(1) A nonprofit corporation in good standing with the state in which it is incorporated. (2) A governmental entity or tribal government. (3) Registered to solicit charitable contributions as applicable. (4) An organization operating under a fiscal sponsorship that meets the requirements outlined below
Your mission clearly states that you grow food as your primary area of impact (examples include urban farms, community gardens, mobile garden education classrooms, etc.). You report outputs related to food produced, number of participants growing food, number of educational sessions to develop skills to grow food, etc. At the end of the day, if someone told you that you could not have any edible plants and it would mean you could not deliver on your mission, your organization's mission is aligned to the DAO.
Some organizations do not have growing food as their primary mission, however, they do have specific projects or programs that do. These projects could be eligible for funding if (1) The project or program is established and includes dedicated budget line items related to growing food. (2) You will track impact of your program participants that relates to how growing food impacted change (3) If someone told you that you could not have any edible plants… you could not deliver on this program or project!
If you are a nonprofit organization that does not yet have 501c3 status and your fiscal sponsor meets the following minimum requirements, you are eligible to apply: Fiscal Sponsor has been in existence for at least 5 years It has at least $1,000,000 in assets It has sponsored other organizations previously You have had a fiscal sponsor agreement in place for at least 6 months prior to the application date. Your fiscal sponsor’s fees are less than 10% of the total granted amount. *Fiscal sponsors of more than one DAO grantee may be subject to additional eligibility or reporting requirements.
Tax Classification – an organization must meet one of the requirements of Section 170(c)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”): An entity organized or created in the United States or its possessions, or under the laws of the United States, any state, the District of Columbia or any possession of the United States, and organized and operated exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, scientific, or literary purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals: 509(a)(1) public charities and 509(a)(2) organizations. A church, synagogue, mosque, or other religious organization. A war veterans' organization or its post, auxiliary, trust, or foundation organized in the United States or its possessions (501(c)(19). A civil defense organization created under federal, state, or local law. A nonprofit volunteer fire company. A domestic fraternal society, operating under the lodge system, but only if the contribution is to be used exclusively for charitable purposes. A nonprofit cemetery company if the funds are irrevocably dedicated to the perpetual care of the cemetery as a whole and not a particular lot or mausoleum crypt. A state or United States possession (or political subdivision thereof), or the United States or the District of Columbia, if made exclusively for public purposes; This includes federally recognized Indian tribes and their political subdivisions (IRC 7871). It also includes public schools and universities.
School garden programs, advocacy or umbrella organizations, entities that want to “add a garden” to their site, food distribution projects (unless directly connected to some other project that directly grows food or supports people to do so). Organizations with racially discriminatory practices. Private foundations and private operating foundations. Groups that participate in partisan politics. Type III Supporting Organizations under Section 509(a)(3)(B)(iii). Foreign organizations. Terrorist organizations. Re-granting organizations. For profit entities.
