Fundraising Planning:
Strengthen ND was invited to work with the community of Tuttle in 2016 to make their big dreams a reality. In addition to providing project management and grant writing support, Strengthen ND worked with the community to identify and develop relationships with individuals, corporations, and foundations to raise funds for their efforts. To date, Strengthen ND has supported the community to raise over $480,000 for the Tuttle Rural Innovation Center.
Interested in fundraising planning assistance?
Grant Writing Assistance:
In 2017, Strengthen ND was approached by individuals from the Tuttle Rural Innovation Center (TRIC) and Tuttle community to write and submit a grant proposal to problem-solve around the utilization of the former school building to support area ranchers, producers, and community members through local foods. Through a collaborative writing process, Strengthen ND was able to obtain $200,000 from the Bush Foundation in November 2017 to support locals foods strategy development in the Tuttle area. More specifically, the goal to be achieved by the activities of the grant is: to develop a strategy to utilize local foods as an economic generator and resource for vulnerable populations in the Tuttle area. Some of the key activities of the project include:
- Hosting community cafes and planning sessions with local farmers, ranchers, small business owners, and residents focused on assessing opportunities for food business development, food processing, and farm to institution relationships
- Hosting community cafes with vulnerable populations and service providers to identify opportunities to supplement available resources with local foods byproducts and activities
- Creating an economic development strategy and vulnerable populations strategy for local foods based on input obtained at the community cafes
- Testing and implementing local foods projects for vulnerable populations, such as creating hot meal availability for seniors and school-age children, demonstration gardens, community orchards, and food preparation and nutrition classes
- Marketing the available community kitchen space for community use and economic opportunities
The outcomes and strategies developed as a result of the funded project are meant to be a direct reflection of the needs and opportunities identified by individuals within the Tuttle area.
