November 05, 2019
Community Service Grants Available for Ag Youth Organizations
Missouri 4-H and FFA chapters planning community improvement service projects can apply for grant funding through the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Applications for the annual Building Our American Communities Grant (BOAC) Program are available online and are being accepted until Dec. 1, 2019.
“The young leaders involved in agriculture are building the future of farming, ranching and ag technology in our state,” said Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn. “We hope the BOAC grants provide a unique opportunity for our young leaders to identify community needs and lay the foundation for solutions in their hometowns.”
The Building Our American Communities Grant Program awards grants of up to $500 to support youth-driven service projects. Since the 1970s, 4-H clubs and FFA chapters throughout Missouri have submitted proposals for specific projects within their communities for consideration for the grants.
Proposed projects should improve the social and physical environment of rural cities, towns and farm communities, and may include upgrades or additions to existing facilities, grounds or buildings used by local organizations. Past BOAC projects have included improvements for local fairgrounds, rural intersections and parks, as well as renovations for damaged and aged public use structures in rural communities, including those used by local 4-H and FFA groups.
Each year, the Building Our American Communities Grant Program awards up to twelve $500 grants to 4-H clubs and twelve $500 grants to FFA chapters to support projects that benefit an agricultural community and/or promote community development. The 2019 program awarded grant funding to eight 4-H clubs and eleven FFA chapters representing Atchison, Barton, Cedar, Cape Girardeau, Franklin, Howell, Linn, Macon, Miller, St. Clair, Ste. Genevieve, Sullivan and Warren counties.
For a Building Our American Communities grant application or more information about this and other grant opportunities available through the Missouri Department of Agriculture, visit Agriculture.Mo.Gov.