Sample Grant Application Letter Highlights Relevant Personal Goals Elizabeth (Last Name) (Home Address) (E-mail Address Phone Number) (Organization Name) (Organization Address)
Dear Grant Selection Committee:
May 15, 2012
My name is Elizabeth (Last Name) and I am applying for the Burlington Civic Club Grant to help subsidize a six-week stay on an organic farm in Southern France, where I will work to build knowledge about sustainable farming practices. If I received funding, it would allow me to build professional skills and to continue my study of organic agriculture and sustainable living across cultures, but it will also benefit the Burlington community. I have had a lifelong interest in food and sustainable methods of production and my work on the farm in St. Martin Entraunes would allow me to continue my active education in sustainable agriculture. Over the past two years I have worked on organic farms in Vermont, Senegal, and Greece, all through the volunteer program WWOOF: World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, a program which supports and facilitates the exchange of cultural and agricultural knowledge. Volunteers offer their skills and labor in exchange for food, lodging and the chance to learn how organic farms function. I will be working through WWOOF again this summer, and my tasks will include maintaining and improving vegetable gardens and fruit orchards, caring for dairy cows and learning how to process the raw milk into cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products. I plan to use what I learn about dairy production, fruit and vegetable growing, chemical-free methods of fertilization and pest prevention in my own life, but I would also like to share what I learn with interested citizens in Burlington upon my return. I have already discussed the possibility of teaching with the Green Campus Initiative (GCI). GCI’s garden club collaborates with the Civic Club’s community gardens in Burlington to raise awareness about sustainably grown vegetables and works to help Burlington public school students understand where the food they eat comes from and how it can be improved. The experience of living and volunteering on an organic farm in France will also benefit by professional aspirations, allowing me to gain fluency in French, which will enable me to pursue my goal of work with the Peace Corps in French-speaking West Africa. Having spent three months there last year, and working with several members of the Peace Corps, I have been inspired to return and put my knowledge and interests to good use, teaching urban agriculture in Dakar. The agricultural skills and the improvement of my French will be invaluable in working towards this goal, especially learning language and vocabulary particular to sustainable agriculture. Without the Burlington Civic Club Grant to fund my travel expenses, my goal of working on the farm in St. Martin Entraunes will not be possible. I will have no lodging costs, and need only a small budget for food, as my host will provide most meals. The other costs I have included in my budget are international health insurance, the membership fee for WWOOF, and notebooks for recording new vocabulary and documenting the methods I will learn for caring for animals, crop production and dairy farming processes. 1 of 2
Sample Grant Application Letter Highlights Relevant Personal Goals This experience will increase my knowledge of sustainable agricultural practices and I will be able to give back to the Burlington community by passing on what I learn. Receiving the Burlington Civic Club Grant would provide me with the opportunity to link my continued interest in sustainable organic agriculture with my interest in serving my peers, the public and the international community. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,
Elizabeth (Last Name)
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