom of writer Octavia Butler, speaks to our community’s commitment to justice and systemic transformation while ensuring thriving communities. Wildseeds possess a resilience that enables them to resist, spread, and flourish, just like our movements.

Through Wildseeds Grants, we resource movement organizers by investing in solutions that support the development of their ideas, amplification of their messages, and their long-term movement infrastructure. The Wildseeds Grants program funds community organizations, strategists and media makers working to uplift frontline stories, build power, and embolden transformative food and farm systems change.

We do this all in an effort to grow deeper roots with our grantee partners by making sure they have the infrastructure, communications skills, and strategic support they need to thrive now and forever. Our team uses a participatory grantmaking framework to build trust with our community and to inform our community project development decisions.

Since 2012, we've invested nearly $8 million into grassroots organizations and media efforts to shift food and farm narratives. Learn more about the Wildseeds Grants program below.

Wildseeds Grants support strategic communications efforts including, but not limited to: Base building communications projects that increase connectivity and grow collective power Integrated communications planning Communications-based professional development for staff/ leadership/ members Implementing or upgrading communications tools Development of content or creative media initiatives including videos, zines, websites, etc. Sourcing short-term communications staffing support or outside consulting Narrative development, message framing, and integration Campaigns, events, or experiences that use communications to foster engagement around food and farm issues Language justice planning and implementation Criteria and Restrictions Is a U.S. based grassroots organization or network with 501(c)(3) status or with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor; or a tribal government Has an annual revenue of less than $3 million; or, if current revenue is over $3 million, has an average annual revenue over the last three years that is less than $3 million Is working on initiatives that directly affect change within food and agricultural systems (e.g. land sovereignty, food security, inclusive economy, water and soil stewardship, climate justice, labor organizing, sustainable/regenerative/reindigenized practices and healing traditions) Operates from a deeply shared understanding of structural and institutional racism in the food and farm system and actively works to advance racial equity and justice Is committed to integrating the leadership of constituents within the organization’s staffing, advising, and governance structures Focuses on one or more of the following priorities: Cultural Organizing; Inclusive Economic Models & Community-Controlled Systems; Reclaiming Democracy; Promoting Indigenous and Ancestral Foodways and Agricultural Practices Organizations that do not have 501(c)(3) status or do not have a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) status Individuals or scholarship programs Businesses or business associations Private Schools, Colleges, or Universities State agencies or government programs Wildseeds Fund does not support the following activities: academic research projects; endowment campaigns; discretionary or emergency requests; or litigation or legal expenses.

Solutions to our pressing food and farm systems issues must be shaped by those most impacted.

We prioritize organizations led by those who are directly engaged in and impacted by food and farm practices, including farmers, farm workers, fisherpeople, and food system workers; direct at least 75% of our funds to BIPOC-led and serving organizations (organizations whose highest leadership are BIPOC and whose staff, Board, and people served are 51%+ people of color); and support organizations taking on corporate consolidation and power in food and agriculture while actively working to advance racial justice.

Grants range from $20,000 to $50,000 over a one-year term. The grant term for a one year grant is July 2026-July 2027. Wildseeds Fund is able to make a very limited number of two-year commitments for projects requiring a longer timeframe of support.

Two-year requests are capped at a total of $75,000 over two years. The grant term for a two-year grant is July 2026-July 2028. Power-Building Priorities Wildseeds Fund has identified the following priorities as critical to building power in the food and farm system.

We invest in projects that are grounded in and focus on one or more of the following: Cultural Organizing Protecting and expressing culture is an act of resistance to the pressure of erasure. Rather than community organizing from a place of deficit, we strive to lift-up a counter narrative rooted in community cultural wealth and capacity and support work that centers cultural organizing.

Inclusive Economic Models & Community-Controlled Systems Wildseeds Fund supports community-led processes where communities identify and initiate their own solutions to economic, social and environmental issues within food and agriculture to build healthy, economically viable communities.

We believe that by supporting community-controlled systems – where people have control and stewardship over their narrative, systems, capital, and spaces – people will come before profit. Reclaiming Democracy Wildseeds Fund supports the work of organizations reclaiming democratic control of our food and agricultural systems so that those systems are shaped and determined by the people who comprise them, not corporate interests.

We support efforts to build political leadership, strengthen civic engagement, mobilize for policy advocacy, and organize for community-controlled economies.

Promoting Indigenous and Ancestral Foodways and Agricultural Practices Wildseeds Fund strives to lift up the work of organizations that are promoting indigenous and ancestral food ways and agricultural practices, which means we support natural, sustainable and regenerative systems and communities that have been historically marginalized to ensure they are no longer on the margins of opportunities and resources.

We support food and agricultural practices that are environmentally sustainable, regenerative, and rooted in indigenous practices that battle climate change and ensure dignified and fair working conditions and wages.

To help Wildseeds Fund grantee partners strengthen their communications infrastructure and make an impact, we offer communications technical assistance, peer networking, and capacity building resources to support each organization’s communications needs after the initial investment. Trainings are designed with input from grantee partners and are led by movement-based trainers.

Previous offerings have included storytelling workshops, digital organizing intensives, 1:1 communications coaching, and communications planning support. All offerings are optional. After reviewing the Program Criteria and Guidelines, if you believe your organization is a strong candidate for the Grants program, you can register for an account and apply via our online portal before 6:00pm EST Friday, March 27.

Once logged in, click the ‘Grant Opportunities’ tab to find the Wildseeds Fund application. Written or video applications are accepted. For questions about the online submission process, please email our grants administrator, grants@growyourgiving.

org. 2026 Application Timeline View our FAQ page for more infomation Check out our grantee partners and learn about their strategic communications and narrative change projects Type and Press “enter” to Search