Grants

The Center For Transformation

Summary

Briefly explain why your organization is requesting a grant, what outcomes you hope to achieve, and how you will spend the funds if a grant is made. Include a brief summary of the organization’s history, mission and goals.
The Center For Environmental Transformation respectfully requests support from the EENJ with an investment of $11,000. The Center for Environmental Transformation (CFET) promotes environmental justice in Camden, New Jersey through sustainable community development, education and project implementation across the Delaware River Watershed. The Center leads innovative sustainable initiatives for youth and community residents through education, empowerment, and action. The green infrastructure projects directly transform the problems of outdated sewage, and storm water systems into resources for sustainable community development through environmental justice.

Purpose of Grant
Describe the program for which you seek funding. You must specify the municipalities that will benefit from the project. List the strategies you will employ to implement your project and include the timetable for implementation.
The Center For transformation will educate and empower Camden residents through resource training focused on watershed education and green jobs initiative to construct rainbarrels, propogate raingarden native plants, and maintain raingardens in partnership with Camden SMART (Stormwater Mangament and Resource Training).

A. Education: For the 2011-2012 school year students in the Environmental Science Classes of public and charter schools in Camden will collaborate with a host of environmental agencies in the Delaware Watershed. This will occur through the Camden BEES (Building Environmental Education Solutions) of Camden High School and the UrbanBoatworks Program of Urban Promise School. The areas of education will focus on:
1. Wildlife Around the Cooper River
2. Water Quality Testing
3. Mapping Watersheds and Foodsheds
4. Action to Awareness

B. Action: The action in awareness component will educate the youth into the process of making a difference in their community toward solving these problems. Each of the education items has an action-based conterpart in addition to the items listed below:
1. Construct Rainbarrels
2. Offering build your own rainbarrel workshop
3. Propogate raingarden plants
4. Maintain raingarden plants
5. Native plant manual produced for citywide development projects.


You must specify the municipalities that will benefit from the project. List the strategies you will employ to implement your project and include the timetable for implementation




Evaluation

Explain how you will measure the effectiveness of your activities. Describe your criteria for a successful program and the results you expect to have achieved by the end of the funding period.

ATTACHMENTS

1) Project budget

2) 501(c)(3) documentation, if applicable (only new applicants)

3) Organization operating budget

The Center For Environmental Transformation The Merck Family Fund

1729 Ferry Avenue Urban Farming and Youth Leadership

Camden, NJ 08104 Letter of Inquiry

(856) 283-1338

Andrea C. Ferich, Director of Sustainability

Phone: (856) 283-1338/ E-mail: camdencfet@gmail.com

Project: Camden Farms for Sustainability

Camden Farms For Sustainability creates environmental justice around the city and the Delaware River watershed in youth-based green-collar jobs through outreach, education, and action. This project will empower hundreds of Camden youth while creating food system security within environmental justice.

--- Education For Sustainability deliverables:

Environmental Justice Retreats, weekly cooking classes, asset mapping, CSA in Camden with locally sourced produce, youth-led farm stands, educational garden curriculum videos, workshops for Camden residents, monitoring water samples, macroinvertabrate sampling, mapping the rain gardens of New Jersey in collaboration with the Rutgers Water Resource Department.

--- Products and Services for Sustainability include:

12,000 heirloom seedlings, 2,000 pounds of produce, 148 fruit trees/berry bushes grown and distributed, Farmers Markets, 3600 native plants for rain gardens, Construct 100 rainbarrels subsidized for Camden residents, rain garden maintenance crew for the rain gardens of South Camden

The Purpose

Camden, NJ is a food dessert, with only one grocery, for a population of 79,000 people. In addition to the lack of resources for healthy food, the residents of Camden are overburdened with the environmental consequences of the region. People from Camden County may not realize that their sewers, gutters, trash, and recyclables all come to the Waterfront South neighborhood where the Center is located. Camden residents will learn and transform these problems into the opportunities for sustainability. Thousands of native plants will be grown for rain gardens and 100 barrels will reduce the floor of combined sewage and stormwater in Camden’s streets and rivers, while creating jobs. 12,000 heirloom vegetable seedlings grow a sustainable food system in farmers markets and cooking classes. This educational model gracefully combines learning with action. Camden Farms for Sustainability will increase the demand for healthy food and environmental justice in the region, as well as the supply and access, making these objectives achievable.

Amount Requested $55,000

Organization

The Center for Environmental Transformation (CFET) promotes environmental justice in Camden, New Jersey through sustainable community development. The Center leads innovative sustainable agriculture initiatives for youth, and green infrastructure projects directly transforming the problems of ecological and food system dysfunction. Since 2007 the CFET has operated a greenhouse working with over 500 Camden youth annually, teaching Education for Sustainability to the residents of the region. Over 12,000 heirloom seedlings are grown a year at our greenhouse, in a neighborhood that struggles for jobs and environmental remediation. The CFET is a 24 bed retreat Center where groups learn to be better neighbors through environmental justice.

In 2010 the CFET completed a multi-media sustainability curriculum for Camden youth, passed through the Camden City School Board, focused on middle school and high school education for sustainability. The CFET received the EPA Environmental Quality Award in 2011.

The most positive results this year came with in financial literacy running the Waterfront South Farmers Market and establishing savings accounts with the youth. The youth learn the business side, systems thinking, and the politics of food. The harvest is sold to residents at affordable prices. Over 2,000 pounds of chemical-free heirloom vegetables were grown and brought to market this season in our gardens.

BUDGET SUMMARY

Camden Farms For Sustainability Project Budget Proposal

Staff salary (benefits and overhead)

Executive Director 50%

Director of Sustainability 50%

$50,000

Direct Programming

Rain barrels $2,000

Natives Rain Garden Plants $6,000

Fruit $8,000

Soil and Seeds $2,000

Sustainability Interns $10,800

$33,800

Total Listed $83.800

TOTAL Project BUDGET: $133,800

Requested Amount: 55,000

2012 Overall Budget: Anticipated Revenue $218,500

· Grants $160,000.00

· Direct Public Support $15,000.00

Product Sales $13,000.00

Retreats $25,000.00

Fundraiser events $5,500.00

SUMMARY

Youth-led education for sustainability creates environmental justice in Camden, NJ through community food security and Green Infrastructure product and service development. The Merck Family Fund investment will be met by ongoing support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Scanlan Family Foundation, the Danelli Foundation, and many others. The Center For Environmental Transformation greatly looks forward to working with you in this great work.