Investing in the future of agriculture and feeding the hungry are the main goals of the GROWMARK Foundation, which supports a variety of causes and organizations dedicated to those aims.

Foundation manager Amy Bradford says they focus on five key areas. “Agriculture in general, education, leader development, supporting other cooperatives, and priority community needs,” said Bradford, who adds that the foundation in its present form has been in existence for about a decade, although the company has had a philanthropic focus for at least twice that long. “It’s evolved over the last 25 years or more.”

One of the biggest focuses of the foundation, which is funded through the sale of marketable securities, is on scholarships, which Bradford says is being further expanded. “We allocate about $120,000 to scholarships at universities throughout our geography,” she said. “This year we created a scholarship fund for community colleges (because) we’re increasingly drawing from technical and operational programs.” This year the allocation for that level of scholarships was $20,000 and Bradford says it was so popular they expect to increase that.

The GROWMARK Foundation also helps to fund community feeding programs and education about agriculture for school children, two programs that were in focus at the recent Farm Progress Show.

Learn more about the foundation in this interview: Interview with GROWMARK's Amy Bradford