This document was produced by AdZou at the Missouri School of Journalism.

The contents are the property

of Southern Boone Learning Garden. All information is confidential and proprietary and shall not be modified, reproduced, distributed or used for any purpose without prior written consent of SBLG.
Advocate; May 16th, 2016 .

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CONTENTS

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

SITUATION ANALYSIS

14

SWOT ANALYSIS

20

RESEARCH

40

CREATIVE

46

BIG IDEA

52

TACTICS

95

MEET THE TEAM

101

APPENDIX

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Southern Boone Learning Garden has been
teaching children the value of gardening and
living a healthy lifestyle since 2007. Its lessons
are valued by the school district and parents
alike, but most of all the children adore it. The
garden is a wonderful learning resource the
community is lucky to have.
But heres the problem.
Facing financial trouble, SBLG has looked to us,
ADVOCATE, for help. We have spent the last
15 weeks eating, sleeping and breathing SBLG
and have created a multi-faceted awareness
campaign to ensure the gardens future success
with a budget of $1,000.
Our goal is to make the tight-knit communities
of Ashland and Hartsburg aware of the gardens
new sponsorship model, starting in 2017. We are
looking to help secure a steady stream of funds
so the children can continue to grow and learn
from this unique resource.
Although our focus is on the children, our
first step was to take a peek into the minds

of the communitys adults to understand how

to achieve these goals. Using several primary
research methods, we learned that parents
understand their childrens love for the garden,
but they dont really know what exactly they
do during their time there. We also found out
that not many people were interested in the
sponsorship model. Between these two insights,
it was clear we had some work to do.
After all was said and done, we came up with
three main insights that will be the roots for this
campaign. Parents must be kept in the loop as
far as what is happening in the garden and a
special event designed specifically for parents
and their children must be planned. Overall,
every tactic we employ should be kept simple,
matching the simplistic lifestyle that Ashland
and Hartsburg residents enjoy.
We believe that we now have all the necessary
tools to create an effective campaign. It is
now up to SBLG to use them to help keep the
garden running for generations to come.

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Secondly, a special event needs to be planned

to not only raise awareness and funds for the
garden, but to physically invite the community to
actively partake in the garden and understand
what it is truly all about.
Finally, keeping every tactic simple is key.
Ashland and Hartsburg are small communities,
and making our tactics tailored to a small town
audience is essential.

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SITUATION ANALYSIS
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
GARDENS ROOTS

The Southern Boone Learning Garden is a small

non-profit organization in Ashland, Missouri.
Founders Jennifer Grabner and Lesli Moylan
started SBLG in 2007 as a small after-school
club that taught children how to live healthy
lifestyles and learn basic gardening skills.
Now the garden has sprouted and is firmly
rooted into the Southern Boone County School
Districts curriculum. Children kindergarten
through sixth grade have class outside in the
garden multiple times a year to learn hands-on
lessons in gardening and sustainability while
also expanding on the math and science skills
theyve attained inside the classroom. SBLG is
aiming to take the garden a step further and
grow into a gathering place for all ages within
the Ashland.

WHATS THE BIG DILL?

SBLG received a five-year grant from the

Missouri Foundation for Health in 2012. Using
our collegiate math skills, this means the grant
expires next year in 2017. A variety of funds
will have to be gathered in order for SBLG to
continue its mission of growing Ashlands youth
into capable learners and gardeners. Its going
to take action by members of the Ashland
community to provide enough funds to keep
SBLG stable and strong. ADVOCATEs strategic
plan will determine how to inspire parents,
community members and local businesses
to donate to SBLG all on a budget of $1,000.
Its essential SBLGs educational message is
continually harvested for years to come.

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The learning garden

became integrated into the
Southern Boone County
School Districts curriculum.

The organization
received a grant from the
Missouri Foundation for
Health that allowed the
non-profit organization
to hire three full-time and
four part-time employees.

2012

2009

2016

2007

Today the learning garden

welcomes 30 children to the
after-school club in both the
fall and spring, as well as
12 middle-schoolers for the
after-school cooking class.

2017

The learning garden will

embark on a new adventure
as the grant expires and will
move to a sponsorship-based
financial model.

Southern Boone Learning

garden founded by
Jennifer Grabner and
Lesli Moylan.

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GARDEN TRENDS
Garden-based learning has fluctuated in
popularity throughout the past century but lucky
for us, the popularity of learning gardens across
the nation is on the rise for a multitude
of reasons.

2006
11.4%

Installing one of these gardens is initially

expensive, with an average cost of $50,000
according to Jane Black of The Washington
Post. This fact does not scare away schools from
planting the seeds as the cost decreases over
time. As gardens become more established, and
most funds go towards supplies and employee
wages. Most obviously, it is an excellent and
unique learning tool for schools to use to add
some excitement to the classroom and learning
lessons that can be otherwise boring.

2013
26.6%

According to Bridging the Gap Research, the

percentage of elementary school learning
gardens has risen from 11.4 percent in 2006 to
26.6 percent in 2013.

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The benefits of learning

gardens also extend outside
the classroom. In a study of
476 teachers that instructed
within California school
gardens reported:

57.6 percent said attitudes

about school improved.
63.9 percent said social
skills improved.

29.6 percent said students

improved academically.

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The federal government has also taken notice

of these benefit and has developed programs to
curb the childhood obesity epidemic. Programs
such as Michelle Obamas school lunch
program, Lets Move!, have been implemented
into public schools along with increased
nutritional information guidelines.

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Southern Boone Learning Garden has

contributed to this trend, by partnering
with Oopa! Food Management Inc.
This partnership brings fresh produce
from the garden into the districts
school cafeterias. This alliance will
lead to more vegetable consumption,
according to a study by Cornell
University. When children grow their
own veggies, theyre more likely to
eat them. If a salad bar in a school
cafeteria contains produce grown by
students in the school, salad selection
increases from 2 to 10 percent.

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COMPETITORS
Southern Boone County Learning Garden is
currently the only learning garden in Ashland,
therefore it has no direct competition, though
indirect competitors do exist. This includes the
Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, national
school garden organizations and other projects
competing for school board funding.

Its really about people wanting

to give, and people who care
about what you are doing. You
just need to keep
them informed.
-Billy Polanski

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR

URBAN AGRICULTURE

The CCUA, although in the same geographic

region, has a slightly different focus than SBLG.
Its main consumers are low-income families
and its vision is to increase Columbias local
economy by providing families the education
and resources to start their own gardens.
The CCUAs 2,491 Facebook likes outshines
the Southern Boone Learning Gardens 618,
which clearly demonstrates the competition for
influence. It also hosts a variety of community
events, the largest of those being the Harvest
Hootenanny, an event which attracts MidMissouri businesses who could be potential
sponsors of SBLG. Some of these businesses
include The Bank of Missouri, Missouri Legacy
Beef, Boone Electric Cooperative and Happy
Hollow Farm.

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NATIONAL SCHOOL
GARDEN ORGANIZATIONS

National school garden organizations such as

REAL School Gardens and Edible Schoolyard
Network, pose a potential threat but have not
yet entered Mid-Missouri. These organizations
are growing quickly and typically have more
funds than local school gardens. If one of these
organizations were to sponsor a garden in the
Ashland or Hartsburg community, it would have
much greater access to resources and tools
than SBLG.

COMPETING PROJECTS

The biggest threat SBLG faces is projects

competing for funding in the area. The Southern
Boone High School Athletic Booster Club, in
particular, has received a large amount of funds
from outside sources. Its projects include the
new high school weight room and a potential
scoreboard for the football field. The garden
currently receives no funding from the Southern
Boone County School District.

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CONSUMER ANALYSIS
The community can currently access the
garden for free, and most of the funding for
SBLG comes from the Missouri Foundation for
Health grant. The switch to a sponsorship-based
financial model will give the garden more
independence with its spending.

The Garden should be a place

that is functional, productive and
beautiful, that can benefit not
only students but the community.
- Kelly Redford, Garden Manager

STUDENTS

The garden mainly serves Southern Boone

County School District students in grades K6.
SBLG develops unique lesson plans designed
for each grade. It also offers extracurricular
clubs including the Elementary Garden Club
which teaches basic gardening skills to 60
students (grades K6) each year and a middle
school cooking club (grades 68) which
instructs about 18 students. The produce from
the garden is also served in the school cafeteria
with the assistance from SBLGs partner, Opaa!.

PARENTS

Parents have the ability to volunteer with their

children at the after-school clubs, as well as
take their children to visit the garden on their
own time. These parents are a primary target
for donations and receive information about the
garden through newsletters sent in the districts
Friday Folder email.

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TEACHERS

Teachers receive lesson plans from SBLG and

the resources necessary to lead
their curriculum.

LOCAL BUSINESSES AND

ORGANIZATIONS

Partnerships with the Missouri River

Communities Network, PedNet Coalition,
Columbia/Boone County Health Departments,
Opaa! Food Management Inc. and the University
of Missouri Extension Program currently provide
SBLG with a variety of resources. Potential
partners for future funds and event sponsorship
include Mosers, Pizza Haus, Home Depot and
the Boone County Journal.

ASHLAND COMMUNITY

Ashland is an affluent and conservative area

of Mid-Missouri with an agricultural past and
a desire to spread the tradition of farming to
future generations. Residents are welcome to
use SBLG for their own use and to sample the
produce at its stand in the Ashland
Farmers Market.

Our Survey Found:

Ninety percent of parents agree

or strongly agree the garden
improves their childs
learning environment.

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SWOT ANALYSIS
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STRENGTHS
Everybody loves children. Educating them about healthy living
and garden sustainability is a cause people rally behind.
Southern Boone Learning Garden is not just a garden, but a
learning garden. Its lessons are implemented into the Southern
Boone County School Districts curriculum and have the power
to reach every child in the district.
If parents want their seedlings to receive further gardening
education, SBLG provides after-school gardening and cooking clubs.
Having a working relationship with the school district also allows
SBLG to communicate with the parents about the garden on a
regular basis. Direct marketing is available to parents through
email newsletters and the students Friday Folders emails.

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WEAKNESSES
This campaign exists because the Missouri Foundation for
Health Grant is expiringthe grant supplied 95 percent of
Southern Boone Learning Gardens annual budget.
Not many Ashland residents are aware of the grant
expiring, and are unaware of the challenges SBLG will face
once it does.
Parents of the students are unaware of what their children
are doing in the garden, we found only 17 percent were
extremely or very familiar.
Southern Boone Learning Garden has a small campaign
budget of $1,000 to promote its new sponsorship model
this may be a small seed to begin with, but if it is efficiently
utilized there will be more to harvest later.
The workforce of the garden is small, with seven
employees (three full-time and four part-time), which means
volunteers are needed.
The current Facebook page has room to growcurrently
the page has only a few hundred likes and the posts have
little engagement.

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OPPORTUNITIES
Ashland may be small, but it is affluent compared to the rest of
Boone County.
The implementation of learning gardens is increasing rapidly
across the nation.
SBLG has been firmly rooted into the Southern Boone County
School Districts curriculum for the past few yearsmultiple
generations of Ashland children have learned and gained
memories from the garden.
The Missouri Foundation for Health grant may be expiring,
but theres a silver liningSBLG will have more financial
independence to grow in any direction it chooses.

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THREATS
National school garden organizations such as REAL School
Gardens and Education Outside are sprouting around the nation
and have more resources than the local guysif one pops up in
Southern Boone County, it could take the spotlight away from SBLG.
Gardening takes place in the great outdoors. Storms and
seasonality also take place outdoors. It only takes one flood,
drought or tornado to wreak havoc on the garden. Missouri
winters make interacting with the garden more difficult during a
few months out of the year.
The greatest threat to SBLG is competition for funds from the Southern
Boone County School District and booster clubs in the area for new
projects, such as the scoreboard and the weight room. More money for
these projects means less money for the garden.
Any school board budget cuts could potentially affect the
learning gardens financial support.

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20
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WHAT WE DUG UP
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PRIMARY RESEARCH
PROBLEM STATEMENT

TARGET DEFINED

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

We are also interested in targeting potential

corporate sponsorships throughout the
Ashland/Hartsburg region. Targets include
Home Depot, Mosers, FFA, MFA, etc.

Since 2012, SBLG has been thriving under the

assistance of the Missouri Foundation for Health
grant. With the grants expiration in 2017, SBLG
plans to move to a tiered-based sponsorship
model for future financial support.

ADVOCATE hopes to determine how to

incentivize family membership for parents
of Southern Boone County School District
students. We will also discover strategies that
similar community gardens utilize to attract
corporate sponsors, which can supply greater
funds to SBLG.

The primary audience for the sponsorships will

consist of mothers of children currently enrolled
in kindergarten through sixth grade in the
Southern Boone County School District. These
mothers are active in their childrens education
and involved in community organizations.

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PROPOSED RESEARCH METHOD

We aimed to collect a variety of quantitative and

qualitative data about our target audiences in
order to secure funds for SBLG in 2017.
Surveys were the primary tool to gather
quantitative data. ADVOCATE worked with
the Southern Boone County School District to
deliver an online Qualtrics survey to the mailing
list of guardians of students in kindergarten
through sixth grade. The key findings of this
survey include gardening interest and habits,
current awareness of the curriculum taught by
SBLG, parent and student use of the garden,
interest in the sponsorship and what incentives
would increase that interest.
Qualitative data was collected to investigate
how to incentivize local businesses and
organizations to sponsor SBLG by interviewing
the Executive Director of Columbia Center
for Urban Agriculture (CCUA), a successful
non-profit community garden in Mid-Missouri.
We also searched to understand the longlasting benefits SBLG provides by interviewing
two former garden-club members, Rebecca
Sjostrand and Katrina Gateley.

SAMPLING AND RECRUITMENT

STRATEGY
Surveys
ADVOCATE will target 156 Southern Boone RI
School District parents using the school districts
email server list. One $50 and two $25 raffle
drawings will be offered to
increase involvement.
Personal Interviews
We will contact Kristin Anderson and coordinate
a visit when her second grade class has a
lesson in the garden. 20-40 permission slips will
need to be distributed, signed by parents
and returned.
ADVOCATE will also contact Billy Polanski of
Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture via
telephone for an in-depth interview.
Total Expenses = $120
For detailed survey responses and interview
transcripts, please refer to the Appendix.

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KEY FINDINGS
1

Parents agree with the mission of the garden

providing healthy lifestyles to children

Eighty-five percent of survey

partcipants said supplying their family
with fresh and organic produce is
important or extremely important.

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And their children love the garden

Eighty-five percent of parents
hear their children talk about
the garden at home. And
when their children talk, they
give SBLG great reviews.

Seventy-nine percent of
children had a favorable or
extremely favorable opinion of
the garden. Only one percent
of parents reported
their child having an
unfavorable experience.

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Parents believe SBLG is beneficial for their childs education

Ninety percent of parents agree

or strongly agree with the
statement: The garden improves
my childs learning environment.

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But...parents are not exactly sure what their children experience

within the garden
Fifty-five percent of parents
reported visiting the garden.
And most have only visited
under three times.

Have only visited to

pick up child from garden club

meetings.
Once outside of picking up
my kids.

Only seventeen percent

reported being extremely or
very familiar with the lessons
their children learn in
the garden.

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They are interested in being involved with the garden

More than half of parents
said they would definitely or
probably attend a Southern
Boone Learning Garden event.

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E-newsletters would be popular,

71.8 percent of parents said
they would definitely or
probably subscribe.

More than a third of parents

said they would definitely or
probably become volunteers.

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Parents are fairly interested in becoming sponsors

Half of parents are interested

or strongly interested in
becoming sponsors of SBLG.

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...BUT, they are not interested in spending too

much money in order to do so

A vast majority of parents (122)

prefer to spend less than
$50 annually.

122

Only 24 are willing to spend

more than $50 on sponsorship.

24
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Where to find them: Social Media

An overwhelming 87 percent of
parents chose Facebook as their
first choice of social media.

Forty-five percent
chose Pinterest as their
second choice.

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Where to find them: Traditional Media

Newspapers were the
preferred choice of traditional
media, with 41.7 percent listing
it as their first choice.

Television was second with

35.3 percent listing it as
their favorite.

Radio is the third preferred

choice of traditional media,
with 23.1 listing it first.

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KEY FINDINGS - INTERVIEWS

BILLY POLANSKI

Executive Director - Columbia Center for

Urban Agriculture

They say fundraising is friendmaking. Its really maintaining

relationships with these
people, the public. The people
who consistently give and
consistently give large amount,
are the people who we keep a
dialogue with.

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REBECCA SJOSTRAND

I tried a lot more vegetables during that club. I wasnt a big

vegetable eater but they encouraged us to eat things we werent
used to, and especially eat things that we grew ourselves. That
made me a lot more excited to eat them and give
vegetables a chance.
I would say the interest in gardening. After I did the club, I was
inspired and started gardening at home. Now I enjoy helping my
grandma, so I have the garden to thank for that.

KATRINA GATELY

I think its a good thing to teach kids how important

gardening is and agricultural aspects. A lot of people that live
here, live outside the city limits and are involved in a lot of
farming so I think that its good to teach kids that not all food
comes from the store.

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RECOMMENDATIONS
1

First and foremost, more effective communication to the

community is needed as to exactly what the children are learning
in the garden, in order to increase the perceived value to the
childrens parents.
Secondly, a special event needs to be planned to not only raise
awareness and funds for the garden, but to physically invite
the community to actively partake in the garden. This will help
parents further understand the garden and its mission.
Third, business partnerships and grants are essential for the
future of Southern Boone Learning Garden. Most survey
participants listed $0$25 as their preferred donation, which
will not make up the 95 percent of the current annual revenue
supplied by the Missouri Foundation for Health. Seeking grants
and business partnerships will be the fastest and most costefficient method to secure funding.
Finally, keeping every tactic simple is key. Ashland and Hartsburg
are small communities, and making our tactics tailored to a small
town audience is essential.

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STRATEGIES AND OBJECTIVES

Our main objective of the campaign is to secure
enough funding to sustain the garden after
the grant runs out, but we also hope to instill
a sense of enthusiasm in the community. By
motivating the people of Ashland to be involved
in this unique aspect of the community they
will be more inclined to take an active role. We
aim to achieve this goal by targeting our two
main audiences, small business and parents of

children currently using the garden, with two

different forms of tiered sponsorship models.
Our campaign will utilize fun and playful yet
nurturing tones to maximize the effect of the
emotional bond provided by the children. We
hope to develop the sense of responsibility the
community feels for the garden and investing in
not only its future, but their childrens future.

I wouldnt give up on grants. Diversifying your income is a

good idea. I can tell you that right now, I think between 50 and
60 percent of our income is grants. And were trying to get that
percentage down because with those individuals, we would
be more stable. You lose one $50,000 grant, and youve lost
$50,000. You lose one $50 donor, and youre still functioning.
You have to put more time and effort on it, but I wouldnt have
them totally give up on the grant writing and with those individual
donors, just focus on the relationships.
-Bill Polanski

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AUDIENCES
In order to promote the beginning of the
Southern Boone County Learning Gardens
sponsorship program effectively, the campaign
will target two separate target markets.

LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS

The first audience is local businesses in the

Ashland and Hartsburg area. The learning
garden already has good relationships with
many local businesses and organizations such
as the Boone County Journal and Home Depot.
In the communities of Ashland and Hartsburg,
businesses, like the citizens, take a large part
in supporting local nonprofits that better the
future of the community. Through this campaign
we will target businesses owned by community
members who have both a vested interest in
the community and the funds to donate to the
garden. These businesses are locally owned
and could benefit from the advertisement
opportunities available to them by participating
in the sponsorship program.

ASHLAND PARENTS

The second audience for this campaign is more

directly affected by the education provided by
the learning garden. We will be targeting 3040
year-old mothers in efforts to inspire them to
take an active role in their childrens futures by
supporting the learning garden as a sponsor.
This target has an average annual income
of $75,000$100,000, live active lifestyles
and are invested in their childrens education.
These parents target audience places a high
importance on providing their children with a
healthy lifestyle, which includes making homecooked meals with fresh produce.

You have to bring in new people,

but its foolish to spend all of your
time getting these new people, and
then neglecting the people you have
now. Its like buying a new car but not
changing the oil.
- Billy Polanski

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TARGET PROFILES
MARK THE MANAGER

Mark is the manager of a locally-owned business in Ashland,

Missouri, and has lived in the area for eight years. He is
invested in the community and passionate about helping
nonprofits prosper. Mark also searches for ways to promote
his business and is looking to sponsor an organization he
believes will draw widespread awareness of his business.

MELISSA THE MOM

Meet Melissa, a 35-year-old mother of two children living

in Ashland, Missouri. She spends much of her free time
attending her four-year-old daughters ballet lessons and
seven-year-old sons basketball games. Despite her busy
schedule, she values taking the time to prepare homecooked meals and believes it is better to interact in person
rather than social media, though she does periodically
post photos of her family on Facebook or search recipes
on Pinterest. Melissa was raised near Ashland and has
developed close friendships with other mothers and
neighbors in the area. She takes pride in the towns
traditions and prosperity.

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CREATIVE
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CREATIVE BRIEF
WHY ARE WE ADVERTISING?

We want the Ashland community to rally around

the fight to preserve the learning garden, and
develop a sense of ownership among the
community for the gardens success. We plan on
advertising a new sponsorship model that will
allow the people of Ashland to take full stock in
the garden.

WHO ARE WE TALKING TO?

The first audience is local businesses. These

are only businesses that are within Ashland and
Hartsburg. They can either donate supplies or
money to the garden.
Our second audience is Ashland and Hartsburg
mothers, age 3040 with an average household
income between $60,000$100,000. They are
very involved within the community and care a
lot about their childrens health and education.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THEM

THAT WILL HELP US?

Local businesses are already very involved in

Ashland. Just recently, the Southern Boone
High School was given a new weight room by
their booster club. They also plan to build a new
scoreboard this fall.

The targeted mothers value healthy lifestyles for
their children and are active in their education
and extracurricular activities. These moms are
aware of the Southern Boone Learning Gardens
practice in the school (over 80 percent of
respondents to our survey were mothers) but
do not necessarily understand what is involved
in the curriculum. We believe if there is more
awareness of the curriculum to these mothers,
they will be more likely to support it financially
and volunteer for the garden.

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WHAT DO WE WANT THEM TO THINK?

Main Message: The community is what you make

of it. By annually supporting the learning garden,
you are directly investing in not only your childs
education but also the future of Ashland and
Hartsburg. The garden has grown drastically since
its start in 2007, and without continued support
from the community, it may not be able to continue
to provide the education in which Ashland
residents have become accustom.

CREATIVE STRATEGY

We will increase community awareness and

involvement for SBLG by positioning the garden
as an essential learning tool for the children of
Ashland, while also creating a sense of urgency
towards action to sustain the future of
the organization.

WHAT IS THE SINGLE MOST

PERSUASIVE IDEA WE CAN CONVEY?

The learning garden was created and cultivated

for the community, and now it needs a little love
from Ashland in return. With the communitys help,
the garden can continue to flourish and give their
children the tools to prosper.

WHY SHOULD THE AUDIENCE

BELIEVE IT?

The Southern Boone Learning Garden has been

in existence since 2007 and is an active part
of the primary schools curriculum. It keeps the
agricultural traditions of the Ashland and Hartsburg
area in tact during the changes of the 21st century,
and encourages healthy eating and teaches
children life skills that they can carry with them
through their entire life.

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CREATIVE SPARKS
Keep it simple: As a tight-knit, agricultural
community, Ashland thrives on the simple
things like backyard barbecues and
Friday night high school football games.
Planting roots: A garden prospers when
a community takes the time to plant the
seeds and nurture it.

TONALITY

The campaign should evoke a loving and

nurturing feeling, while also retaining
gardening themes of freshness and growth.
Family and community are at the center of
each advertisement and should tie together
the agricultural traditions of the area with the
possibilities that the future has to offer. The
campaign should also convey a sense of
urgency, while still portraying
community empowerment.

It takes a village

KEY COPY POINTS

A part of the schools curriculum

Teaches children life skills

Brighter futures
Community involvement = preserved success
Taking an active role

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We asked participants of our

online survey to pick out three
words that come to their mind
when thinking about Southern
Boone Learning Garden. A
few trends began to blossom
before our eyes.

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planbook.indb 46

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BIG IDEA
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NEW LOGOS
We designed all new logos
to be more legible across
multiple platforms of media
and help your organization to
fit in with the modern design
landscape. We wanted to keep
the tone of your original logo
while providing options for use
on Web or in print. The round
icon logo (left) can be used as
a social media icon, while the
script logo (right) can be used
on t-shirts and other
print media.

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49
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BIG IDEA

People tend to cringe at the word dirt, but in reality, dirt should
be celebrated. It is the foundation for growth and the starting
place of any garden. In fact, dirt is what SBLG is all about. Its
taking the children out of their comfort zones for a hands-on
experience with nature. Its learning food isnt something that
comes from the store, but from a seed in the ground. Its getting
your hands dirty, and taking action to make things grow.
We believe this is exactly what the residents of Ashland need to
do. To sustain the garden they need to get involved, take action
and yes, get their hands a little dirty.

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TACTICS
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PREMIUMS
WHY

Premiums will serve as a major incentive to

become a sponsor of Southern Boone Learning
Garden. ADVOCATE compiled a list of potential
premiums and asked survey respondents
to rank their most preferred items, placing
high-ranking premiums into the more expensive
sponsorship tiers to increase funds. One of the
most desired items was the garden bounty box,
a monthly collection of excess produce that will
be awarded to one lucky raffle winner.

WHEN

Premiums will be available to SBLG sponsors

throughout the year. Seed packets and garden
bounty boxes can be picked up from the garden
at the beginning of each month. T-shirts and
garden plots will be distributed to sponsors
when they register for the corresponding tier.
Premiums will be delivered to SBLG depending
on their sponsorship tier.

In addition to incentivizing the sponsorships,

premiums are an essential tool to grow SBLGs
brand. Premiums are a great physical tactic for
a physical activity such as gardening. SBLG can
provide physical tools to its target audience
from seeds to shovels for members to use
within the garden and at home. This will help
cultivate a relationship with the member and
remind them that SBLG will always be their
partner for their gardening needs.

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INDIVIDUALSPONSORSHIP
SPONSORSHIPMODEL
TIERS
INDIVIDUAL
Seedling ($50)

Exclusive Newsletter & Recipes

Root ($250)

Seed Packets

Sprout ($75)

Name on T-shirt

Name on Website

Logo on T-shirt

Bloom ($100)

Bud ($750)

Branded Shovel

Garden ($200)

Garden plot

Name on Newslet-

Stem ($500)

SBLG T-Shirt

Family garden lessons

CORPORATE
SPONSORSHIP
MODEL
BUSINESS SPONSORSHIP
MODEL

Logo on Website

Logo on Newsletter

Blossom ($1000+)

Garden Produce Box

Name on Garden Plot

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SEEDLING LEVEL ($50)

SBLGs sponsorship model

will begin as most gardens do,
with seeds. Seed packets can
be purchased from American
Meadows for a cost of $100
for 2000 packets. Wildflower,
basil, arugula, strawberry and
salad greens seeds will allow
sponsors to cultivate the plants
that grow within SBLG in the
comfort of their own backyard.

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SPROUT LEVEL ($75)

All of the above PLUS:

The SBLG t-shirt will allow
the garden and its business
sponsors to advertise their
name around Southern
Boone County. Sponsors will
sprout up to this tier because
everybody loves an extra
t-shirt. The front of the shirt
will display the SBLG logo
and the Get Dirty Your Hands
Dirty tagline, and the back
will feature the names and
logos of businesses that help
fund the gardens mission.
The organization that pays
for the cost of the t-shirts will
have its name and logo most
prominently displayed.

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BLOOM LEVEL ($100)

All of the above PLUS:

Sponsors in the Bloom tier will
be able to schedule a family
gardening lesson on the weekend
of their choice. Upon arrival to the
lesson, personal shovels will be
distributed to each family member
and can be personalized with
paint. With shovels in hand, the
entire family will be able to get
their hands dirty, learn tips from
SBLG staff, cook a meal and dine
together. Twenty-four shovels can
be purchased from Sears for a cost
of $55.

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GARDEN LEVEL ($200)

All of the above PLUS:

Sponsors in the Garden tier will
have their names inserted into
a monthly raffle for the garden
bounty box. The garden bounty
box was the most preferred
premium in the online survey, and
for good reason. SBLG will put
excess produce at the end of the
month into the bounty box. The
winner of the raffle will be able to
take home fresh and free produce
for their entire family to enjoy.
Garden level sponsors get the
maximum amount of premiums
to use outside of the garden, as
well as having the chance to be
honored within it. Those in the
Garden tier will be able to sponsor
a crop plot of their choice with
their name on a wooden post.
These posts will serve as SBLGs
thank you to the people who go
above and beyond with
their support.

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COLLATERAL
WHY

In order for people to love and support the

garden, they have to know what its all about.
Collateral plays an important role in spreading
information to the public so they can become
informed of the amazing things the garden has
to offer. Collateral will be the line between the
garden and the sponsors that will bond the
two together.

WHEN

Collateral will be used throughout the year at

various times depending on when that particular
tactic needs to be displayed. In January, pushing
the newsletter will be of high importance due to
the fact that peoples incomes are higher after
the holidays. We will also push the newsletter
when school begins, in August, to remind parents
of the sponsorship model. The newsletter should
still be sent out every month to update sponsors
on upcoming events and give a closer look into
the lesson plans that children are experiencing in
the classroom.

HOW

Three types of collateral that will be employed.

First and a foremost, a monthly email newsletter
will be a great way to keep SBLGs sponsors in
the loop as far as what is going on in the garden.
To go along with this, a flyer should be created
that will further explain the sponsorship model to
parents that are interested in joining.
Furthermore, a sponsorship packet will be
created to alert philanthropic businesses within
Ashland and Hartsburg to this great opportunity.

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Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit Amet

J U N E

2 0 1 6

The Southern Boone County Learning Gardens

Monthly Sprout

NEWSLETTER

Get the Dirt on class projects, healthy recipes and upcoming events

Save the Date!

City of AshlandLemonade Days
Saturday, June 11
Visit the SBLG booth to get
your fresh produce while you
enjoy lemonade! Bring your
kids for some fun activities.

The Big Beet

In 2007, the Southern Boone Learning Garden received a
$100,000 grant from the ______, allowing them to hire new staff
and grow into the expansive, hands-on educational tool that
they have become. As of 2017, however, that grant will end,
and the garden will begin a new adventure of moving to a
sponsorship-based financial model. This change means working
more closely with the community to inform residents about the
incredible lessons taught in the garden, hosting more events for
families to experience the outdoors together and presenting
more opportunities for the community to take stake in the
garden.

Back To School Blowout

September 2nd, 4:30 pm
Come kick off another great
school year of digging in the
dirt and watching things grow!
The event is open to the public
and will offer appetizers, crafts
and a raffle. Tickets $15 for
adults, $5 for kids.

The Big Beat

Whats going on in the garden?

This spot will be the place for
any breaking news such
as upcoming events, big
projects or new additions.
With the Big Beat, sponsors
will be ahead of other parents
on any exciting news and
become excited about whats
happening in the garden.

To read more about the sponsorship model, scroll to page 5

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Sprout Spotlights

Heres where we make

proud mothers! The Sprout
Spotlight will feature three
classes, individuals or groups
and the amazing things they
accomplished this month. Did
someone win a lettuce eating
contest? Put in the winner! Did
the second grade class build a
scarecrow? Lets see photos!
You get the picture, its all
about bringing parents special
moments in the garden they
would otherwise miss, and
informing them about lesson
plans or projects they can talk
about at the dinner table.

THE LOREM IPSUMS

SPRING 2016

Sprout Spotlights
Highlights of what your sprouts are
learning in the Garden

Another Delicious Dine in the Dirt

The 3rd Annual Dine in the Dirt fundraiser was a
huge success! With the support from Opaa! Food
Management and various local growers and
producers, we were able to host glorious meal in the
garden. Thanks to everyone who came out and
made this night so much fun.

Cooking Class Closes a Great Season

The middle-school cooking class chopped, sliced and
diced their way through another great season. Chef Z
taught the 12 student participants to create four-course
meals with soup, salad, entres and desserts, all made
from fresh ingredients. Interested in learning the secrets
of healthy cooking? Keep an eye open for fall
applications!

The 4th Grade Gets Creative in the

Garden
Fourth-graders step outside to gain inspiration
for creative writing. The classes took time to
channel their inner artists while using nature as
a muse.

2
2

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THE LOREM IPSUMS

SPRING 2016

Whats happening next?

Parents can look forward to

what their children will be
doing this month with the
Whats up next section.
Choose four lesson plans,
projects or upcoming events to
highlight in this section.

Whats Happening Next

Summer School Classes Kick Off!
Summer is the perfect time for teachers and
children to explore all the garden has to
offer. The curriculum during summer
school programs is often more flexible,
allowing teachers to take more time in the
garden. Lesson plans including planting
watermelon and sunflowers from seed, and
investigating the soil, are just some of the
fun topics kids will enjoy this summer.

Farmers Market Stand

With school out it can be hard to keep
the kids entertained. Dont resort to the
TV- come visit the SBLG booth at
Ashlands Coyote Farmers Market! Get
the freshest produce and support the
learning garden at the same time.

New Sponsorship Opportunities

This September, SBLG will be moving to a
new sponsorship-based financial model.
With two separate sponsorship applications
for businesses and residents, there are
affordable ways for you to support the
garden. Sponsors can receive exclusives
such t-shirts, seed packets, newsletter
recognition, garden plots and gardening
lessons with the family. Read page 5 for
more details.

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Seasons Eating

Seasons Eatings show parents

what the garden is growing!
Choose one veggie from the
garden thats in season this
month, and do a little research.
Include sections highlighting
Profile (what type of veggie
is it?) Health Benefits (why is
it good for you?) and How to
Grow It. Below will feature a
healthy and delicious recipe
using that seasonal veggie.
This section not only provides
new dinner ideas, but will also
encourages healthy eating
habits and inform families of
new vegetables.

THE MONTHLY SPROUT

JUNE 2016

Seasons Eating
Featuring: Arugula
Garden!
Profile: One of the most nutritious green-leafy
vegetables, sometimes referred to as salad rocket. It is
ranked among the top 20 foods in regards to ANDI score
(Aggregate Nutrient Density Index)
Health Benefits: Consuming two cups of arugula will
provide 20 percent of vitamin A, over 50 percent of
vitamin K, and 8 percent of your vitamin C, folate, and
calcium needs for the day.
How to Grow: Plant seeds in a sunny area, one-fourth
inch deep and 1 inch apart in rows. For best results, add
compost to soil before planting and apply a time-released
fertilizer. The leafy plants grow 6 to 12 inches tall.

Arugula Pizza
Ingredients:
Naan Bread- 1 piece per person
Tomatos sliced- 3 per pizza
Fresh Mozzarella, sliced- 3 slices per pizza
1 bag baby arugula
5 oz. container diced pancetta
Balsamic glaze to drizzle on top

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Cook pancetta in pan until crisp. Remove pan and set aside (keep warm)
3. Brush both sides of naan bread with a little olive oil, place on baking sheet. Top naan
with tomatoes and sliced mozzarella. Bake for 10 minutes.
4. Top each pizza with a handful of arugula and sprinkle pancetta on top
5. Drizzle with balsamic glaze

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GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY

Become a Sponsor

FAMILY SPONSORSHIP LEVELS

Seedling Level: $50
Exclusive Newsletter
Recipes
Seed packets

Sprout Level: $75

Above Mentioned Material PLUS:
T-shirt

Bloom Level: $100

Above Mentioned Material PLUS:
Family Gardening Lesson
Free Admission to Dine in the Dirt

Garden Level: $200 +

Above Mentioned Material PLUS:
Plot with your familys name

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Thank You Sponsors

Include every name and

business who buy a
sponsorship, adding logos for
businesses can be an extra
incentive for them choose a
higher sponsorship level.

Thanks to our Community Sponsors for

Helping the Garden Grow
Adventures in Learning
Ashland Chiropractic
Ashland City Hall
Biz Crossing
Bullard Seed Company
Cameo Construction Services, LLC
Law Office of Matt Uhrig, LLC
Mosers Discount Foods

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Get Your Hands Dirty

Flyer

This flyer is a straight-forward

resource for parents to
fully understand the new
sponsorship-model and the
benefits they could receive. It
should be distributed in Friday
Folders each Friday during
the month of September. On
the application, ADVOCATE
encourages adding, How did
you find out about becoming
a sponsor? SBLG can judge
whether or not the flyer was a
successful way to advertise the
new sponsorship model.

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Sponsorship Packets

Sponsorship packets put the

information businesses need
to become a sponsor right in
their hands. This includes facts
about the garden along with
pictures, making businesses
realize the true value in the
garden. These packets should
be distributed personally to
businesses who SBLG has
a working relationship with,
or has expressed interest
in becoming a sponsor. It
is roughly $5 to print the
packet at FedEx. ADVOCATE
suggests choosing ten
businesses that would have
interest in being a sponsor
and hand deliver these
packets to them.

Get Your Hands Dirty!

Cultivate Your Community

2017 SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Dear Community Partner,

Here in Ashland, we know what it means to be a community. Helping
eachother to grow and succeed is just what we do. This fall, the
Southern Boone Learning Garden will be moving to a sponsorship-based
model, and are inviting you to join the adventure. We are looking to plant
our roots deeper into the community, so that we can continue to help
the kids grow.

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TRADITIONAL MEDIA

dTHANKS FOR GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY!

WHY

Spreading community awareness is key for

SBLG. For the people of Ashland, the Boone
County Journal is the primary source for local
news and updates on their community. The spot
should be written as a Thank You to sponsors
for putting in the time and effort to sustain the
learning garden. This ad will also be used as a
method of advertising the sponsorship model,
and works as an incentive for new business
owners to become sponsors.

WHEN

This advertisement should run once in May as

the school-year comes to an end.

HOW

As a half-page spread, this spot will cost $342,

however as both parents and business owners
read the newspaper, this is the most effective
and affordable way to reach both
target audiences.

THANKS TO OUR LOCAL BUSINESS SPONSORS!

You know the old saying, it takes a village to
raise a child? Well, the same goes for a garden.
If it werent for our amazing sponsors, donors
and volunteers, the Southern Boone County
Learning Garden wouldnt be here. So thank
you for getting your hands dirty and putting
in the time, effort and funds to help us grow.
This fall season, SBLG will be moving to a
sponsorship-based model affordable for both
businesses and residents. With your help, were
looking forward to another year of learning,
discovering and yes, getting our hands a little
dirty.
For more information on how to be a part of
the growth, visit the sblearninggarden.org for
sponsorship levels and the exclusives offered.

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PUBLIC RELATIONS
WHY

Public Relations is an important tactic for SBLG.

Most importantly, the use of PR tactics such as
press releases allow SBLG to promote events,
new announcements and achievements to
the community through popular local news
outlets such as the Boone County Journal
without any cost to the organization. Due to the
low advertising budget, press releases are a
necessary tactic for SBLG because it provides
the organization with unpaid promotion directly
to its target audience. The objective of this tactic
is to promote SBLG to the local community
through sending relevant press releases to local
news outlets in order to educate community
members on the happenings, events,
achievements and announcements pertaining
to the garden.

WHEN

Currently, this tactic is scheduled for February

to announce the beginning of spring gardening
lessons, in July to announce the sponsorshipmodel and in August to announce the Get

Your Hands Dirty event, but it can be utilized

whenever necessary as a source of free
media promotion.

HOW

SBLG will execute this tactic by writing press

releases to announce any event they see
fit throughout the year. Once written, press
releases will be sent to local news outlets in
hopes they will pick up the story and in turn
promote the garden to the community through
a news story. If a news outlet decides to pick up
the stories written in the press releases, SBLG
will need to be willing to answer questions and
provide quotations and clarifications to assist
the reporters in creating an effective story. The
effectiveness of this tactic will be evaluated by
the amount of news outlets that are interested
in the topics of the press releases to the point
that they write or broadcast a story based off of
the press releases content.

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POTENTIAL MEDIA LIST

The Boone County Journal
Columbia Missourian
Columbia Daily Tribune
KOMU
KRCG
KFRU - David Lile
ABC 17

PRESS RELEASES

Here are a few sample

press releases to be distributed
throughout the year
as necessary.

SouthernBooneLearningGarden
104MapleStreet,SuiteB
Ashland,MO65010

FORIMMEDIATERELEASE
Contact:JenniferGrabner,ExecutiveDirector
5732688431
Jenny@sblearninggarden.org

SouthernBooneLearningGardenannouncesitsGetYourHandsDirtyevent

Ashland, Missouri (August 15, 2016) Southern Boone Learning Garden, a nonprofit
organization provides gardenbased education for children in Ashland and Hartsburg area,
announces its Get Your Hands Dirty fundraiser on September 3, 2016. This event is to
celebrate the gardens 10th anniversary with the community and raise money for its gardening
programs.

The event will have two parts: paint station and scarecrow. In the first half of the event, each
child will paint aflowerpotunderthesupervisionoftheirparentsandplantaseed init.Children
can also write down their wishes and bury them with the seeds. And then, as the second partof
the event, all the children will make a scarecrow for the learning garden together. During the
event,parentsandchildrencanparticipateinashortgardeninglessonattheendoftheevent.

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SouthernBooneLearningGarden

104MapleStreet,SuiteB
Ashland,MO65010

FORIMMEDIATERELEASE
Contact:JenniferGrabner,ExecutiveDirector
5732688431
Jenny@sblearninggarden.org

SouthernBooneLearningGardenlaunchessponsorshipmodel

Ashland,MO(July15,2016)OnAugust1,theSouthernBooneLearningGarden
(SBLG)willlaunchanewsponsorshipprogramthatwillprovidecommunitymembersandlocal
businessestheopportunitytogetinvolvedandfinanciallysupporttheorganization.

Communityinvolvementinthesponsorshipprogramisvital.Since2102,themajorityof

thegardensfundinghascomefromagenerousfiveyeargrantdonatedbyTheMissouri
FoundationforHealth.Withthehelpofthisgrant,thegardenhasgrownimmenselysinceits
2007beginningandhasservedthechildrenofAshlandandHartsburgbyinstillinginthemthe
importanceofhealthyeatingandlifestyles.Withthetermsofourgrantexpiringwithinthenext
year,wewillrequirecommunitycollaborationandinvolvementtobeabletocontinueour
missiontoinspire,teachandtohelpcultivateahealthyfuturefortheyouthofBooneCounty.

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SouthernBooneLearningGarden
104MapleStreet,SuiteB
Ashland,MO65010

FORIMMEDIATERELEASE
Contact:JenniferGrabner,ExecutiveDirector
5732688431
Jenny@sblearninggarden.org

SpringHasArrived,andClassesResumeinTheGarden

Ashland, Missouri (February 15, 2016) After a long winter, the Southern Boone Learning
Garden will reopen its garden and welcome students back in the gardening classes on February
25. According to Jennifer Grabner, the executive directorandcofounderofthegarden,students
will start on the preparation first, and the official gardening lessons will officially begin in
March.

They (the students) have been staying home to keep warm for the whole winter, and its now
time for them to be involved in some outdoor activities, said Grabner. This year, we have
designed some new and interesting lessons for them to participate in. I hope they will have fun
withit.

Students from the Southern Boone County School District also said they were prepared for the
gardeningclasses.

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SPECIAL EVENT
WHY

Ashland is a small community where people

know each other, so a local event will be an
effective way to bring all the target audience
together and get them involved.
This event serves a lot of purposes:
Raise money for the Southern Boone
Learning Garden
Get more parents and local businesses
involved, so they will have a full
understanding of what the learning
garden has been doing and take more
active roles

WHEN

September 3, 2016 from 4-6 p.m.

HOW

SBLG invites families to welcome in a new

school year of getting their hands dirty in the
garden and learning how things grow. This
fundraiser encourages families to help support
the gardens vitality while reminding the
community of the unique learning experiences
the garden offers the children of Ashland.

Advertise for our new membership

and sponsorship model
Draw media attention and earn free
publicity for the learning garden

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BACK TO SCHOOL GET YOUR

HANDS DIRTY EVENT INVITATION

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This fundraiser will be generating money in

two ways: selling both admission tickets ($15
for adults and $5 for kids) and raffle tickets ($1
each). Prizes that are going to enter the raffle
will be donated by our local business sponsors,
and families are welcome to bring their own
items to enter the raffle.

Also, a huge banner will be made for our guests

to put their dirty hand prints and signatures
on as they enter the learning garden. This
corresponds with our Get Your Hands Dirty
campaign.

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The first half of the event is called

the Paint Station. Each family is
given a flower pot for children to
paint and plant seeds. Families
can bring these flower pots home
after the event.

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The second half of

the event is called the
#SOBOCOscarecrow. All the
children present will make a
scarecrow together. Adults are
not allowed to help, but are
encouraged to take pictures
and share them on various
social media platforms like
Facebook.

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During the event, the learning

garden will serve refreshments
featuring natural salad made
from vegetables and fruits
grown in the garden.
At the end of the event,
all guests are welcomed
to participate in a short
experiential gardening class,
in which they will have a full
understanding of what the
learning garden is offering to
the children. This will also be
an excellent opportunity for the
learning garden to advertise
their new membership model.
For a detailed timeline of this
event see the appendix section.

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SOCIAL MEDIA
WHY

quality is much more important than useless

numbers. We want the Facebook wall to be a
place where members of the community can
come together to discuss whats going on and
to feel as though they have a voice. The more
quality engagements (comments and shares,
not just likes) will in turn influence and increase
the traffic to the page. Also, by directing people
to the blog via Facebook posts, traffic will also
be directed to the website which is important
because it is the point of donation.

HOW

The voice of every post should be nurturing

and caring, but very casual and fun because
it is a garden for children, after all. There is no
need to stay strictly professional, so have fun
with the posts! Exclamation points, contractions,
and gardening or vegetable puns are definitely
welcome. We want to portray that we care about
our audience just as much as we care about our
plants, our children and our community.

Social media is a great tactic to use to not only

reach our target audience in an effective way,
but its also free, and how can you beat that?
Since the garden is incredibly visual (and who
doesnt love a picture of a cute kid?), we will use
this to our advantage. Its also a great way to
personally communicate with our audience and
develop the emotional connection necessary
to get people excited about participating in the
garden.

We suggest using Facebook as our main focus,

and adding a blog component to the website
for a longer form post so we dont bore the
audience will too many words, unless they want
to go find out more on their own.
Our goal of using this media is to increase traffic
to the page, naturally, but more importantly
increase the quality of the interactions we
have with our audience. Since the garden is
only in Ashland and our audience wont be
larger than the members of our community,

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WHEN

A variety of pre-planned posts will be used

to stay consistent and keep the audiences
engaged. As many posts as possible should
include at photos or videos, even taken on an
iPhone, to increase engagement and add some
entertainment value to the page

MEASURING/EVALUATING SUCCESS
Facebook offers plenty of insights and analytics
to help us determine what is most and least
successful. Keep and eye on this and increase
frequency of the most successful posts.

In the Overview section, pay attention to

the time posts with the largest amount of
engagement are posted, and aim to post at
those times. In the Publishing Tools tab, utilize
post Scheduling.
Dont forget to always include a Like our
Facebook page! plug at the bottom of every
email, newsletter, blog post.
The Facebook page currently does a great job
of sharing relevant posts, but keep these to a
minimum as to not clutter the page and bury
our content.

The Insights tab provides helpful graphs and

statistics to see what type of posts are the most
successful, the demographic breakdown of your
audience, and what type of actions people are
taking on your page.

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Lesson Plans

A short summary of that days

lesson should be posted. The
garden does amazing things,
and the community needs
to know exactly what the
students are learning through
it. A longer description of the
plan can be posted on the
blog, and each post
should include a few photos
from the day and the link to the
blog post.

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Events

Use social media to increase

awareness about your
garden activities. As well as
constructing a post after the
activity is over, be sure to post
before they happen as well, so
parents dont
miss anything.

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Sponsor Spotlight

This will be a tool used to

incentivize sponsor donors.
Once a month, highlight one of
the gardens sponsors with a
blog post and Facebook post.
Include a photo of their logo,
a photo of them at the garden
or their sponsored garden
plot (if possible/applicable)
and a short thank you for their
support. Be sure to tag the
business in the post and in the
photos, and email them after
it is posted to remind them
to check it out. Making sure
our sponsors feel valued and
recognized will go a long way
for future donations.

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#GetYourHandsDirty

In order to take advantage

of free exposure and involve
attendees in events, the
usage of a the hashtag
#GetYourHandsDirty during
the activities. One raffle
prize will be allotted for only
those who post a picture of
themselves or their child at the
activity with the accompanying
hashtag.

#FarmerFriday

Developing #FarmerFriday
garden tips are designed
to be both informative and
entertaining. Every few weeks,
post a short video of a local
gardener (or even a garden
club member) with tip for our
audience members.

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PERSONAL SELLING
WHY

Personally contacting businesses to make

them aware of the Southen Boone Learning
Garden is effective because, first and foremost,
SBLG is a non-profit organization with a very
modest budget. By making personal calls to
local businesses and soliciting donations (either
monetary or gardening supplies), we are using
an effective resource (the telephone) to ask
for donations that would directly benefit SBLG.
There will be a call sheet made up of all the
businesses in the Ashland and Hartsburg areas
so the caller can log the outcome of each call.
The objective of this tactic is to continue
the process of raising awareness about the
Southern Boone County Learning Garden
and the benefits the children and community
receive from it. It also is critical to bringing in the
necessary funds to keep the garden running.

WHEN

This is not technically a part of a true media

plan. This type of cold calling can be done
throughout the entire year at whatever time
deemed necessary.

HOW

SBLG will be partnering with the Alpha Phi
Omega chapter at the University of Missouri
starting in 2017. Students majoring in business
or agriculture will have the opportunity to
make calls on behalf of SBLG to businesses in
Ashland and Hartsburg to make them aware
of the new sponsorship model. If a business is
interested, Jennifer Grabner, Executive Director
of SBLG, will follow up the call with a personal
visit to try and solidify the sale.

The effectiveness of the personal selling tactic
will be known by the end of the year (2017)
based off how many donations they were able
to solicit from local businesses in Ashland
and Hartsburg.

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89
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BUDGET
$342
$342 for half-page ad in Boone County Journal

$160

Miscellaneous Expenses (16%)

$293

Special Event (29.3%)

$50

Collateral (5%)
1.38 per sheet $5 for 1 packet, 3 pages front and back x 10= $50

$155

Premiums (15.5%)
$100 for 2,000 seed packets
$55 for 24 troughs from Sears for the Bloom Tier

$1000

Total (100%)

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MEDIA PLAN
JAN

FEB

MAR APR MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

Newspaper Advertising
Press Releases
Collateral
Social Media
Special Event Promotion
Personal Selling

Low Intensi
ty
M ediumIntensi
ty
HighIntensi
ty

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EVALUATION
The effectiveness of this campaign can
be gauged by the overall increase of new
sponsorship members sold. Each tactic works
together to increase SBLGs visibility in the
community and disseminate information
about both the sponsorship model and the
organization itself. These individual components
work towards the same goal, however their
success should be evaluated in different
measures.

COLLATERAL

PREMIUMS

TRADITIONAL MEDIA

The number of premiums given away reflects

the number of sponsorships sold, so the
success of the premiums should be measured
by how many sponsorships were purchased
that year. In addition, each year a survey should
be sent out to sponsors asking for their opinions
on the premiums. Sponsors should rate their
favorability towards each premium and whether
or not it was an incentive to become a sponsor.

Effectiveness of the flyer and sponsorship

packets can be judged by the sponsorship
application. A question asking, How did you
find out about becoming a sponsor? can
determine whether or not the flyer was able to
reach a large group of people. Forty percent
of respondents listening the flyer can be
considered effective, while ten percent listing
the sponsorship packet is effective.

Similar to the collateral, traditional medias

effectiveness can be gauged by the number
of respondents listing the advertisement
as their first source for finding out how to
become a sponsor. Ten percent of respondents
listing traditional media should be
considered successful.

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PRESS RELEASE

The effectiveness of this tactic will be evaluated

by the amount of news outlets that are
interested in the topics of the press release and
write or broadcast a story based off of the press
releases content.

SPECIAL EVENT

The primary purpose of the event is to generate

donations and attract sponsors, so a large factor
in evaluating the success will be determined by
the money brought in by the event, and whether
the event not only broke even, but made a profit.
The event is also intended to raise awareness
for the garden, which requires people to attend
the event. This means another key factor in
evaluating the success will be how many tickets
are sold.
An ideal number of tickets sold would be
a minimum of 75 tickets.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook should be a place where members

of the community can come together to discuss
whats going on and to feel as though they have
a voice. Quality engagements such as comments
and shares, rather than just likes, will determine
whether the posts have
been effective.

PERSONAL SELLING

The script will be evaluated based on how many

sponsorsips they are able to sell within the
year. SBLG should also take into account the
conversation rate of calls to sales.

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planbook.indb 94

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MEET THE TEAM

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GRACE RASULO

Grace is a hockey-obsessed musician from

suburban Chicago who is far too obsessed with
all things social media. If given the opportunity
she would spend the rest of her life eating
only Caesar salads and in her opinion, you can
never be too excited about seeing a dog on the
street. Every waking second of her last weeks
of college will be spent with her closest friends.
She then will be moving to Boulder, Colorado to
pursue a career at an advertising agency, mostly
because that means shell never have to wear
business professional clothes.
Favorite Vegetable: Carrots! Even though Im
allergic, I still eat them...oh well.

MIKE PALMER

Mike is someone who enjoys being active and

playing sports. He hails from Naperville, Illinois
and majors in Journalism while minoring in
hanging out on Big 12s patio. When hes not
ranting about politics to his friends, he is usually
an enjoyable person to be around. Unless he is
ranting about Chicago sports, then you should
probably just leave the room, it wont end. Born
as a premature baby weighing 2.3 ounces, he
was resigned to wearing monkey diapers as a
child. He is now a healthy young man with his
only complaint being that he is not over
six feet tall.
Favorite Vegetable: Carrots, but only if ranch is
provided as a dipping sauce.

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RYAN STEPHAN

Born in New Jersey, raised in Minnesota and now

attending school in Missouri, Ryan has traversed
all over the United States. When hes not spending
money from his parking enforcer gig on used
records from the 1960s, he enjoys watching
the Minnesota Twins play terrible baseball or
feeding birds. If you have to identify him from an
imposter, he has a double-pronged uvula in the
back of his mouth. He has no children, but breeds
Endlers Guppies in a ten gallon tank. If anybody
is interested in buying one (or 20) you can reach
him at 763-486-7182.

YENKEI ALEX CHIU

Born in Guangzhou, China, a fast-paced city

with more than 14,000,000 people, Yankei is a
confident, independent and determined woman
who travelled over 8,000 miles to Missouri
School of Journalism to fulfill her PR dream.
She loves travelling, planning events, attending
wedding and wearing heels. However, all she
wants right now is to watch one more Kobe
Bryants game.
Favorite Vegetable/fruit: Watermelon. I could eat
as many as watermelons you want me to.

Favorite Vegetable: Eggplant. But only when its

covered by parmesan and tomato sauce in my
moms world-famous Egg Parm.

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MARSHALL MAXWELL

Marshall was born and raised on the banks

of the Colorado River in Austin, TX. Now, a
Missouri boy, Marshall enjoys hiking the rolling
hills and flinty bluffs of this great state. Marshall
is happiest swimming in a creek, cycling on
the MKT, or lounging in Peace Park with his
girlfriend, Sarah, on a beautiful day. He is most
likely found sketching in a coffee shop, finding
comic books at the local library, or listening to
records in his apartment.
Favorite Vegetable: Carrots

HALEY MCDILL

Born and raised in Chicago, Haley is hardpressed to find a city she doesnt love. When
she isnt daydreaming of moving to London,
youll most likely find her adding much more
than she can afford into online shopping
bags. Her guilty pleasures include re-watching
Friends on Netflix, crying at sentimental
commercials and gossiping on the phone with
her grandma. Haleys two life mottoes are to
always let people know how much they mean
to you, and that leopard print makes everything
better. Following graduation, she is off to
explore Seattle as a Fashion PR Intern
at Nordstrom.
Favorite Vegetable: Asparagus! Squeeze a little
lemon juice on top and youve got me hooked.

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JULIA REED

Julia is a coffee-addicted, dog-loving storyteller

from Lisle, Illinois, who is often accused of
talking too much with her hands. At age 20,
Julia got bored and decided to join the waterski
team at the University of Missouri because, why
not? Her ideal day would consist of anything
outdoors, and is obsessed with finding new
hiking trails and climbing on things shes not
supposed to. Julia dreams to one day be like
Eliza Thornberry and talk to animals, but if that
doesnt pan out she hopes to pursue a career in
public relations.
Favorite Vegetable: Asparagus!!! I could eat
asparagus all day, every day, in any form you
throw at me.

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APPENDIX
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Graphics Used
Garden Trends icons - https://www.flaticon.com
Lets Move logo - <a href=http://www.letsmove.
gov><img border=0 src=http://www.letsmove.
gov/sites/letsmove.gov/files/letsmoveweblogo.
gif width=200 height=145 alt=Lets Move>
Cucumber photo - freefoodphotos.com
Lemon photo - freefoodphotos.com
Vegetable illustrations - Designed by Freepik
(<a href=http://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/food>Food vector designed by Freepik</a>)
Flower Illustrations - Designed by Freepik
<a href=http://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/frame>Frame vector designed by Freepik</
a>

Banner vector - Designed by Freepik

<a href=http://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/banner>Banner vector designed by Freepik</a>
Seed packet photo com/1300/1011508720.jpg

http://content.etilize.

T-Shirt mockup - https://www.webresourcesfree.

com/amizing-free-t-shirt-mockup-psd-templates/
Shovel photo - Author: Przemysaw Sakrajda.
File:TrowelPS.jpg. Created: 21 June 2005.
Garden post photo - TRUECONNECTION
Reclaimed Wood Furniture, Decor, & Wedding
Signs. https://www.etsy.com/se-en/shop/TRUECONNECTION?ref=unav_listing-r

102
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Secondary Research Resources

Here is a list of the sources ADVOCATE used to
learn about learning gardens.

http://www.academia.edu/11343590/The_Past_
Pres ent_and_Future_of_Learning_Gardens_
for_Scientific_Literacy
http://www.bridgingthegapresearch.org/_asset/4q28pc/BTG_gardens_brief_FINAL_
March2014.pdf
http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/discoveries/
growing-interest
http://health.mo.gov/data/mica/County_Level_Study_12/headera.php?cnty=929&profile_
type=5&chkBox=C
https://hort.cals.cornell.edu/sites/hort.cals.
cornell.edu/files/shared/documents/Garden-Based-Learning-in-Basic-Education-A-Historical-Review.pdf

http://www.letsmove.gov/learn-facts/epidemic-childhood-obesity
http://www.lifelab.org/wp-content/uploads/Nutrition_Brief.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19411056
https://hort.cals.cornell.edu/sites/hort.cals.
cornell.edu/files/shared/documents/Garden-Based-Learning-in-Basic-Education-A-Historical-Review.pdf
http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/12045
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/this-is-how-learning-gardensgrow/2012/09/18/94322aca-fcff-11e1-b153218509a954e1_story.html

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Survey Questions
The following survey questions were distributed
to parents with registered emails in the Southern
Boone RI School District. This survey of 156 parents from the Southern Boone County RI School
District provided quantitative data regadrding gardening interest and habits, current awareness of
the curriculum taught by Southern Boone Learning
Garden, parent and student use of the garden, interest in sponsorship and what incentives would
increase that interest.
SBLG Survey
You have been contacted today because you are
a parent or guardian of a student in the Southern
Boone County school district. We would appreciate if you answered some questions concerning
your familys gardening habits. This survey will
take ten to fifteen minutes, and you will be entered
into a cash sweepstakes upon completion (one
$50 winner and two $25 dollar winners).

1. Are you a guardian of a child in the Southern

Boone County School District?

Yes _98%__

No _2%__
2. Do you work for the Southern Boone County
School District?

Yes _5%__

No _95%__
3. In what grade range is your child/children
currently in?

K-6 _71%__

7-9 _26%__

10-12 _20%__
4. Please enter your age on the slider below.

__36.55 (mean)____ Age
5. Please select your ethnicity from the choices below.

American Indian/Alaska Native _0.5%___

African-American or Black __0.5%_
Asian_0.5%__

Caucasian _96%__

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ___

Hispanic/Latino _0.5%__

Other/Not Listed __2%__

104
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6. What is your gender?

Male __23%_

Female _77%__

Transgender/Other ___
7. What is your annual household income?

$0 - $25,000 _4%___

$25,000 - $50,000 __14%__

$50,000 - $75,000 _17%___

$75,000 - $100,000 _23%___

$100,000 - $125,000 __12%__

$125,000 - $150,000 __5%__

$150,000 - $200,000 _5%___

$200,000 or more _4%___

Prefer not to answer __17%__
8. Please consider your gardening habits to answer the next questions.

9. Can you estimate the amount of hours you

garden per month (when conditions are ideal)?

0-3 hours _40%__

3-6 hours _21%__

6-9 hours ___15%

9-12 hours _12%__

12 hours or more _11%__

10. Do you have access to a garden on/near

your property?

Yes _73%__

No _27%__
11. Please rank the importance of providing fresh
and local produce for your family.

Extremely important _44%__

Important _41%__

Neutral _13%__

Not important _2%__

Extremely not important _0%_
12. Are you aware of the curriculum Southern
Boone Learning Garden provides through the
primary school?

Yes _85%__

No _15%__

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13. How familiar are you with the Southern Boone

Learning Gardens lesson plan?

Extremely familiar _5%__

Very familiar _12%__

Moderately familiar 39%___

Slightly familiar _32%__

Not familiar at all _12%__

17. Can you estimate how many times youve visited

the garden?

See open-ended responses below
18. Please rank your opinion of the statements
regarding Southern Boone Learning Garden
below.

14. Has your child talked about the garden at

home?

Yes _85%__

No _15%__
15. Can you estimate your childs opinion of the
garden?

Extremely favorable _45%__

Favorable _34%__

Neutral _20%__

Unfavorable _1%__

Extremely unfavorable _1%__

19. What additional resources or supplies would

you suggest the Southern Boone Learning
Garden provide?

See open-ended responses below

16. Have you visited the learning garden yourself?

This can include former volunteer work,
supervision duty, personal use, etc.

Yes _55%__

No _45%__

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20. Southern Boone Learning Garden will be con

verting to a sponsorship-based financial
model in 2017. These sponsorships will be
packaged with certain benefits depending on
the amount of the donation. How interested
would you be in becoming a sponsor of the
garden?

Strongly Interested _8%__

Interested _41%__

Neutral _35%__

Disinterested _13%__

Strongly Disinterested _2%__

22. Please rank the donation amount you would

be comfortable in contributing to a yearly sponsorship of Southern Boone County Learning Garden (1 being most comfortable and 7 being the
least comfortable).

___1___ $0 - $25

___2___ $25 - $50

___3___ $50 - $75

___4___ $75 - $100

___6___ $100 - $150

___5___ $150 - $200

___7___ $200 or more

21. Sponsorships will come with certain perks depending on the financial contribution. Please rank
these rewards on a scale of 1-11 (1 being most interested and 11 being least interested).

23. Are you a current member of the Ashland

YMCA?

Yes _26%__

No _74%__

___11___ Bumper stickers

___2___ Seed packets
___3___ Recipes
___5___ Apparel (clothing, hats, etc.)
___4___ Gardening supplies
___6___ Personalized plaques in the garden
___7___ Personal tree planted in your honor
___8___ Endorsement of a specific crop plot
___10___ Exclusive VIP event invitations
___1___ Garden produce boxes
___9___ Home gardening help/consultation

24. How much physical activity do you feel your

child receives?

A great deal _23%__

A lot _40%__

A moderate amount _33%__

A little _4%__

None at all _0%__

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25. How much of a problem do you consider

childhood obesity to be in:

26. Please indicate if you would become involved

with Southern Boone County Learning Garden
in the following ways:

27. Please rank your preferences of social media.

___1___ Facebook

___4___ Twitter

___3___ Instagram

___2___ Pinterest

___5___ Snapchat

28. Please rank your preference of traditional

media

___1___ Newspaper/Magazine

___3___ Radio

___2___ Television
29. Please list three words that come to your mind
when you think about Southern Boone County
Learning Garden.

See open-ended questions below

30. Thank you very much for your time and

participation. The information from this survey
will be used by Southern Boone County
Learning Garden to increase its appeal to the
Ashland families it currently serves. By
completing this survey you have been entered
into a drawing for three prizes (One $50 cash
reward and two $25 cash rewards) Please enter
your name, address, phone number and email
address in case you are selected.

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Open-Ended Responses to Survey

Questions
The following answers are to Question 17 -

Can you estimate how many times youve

visited the garden?
3
3
3
5
10
20
8
Every year when one of my 4 children have been
children to come learn.
4
6 times
Too many to count
2
100
10
5
4
30+
9
2
4
6

10
Handful
2
Once outside of picking up my kids
5
To pick my child maybe 4 times
4
3
4
3
10
2
1
Mayb 6-8?
2 - January
10
10
5
2
3
1
Once
0
8
2
1
0
0
1
0

109109
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Approximately 3-4
3
Once
0
0
15
4
0
2
0
0
1
0
2
5
10
30
0
0
4
15
0
0
3
2
0
12_
0
4
0

None
6
4
0
20
2
I helped at the preschool gardens 3 times last year
4
20
2
0
0
None
0
15
Have only visited to pick up child from garden club
meetings
3
0
0
0
0
2
2 - Jan
5 times
1
2 times
25 in the last 12 months
A few times a month
10

110
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2
Couple
No
0
30
10
1
10+

The following answers are to Question 19 -

What additional resources or supplies would

you suggest the Southern Boone Learning
Garden provide?
Shovels
Boxes
Boxes
none
unsure
More space and more educators. The Learning
Garden is a very important program for our children.
Unknown
should be strictly volunteer/not a requirement for
our youth
produce auctions, allowing more input into where
the food goes, opportunity for members to have
their own plots
None
More money to buy the supplies needed.
Whatever the teachers are think is needed
I know they learn about seeds and how to plant
them, care for them and eat them, if they are not
learning about compost and how that helps the
soil then they probably should.

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none at this time the kids do a great job now keep

up the good work
not sure
Not sure
more produce for the schools
Bigger Space

I would support whatever the leadership believes

that the garden needs. It is a EXCELLENT program
we should be proud of and support as MUCH as
POSSIBLE!!
Land
None

More space

It would be cool to add in a greenhouse at the elementary level so they can see what occurs/can
occur year round.

Field trips to greenhouses in the area.

None

more weekend volunteer opportunities for kids

cant think of anything

Greenhouse

Not sure but willing to donate supplies

Dont know what they need. It would be nice to

hear from the staff that works it what they think
would be helpful.

use in all grades

More hand held tools

Not sure what is needed

My understanding is they need more volunteers/

staff. Im sure they can always use more space,
tools and funds for plants/seeds

Dont know

Im not sure

They are adequately stocked, but with gardening, one can rarely have enough hand tools and
implements when working with a large group of
people/students.

dont know if anything right at the moment

Instructions for kids to have their own garden or plant

I dont know enough to give informed response

here.

Not sure. Im not completely aware of what they

already have.
cant think of anything else
Seeds

recipes
love to see it bigger

when my child participated they didnt seem to

be growing anything, they played games and
cleaned out plots
food to the poor

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no opinion

no suggestions

Larger space
None

Staff to provide an after school enrichment program for all children who are interested

Monarchs

none

chickens or rabbits for composting manure and

selling eggs

more plants

I think it would be terrific if the school district considers participating in the Missouri Department of
Conservations Discover Nature Schools programming.

hungry families help grow food to eat

I dont know
I think you all do an amazing job. We are so fortunate to have this garden, curriculum, the staff and
volunteers. A+
green house
Should expand
Not that familiar with what supplies are available,
so Id rather not respond
Unsure since I have never been there
Full time person/people when grant ends.
Unsure
Literature sent home with the kids on events.
More time for kids
what about fresh food for the buddy pack program
recipe book

Not sure
Family Classes
not sure
Not sure
Bathroom facilities
lightweight garden gloves, proper fit
I would love to see them have more space and
more plants.
After school/ or summer, or weekend mini -programs for K,1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders
Community training, bring awareness to the entire
community not just the families with children
More Parental involvement
Garden grown produce baskets
Nothing
Not sure
Unknown
unsure

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Info to parents
Dont know
More fruit trees
I dont know
More Space
I dont know
not sure
None
unsure
none
Need more space especially at the middle school.
Tips to start your own small garden
None at this time
I dont feel Ive visited the garden enough to answer that question ... I feel its a very nice garden!
I would like to talk to those who volunteer/staff
the garden more often to find out what the garden
needs.
Gardening gloves for students
more hand tools to turn dirt so children have to
work hard.
Unknown

The following answers are to Question 29 :

Please list three words that come to your mind

when you think about Southern Boone County
Learning Garden.
Learning

Produce

Interesting
Educational
Fun
Active
Educational
Helpful
Informative
Interactive
environmentalists tree hugger
Resourceful
Pleasure
Vegetables
Seeds
Educational
Fun
Healthy

Active
Fun
Learning
Nutritious
Healthy
knowledge
caring
Healthy

Environment
fruit
vegetable
community
healthy eating
helpful
meaningful
Environmental
Teaching tool
food
outside
Small
Learning
Nature
Education
Fantastic
Amazing
Great OpportunityHealthy eating
Knowledge
Teach
joy
important
Awesome
Amazing
Vegetables
Flowers

Education
Hands on
Delicious
Informative
Important
activist
Bountiful
Dirt
Healthy
Awareness
Healthy
Fun
Love
Fresh
clean
involvement
involvement
Hands on
green
Grow
Clean eating
Genius
Fun for kids
Healthy
learning
Interesting
Work

114
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Veggies
learning
Healthy
Interactive
fun
education
healthy
Vegetables
Health
Fun
Learning
Innovative
Educating
Healthy

Community
Healthy
organic
Fresh food
Good
fun
Knowledge
health
nature
unique
exciting
Healthy
vegetables
educational
fun
Growing
Fun
Green
fun
great

educational
fresh
Sunshine
Skills
educational
organic
beneficent
Fresh
Knowledge
Educational
Growing
Caring
Food
Informational
Enrichment
Fun
earth
Learning
activity
innovative
Nutrition
growth
information
opportunity
privelaged
Science
fruit
healthy
learning
Natural
Healthy
Educational
unique
fresh

summer
great
Fun
Science
healthy
life-skills
creative
Education
Community
Inspiring
Providing
Ground Breaking
Resources
Great
Wonderful
Learning
teaching
how to garden
for kids
interesting
Fun
educational
childhood
educational
exceptional
Hands On
learning
responsible
activity
Enrichment
Hands-on
Great
important
extension

Educational!
Important!
Fun
Educational
Vegetable
Fun
Wonderful
Educational
healthy
resource
SPRING
LEARNING
Health
Education
yummy
fresh
local
fun
Educational
Helpful
Educational
Important
Unique
Educational
Educational
Healthy
Havent heard much Sounds like fun
valuable experience unique
healthy
fun
health
learning
Educational
Great
Produce
Educational
Productive
Beneficial
Great
Informational
Organic
Pure
educational
food
Green
Lifetime
Food
Fun
no suggestions no suggestions
Fun
healthy
exciting
educational
awesome
great
Time
Money
Fresh
Vegetables
DNK
DNK
growth
practical
inspiring
educational

Awesome!
Beneficial
Sunshine
Fortunate
environmental
FUN
Fun
great
opportunities
Interesting
Fun
Valuable
Convenient
Needs attention
important
educational
vegetables
Hands on
Beneficial
friendly
Educational
Natural
outside
Fresh
Sustainability
no suggestions
nature
beautiful
educational
Fun
Dirty
DNK
learn
motivational

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Skills
Lifelong
Awesome
Yummy
Healthy
Fresh
Educational
Fun
outside
hands-on
Fun
Creative
Healthy
Adventure
Dedication
Community
fresh
produce
Creative
Fun
Educational
Informative
Fun
Butterflies
Educational
Local
Fun
Educational
Good experiencePractical
Pride
Community
Gardening
Experience
environment
exposure
Strawberries
Planting
Outside
Dirt
ms grabner
Kids
Awesome
Wholesome
Future
Health
Great learning toolExcited
Green
Educational
Dirt
Vegetable
Fun
Dirty
Produce

Learning
family
fun
School
Health
Future

Education
healthy
educational
Vegetables
hands on
Fresh
Learning

Health
Goodness
Garden Club
Community
get dirty
Alterantive
Educational
Skills
experience
Educational
Essential
Healthy
Healthy
Accessible
Important skills
Opportunity
Learning
awesome
Students
Learning
Outdoors
Educational
Work
Neat
Fun
Food
Fresh
whole food
community
Educate
Fun
outdoors
skill
Helpful

Fun
fun
Exceptional
kale
Fresh

Educational
nature
Extensive
cute
Experience

Community
exploration
Exciting
mud
Enrichment

116
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In-depth Personal Interviews

Twenty minute in-depth personal interviews of
current Southern BooneHigh School seniors were
conducted by ADVOCATE. These two interviews
helped gather qualitative insights into the history
of Southern Boone Learning Garden and what the
seniors took away from its lessons ten years later.
Rebecca Sjostrand - Member of Inaugural
Garden Club (2007) Interview Transcript
Ryan Stephan (Interviewer): The purpose of this
interview, we asked Jenny for some names of students who were a part of the garden during its first
year way back in 2007, and your name came up.
How were you involved, were you a student or a
part of a certain club?
Rebecca Sjostrand (Interviewee): I remember that
they sent out applications to all the kids, and I
think I was in maybe third grade and we all received applications in class. They picked a couple
of kids to be a part of the after school club.
Ryan: Were you one of the lucky few to be chosen?
Rebecca: They might have chosen everyone, I
dont remember.

Ryan: Yeah that was a long time ago.

Rebecca - * laughs * Yes it was.
Ryan : I dont remember much about 2007 but
was it during school time or after school?
Rebecca : It was right after, I think for about an hour.
Ryan: What was the name of that program?
Rebecca: I think it was just the Ashland learning
garden, something like that.
Ryan: What exactly did they have you do as a part
of this club, in terms of activities or lessons?
Rebecca: I remember when they started out, this
was back when it was right behind the elementary
school, right behind the gym. We actually got to
build our own beds with the group and planted our
own vegetables. We learned how to plant them,
and when we could plant them. They taught us
about eating healthy, and we were able to try the
foods that we got to grow.
Ryan: So you said it was behind the elementary
school, in a different location?

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Rebecca: It used to be right behind the elementary

school, you go out the gym doors and it was right
there. It was a really small area and there was one
picnic table.

Ryan : So the process of growing your own vegetables and eating what you took care of and cultivated was rewarding?

Ryan: One picnic table?

Rebecca : Definitely rewarding.

Rebecca: One picnic table.

Ryan: Alright so they taught you how to grow vegetables and helped you start to eat them. Do you
have any more distinct memories of being a part
of the after school club when you were in third
grade?

Ryan: So what they have now, its a lot bigger.

Rebecca: Yeah we had one picnic table, and there
was 4 little beds. No pathways. No mulch.
Just all dirt.
Ryan: Wow sounds like some barebone stuff.
Rebecca: Yeah its totally different from what it is now.
Ryan: Thats awesome, I didnt know that. Continuing on, you said that SBLG taught you how to
eat healthy. Did those lessons change you eating
habits at all? Did you eat more vegetables?

Rebecca: I vaguely remember people in my group,

but I remember that we had the chance to design
our own beds in the shape of something. I think our
group decided on a star and we got to help build it
out of wood. It was fun to work as a group.
Ryan: Now looking back to when you were 8 and
looking forward to now, did you retain any of the
skills SBLG taught you and apply them to your daily life?

Rebecca: Yeah I tried a lot more vegetables during

that club. I wasnt a big vegetable eater but they
encouraged us to eat things we werent used to,
and especially eat things that we grew ourselves.
That made me a lot more excited to eat them and
give vegetables a chance.

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Rebecca : Yeah Im in FFA so we actually have our

own little garden outside of where I go to school
so SBLG provided me with some skills for FFA. I
also volunteer at the learning garden now, and
its cool to see how different it is and how the kids
still enjoy it, definitely brings back memories from
when I was that age.

Ryan: Gotcha, so could what they have going on in

the current garden working in the high school curriculum? Im guessing you guys have your own gardens,
but is there a way to combine the two programs?

Ryan: So whats different about the learning garden now, more space, more supplies?

Rebecca: Yeah I know that theres a greenhouse

and they do a lot of maintaining the garden, pick
the weeds and plant all the plants that we take out
in late spring. I think thats already incorporated at
SBLG but I could see them expanding that.

Rebecca: Its so much bigger, the first time I ever

went there I was like wow this is not even the same
place its huge and its pretty cool.

Ryan: You said you volunteer at SBLG, how does

that volunteer program work? Do they personally
invite a few high school students?

Ryan: So you said youre in FFA Im guessing you

obviously still garden

Ryan: Do you use the learning garden or do you

use your own?

Rebecca : FFA offers the opportunity to sign up

and I went a couple a times a couple years ago.
Basically you just sign up and go over right after
school. You stay two hours and help with whatever
tasks they need. I remember I helped a few kids
plant some seeds or they have you help the kids
haul mulch over the bed.

Rebecca: We have our own and we plant a

couple of vegetables and at the Ag building we
plant strawberry beds.

Ryan: That sounds cool. What were the major

differences you saw in what the kids were doing
there and what you did in 2007?

Rebecca: For sure

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Rebecca: Now a lot more kids are involved but I

think they teach a lot of the same things. Eating
healthy and teaching them how to plant, teaching
them about composting which is something a lot of
us didnt know about.
Ryan: Do you know of any adults who use the garden in their free time? This can be parents or community members without children?
Rebecca: I know my mom and my grandmother
garden at home but I dont think they use the garden.
Ryan: Could you see anybody potentially using
the garden if the space was broadcasted to the
community?
Rebecca: I could definitely see people coming in
especially if they were able to help out, maybe
if they got the chance to bring some vegetables
home. I could definitely see that.
Ryan: Yeah, theyre thinking of doing a new plan
where you pay a certain amount per year and
then you get certain benefits. One of those would
be garden produce boxes.

Rebecca: I think a lot of people would be interested.

Ryan: Okay, cool thats what we would like to
hear. *Laughter* Would you recommend this yearly membership to people you know, especially
those interested in gardening?
Rebecca: Yes one time, I think it was the garden
club or the learning garden, did a presentation
and it was welcome to any gardener in Ashland
that wanted to come in and learn about different
pests or diseases and how they can prevent them.
A lot of people came for that so I can see how they
could expand on that.
Ryan: So you think people would be interested in
the education process of maintaining a garden?
Rebecca: Oh yeah!
Ryan: Alright shifting gears, slightly. How do you
think the garden can become a vital part of the
Ashland community? Do you see any potential
events or venues it can participate in? or businesses it could partner with?

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Rebecca: I think definitely, the farmers market

that we have in Ashland. I think that would be a
good place to sell the produce and have the kids
could get involved and help sell those to the community members. I think it would be a great way to
advertise the garden.
Ryan: How popular is the farmers market?
Rebecca: Its a pretty big deal, quite a lot of people go. Its during the summer months on Tuesdays
and Thursdays I think.
People come and theres barbeque places and
people that bring eggs or some kind of flowers,
and of course vegetables and fruits on there.
Ryan: Thats definitely something to look into. Alright so how much would you value a membership
at the learning garden or how much would you be
willing to pay for unlimited access?
Rebecca: I mean vegetables and fruits can be
pretty expensive so if you got that benefit of that
produce box, I think maybe $65 a year would be a
reasonable amount.

Rebecca: Yeah when I think of other clubs and organizations I think most charge 50-75 dollars per
year.
Ryan: Alright Im just going to name some benefits that would come with becoming a member and
you can just list which one of these stand out. Seed
packets, recipes, garden produce boxes, bumper
stickers, shovels, learning supplies, t-shirts and
apparel, which of those would be most appealing?
Rebecca: I think the recipes sound great, maybe
you guys could center a fundraiser around making
a recipe book. A lot of people buy those and are
interested. I definitely think the produce box would
be a hit, and I think the t-shirts would work. People
buy t-shirts because everybody love t-shirts. But
the biggest would definitely be the produce box,
people are always into getting fresh fruit and vegetables throughout the year.
Ryan: Are there any items I listed that you wouldnt
care for?
Rebecca: Probably the bumper sticker laughter
wouldnt want to put any sticker on my car.

Ryan: Yeah we were just interested in the first figure that came to your head so thats perfect.

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Ryan: Yeah we found through our survey that

bumper stickers are not the most popular laughter
Ryan: Shifting gears again, do you see childhood
obesity as a problem in the US currently?

Rebecca: I know they adopted a whole new program for our lunch system, like theyre taking
away some stuff because its not healthy. So that
makes sense and I think providing fresh vegetables is a great idea.

Rebecca: Definitely, studies have shown that its

becoming more common and I think the learning
garden would be a could way to promote healthy
eating. The kids that would be involved, I know
when I was there I learned all these ways to eat
healthy so continued education will help

Ryan: Did you support them taking away the unhealthy food?

Ryan: Do you think Ashland is representative of

the obesity problem happening in the US or is it
better off than the rest of the country?

Ryan: Alright, so how do you think the learning

garden should be getting more community awareness? Do you think theres already awareness
within the community that it exists?

Rebecca: I honestly think that were a pretty fit

town, overall we dont follow that trend as much.
Probably a little healthier.
Ryan: From what Ive learned they put some
amount of pounds per month into the school
lunches, Im not sure if they did that when you
went through the primary school.

Rebecca: Well I miss the sweets, the cookies and

stuff like that but I generally bring lunch from
home so it doesnt really affect me.

Rebecca: Our community is supportive of different

organizations and schools, like FFA and everyones been very supportive of any work. Were
such a small town that you can definitely get a lot
of support for the learning garden.
Ryan: Do you think parents know about the
lesson plans?

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Rebecca: I think probably not, Im sure not all parents even know about the learning garden. I know
classes go out there during the day, because
when I mentored my kids they were always so excited to go out that day. I think the parents should
become more aware of their excitement.
Ryan : How did you like your volunteer experience
at the garden?
Rebecca: It was a lot of fun. It was fun to work with
all the little kids and they all obviously enjoyed
being outside, it was fun to help them.
Ryan: Alright, last question if you had to tell current students the main thing to take away from
their experience at the learning garden, what
would that be?

Haley McDill: What is one thing you feel like you

really learned and took away that followed you
through the rest of your life from that experience?
Rebecca: I would say the interest in gardening.
After I did the club, I was inspired and started gardening at home. Now I enjoy helping my grandma,
so I have the garden to thank for that.
Ryan: Well thank you so much for your responses,
and taking the time out of your day to meet with us!
Rebecca: No problem, thank you!
- End Transcript -

Rebecca: I would say take away the opportunity

to learn how to eat healthy and to do gardening
because its a great way to be outdoors. A lot of
people spend their time indoors and gardening is
a great way to get outside, and be involved in the
environment
Ryan: Awesome, I think thats all we have unless
you or anybody else has any questions?

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Katrina Gately - Member of Inaugural Garden

Club (2007) Interview Transcript
Katrina Gately (Interviewee) : My name is Katrina
Gately, and Im a senior at Southern Boone.
Julia Reed (Interviewer) : So, you were able to see
the learning garden in its earliest form. How were
you involved back then, was it an after-school
program at the time or was it a part of the classes?
Katrina : That time it was an after-school program nd I heard about it, maybe through a flyer
at school or through the newspaper or something.
But my mom just told my sister and I that we were
joining the learning garden club *laughs*.

Julia : Did you have a favorite class that you took?

Katrina : Back then we didnt switch classes but I
always liked math when I was younger.
Julia : Right. Ok, well what sort of things did they
teach you in the garden. You mentioned composting but were there any sort of life skills that they taught?
Katrina : I just thought of how they taught us about
how food comes from simple gardening, rather
than just buying it off the shelf. And they wanted
us to grow something and have a meal out of it
once we harvested it.
Julia : Did it change the way you looked at food
at all?

Julia : What did you do back then?

Katrina : I remember learning about composting
and starting to build the garden. Then I also
remember learning like to build stepping stones.
Like pouring cement and decorating with stuff to
put in the garden.

Katrina : I dont know, I was really young so

*laughs* I dont know if it changed the way I look
at food.
Julia : Do you think that your eating habits have
altered or been different compared to people who
didnt join the club?

Julia : How old were you when you were in the club?
Katrina : I think I was in the fourth grade, so
probably 9.

Katrina : Maybe I know I never really liked

vegetables as a kid, but then we grew them in the
garden and I ate them there so that changed.
Julia : Do you still use the garden or volunteer?

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Katrina : I dont but I think that would be a cool

group to have in the high school. They have a lot
of mentoring opportunities but I dont know if
anybody gets to help out in the learning garden.
Julia : So you said you wish their were more
opportunities to help out. Do you have any distinct
memories from back then?
Katrina : After looking at some of the pictures they
showed us and trying to find out who was in it I
remember being in the gym at the Primary and
learning about how to plant, then going outside
to plant, and then going back inside to the kitchen
and preparing the food.
Julia : What kind of food did you grow during your
time?
Katrina : I think we did carrots and potatoes. Probably more *laughs*
Julia : Do you still garden in your free time at all?
Katrina : My dad has a lot of gardens but he likes
his things the way they are *laughs* so I really
dont help him out too much.

of Ashland or do you think that people dont do it

enough?
Katrina : I think it is. I know a lot of people in town
are really prideful about their gardening. You
always see people with their garden of the month.
Julia : So childhood obesity is obviously a growing
thing, do you see any problems in Ashland
compared to other places in the U.S. or is it better
than other places?
Katrina : I think it could be better in a way, because
this community takes sports so seriously so a lot of
us are really active with school sports or Optimist
sports but I do see a lot of younger kids that do
struggle with obesity
Marshall Maxwell : Do you think that the town is
more involved in its community?
Katrina : I do. We have, I mean Im on the student
council and we try to find ways to get involved
with the community. We try to get the student
body involved with the community I think that its
a big thing around here. We have that small-town
dynamic.

Julia : Do you think gardening an important aspect

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Marshall : What other residents get involved with

the community?
Katrina : The biggest events we have are the
Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival which is about fifteen
minutes away. Everybody goes to that and we
have a parade for basically every event. Also the
Cattlemen Days Rodeo, we have that every year.
We have a parade and then the homecoming
football games have a parade. All the little kids
get to lineup and look at us as we march through
the parade. The whole town also gets involved
with the girls basketball team. They went to the
final four this weekend and when they went to
the final four game on Saturday, the town lined
the streets on Broadway when their bus left. Just
things like that.

Julia : Theyre currently changing some things

around. What improvements do you think the
garden could use?
Katrina : I really dont know, maybe advertising it
more on the high school level or just showing us
opportunities to volunteer or help out over there.
Julia : What sort of things would you be interested
in doing through volunteering?
Katrina : I love working with kids, so helping out
the adults with more supervision or maybe just a
little bit more help with their gardening. You said
they go there during class now?
Julia : Mmhm.

Julia : How do you think the learning garden fits

into this small-town community mindset?

Katrina : So maybe one of the mentoring options

could be to lead a learning garden class.

Katrina : I think its a good thing to teach kids how

important gardening is and agricultural aspects. A
lot of people that live here, live outside the city
limits and are involved in a lot of farming so I think
that its good to teach kids that not all food comes
from the store.

Marshall : Is there a student teaching club around

the high school?

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Katrina : We do teacher aides. You can aide for a

teacher at any school or you can do A+ mentoring
to get your A+ money. That you can do with any
teacher. Actually they did, its called Eagle
Leadership Class, and high schoolers go over and
have a buddy at the primary elementary school.
So maybe we could incorporate the learning
garden into that.
Julia : If you could tell any current students the
main thing you learned from the learning garden,
what would that be?
Katrina : I think how to be active in the
community. Im very involved as a high schooler
now, but I think the garden is a good way for young
kids to get involved. When youre younger theres
just not that many opportunities, so I thought the
garden was a good way for me to learn what this
community is about.

Katrina : I think its a great thing for our town and

to be involved in it. A lot of people are involved in
FFA but theres not a lot of other agricultural clubs
available to the younger ages.
Julia : You said earlier that you grew a lot of
vegetables and you ate the ones that you grew.
They were telling us earlier that the kids just pluck
them off the ground. Did you experience that at all?
Katrina : Not that I remember *laughs* my memory
is really bad.
Julia : One last question, the skills that you acquired do you still use them now. Such as vegetable growing or just appreciating how much time it
takes to grow food.
Katrina : I think I do, just when you go to the grocery store and you end up buying fresh vegetables rather than the ones out of the can, I dont
know its a different feel.

Julia : Marshall, do you have any more questions?

- End Transcript Marshall : I suppose the last question I have is
what were your best memories or thoughts about
the learning garden?

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Personal Interview with Bill Polanski of

Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture
ADVOCATE and Billy Polanski, Executive Director
of Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA)
met for an hour-long interview covering the financial structure of his organization. The inside look
was beneficial to see how a similar community

garden in the same geographcial region as

SBLG structures their membership tiers, and
how it incentivizes businesses and inviduals to
join them. Polanski also gave advice maintaining
memberships into the future as a relationship
between the organization and the donor.

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Ryan Stephan (Interviewer) : We are doing

a campaign for the Southern Boone County
Learning Garden in Ashland and they are thinking of switching to a model similar to what you
guys have, from what Ive read on your website.
Thats basically multi-tiered donor levels and I
was just reading, it appears you guys launched
the Planting for the Pantry campaign in 2013.
Billy Polanski (Interviewee) : Mmhmm.
Ryan : From what Ive gathered, people can
donate a certain amount of money for a certain
amount of rows of crops, and I was wondering
what events led to the creation of this campaign?

Billy : Theyre a non-profit and do agriculture

projects around the world. It started with heifers and giving pregnant female cows to communities and I wont get into that *laughter* but
one of their big fundraising things is they have
a gift catalogue of all the animals they give out.
You can buy ducks or you can buy a heifer, or you
can buy a goat, or bees, or chickens or whatever. And theyre all different prices. Its a really
cute price catalogue and as far as the donor experience goes, you have this tangible thing that
you bought. I mean you didnt really buy those
chickens, its going towards all kinds of things, but
the chicken sort of represents what youre giving
and thats kind of what Paying for the Pantry does.
Instead of asking people for $1,000, one row is
$1,200 and you probably saw that on our website.
Ryan : Yeah, I did.

Billy : A big component of it as far as selling it to

the donors, is that there is a tangible-ness to it
versus like Give us $100. Are you familiar with
Heifer International?
Ryan : No I am not.

Billy : But its really easy to say, Hey will you

sponsor a row, versus Hey will you give us
$1,200. Because the donor wants to know how
their funds are being used and theyre giving because they have a connection to the work the
organization does. So by asking them to sponsor a
row, you arent really talking about money at that
point youre talking about the mission and what
were doing. It changes the framing, it changes the
conversation youre having.

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Ryan : So its a nice physical representation of

what theyre giving.

Billy : It is a mixture, Id say at least half are

businesses and groups like churches or the rotary.

Billy : Mmhmm.

Ryan : Are there incentives other than owning

the row, like I saw with individual members if
you donate, you receive a bumper sticker or
something. Do they receive the same incentives.

Ryan : That makes sense. So how did you spread

awareness for this new campaign in 2013, did you
have an advertising firm, go through the university,
do it yourself, word of mouth?
Billy : Mostly word of mouth. What we did with
this is wed talk to different social groups, people
who are supporters what we did is made a little
campaign packet that they could take to their
workplace or their church or something. It wouldnt
have to be just one person sponsoring a row; we
had lots of businesses or social clubs or churches that sponsor. So if the group decides hey we
want to sponsor a row, or a half row, or a quarter
row: then everybody can pitch until the fundraising
goal is reached. It really sort of empowers people
who are supporters to leverage their friends support too. So we sort of went through those groups
as a way to fundraise as well.
Ryan : Would you say a majority of the rows are
sponsored by businesses or more individuals, a
mixture?

Billy : Not really. When they donate we mail them

a certificate that says you sponsored this much of
a row and a thank you card. Twice a year, we have
some donor appreciation events. In the summer
anybody who gave us a dollar can come to a meal
at the urban farm. Every donor is invited to that
event. You can sponsor one square foot for $5 and
you get to come. ITs a way to get all the donors
together, and these are our supporters and people
that really believe in CCUA and we gather them
all together. We eat and its cultivation for us as
well. We get to spend more time with the people
that support us and find out why they support us.
We key them into some of the stuff were doing
so they can become more invested. Then in the
winter we have a donor appreciation event for
everybody who gave more than $100. Its a little
more upscale, not really ritzy. We hold it at the
Columbia Art League downtown, so its really nice
and instead of like a big buffet style outside in the
garden. Theres little fancy sandwiches.

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Ryan : So its like a gala?

Billy : Yeah but its not a like a sit down dinner,
more like heavy hor doerves But, yeah, we do
those two things for any of our donors.
Ryan : For those events, do you partner with organizations that has food that comes from the garden itself?
Billy : Um, in the summer, yeah, a lot of food does.
The winter time event, obviously its kind of hard.
(Ryan: cause there is not much going on) But um,
we partner, um, all the food was donated, the
Columbia Artly donated the space for us to use,
and we got free beers and wine from Bruce Winery
and stuff.
Ryan : In the winter, speaking of winter and
summer, is it harder to track donors? Or is it like a
consistent process you are on that where people
are just donating sporadically?
Billy : In the winter, you are talking about the
Planting for the Pantry specifically?

Billy : We started this year, we are really trying to

do a campaign. But Planning for the Pantry before
is just sort of a year-round, like you can get. But we
are really going to push it hard this spring, they wed
like, you know, by summer, to have all the sponsors,
so, that we can focus on different campaigns. We
will have a membership campaign. Later in this
summer, well have a member event. And then,
Planting for the Panty in the spring, people are
thinking of planting. At the end of the year we do
a year fundraiser appeal, so we do CoMoGives
with the Community Foundation, was like an online
campaign. I think Southern Boone can do that. And
we do direct mail., I guess in the spring, we are
really pushing for the pantries and in the summer,
push the membership, and in the winter, I will push,
really just like general donations, to help us if we
ran out of budget at the end of the year. And give
people those years in tax breaks and stuff.
Ryan : Other than tax breaks, how do you
incentivize people or individuals? It looks like you
guys have lots of swags. Is it the pantry more like
an intransit motivators than the event? What you
found that creates the most donations?

Ryan : Um, just in generally Planting for the Pantry,

individuals, businesses

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Billy : Really, its people who care about what we

are doing, that what we are doing is meaningful to
them, and that, um, we are continuing to engage
them. Oh, one second, I got a book. (Billy paused
to look for the book) Ok, its not here.
Ryan : No problem!
Billy : Its called Donor Centric Fundraising. Its a
great book. I read it in like four hours or something.
Ryan : Thats seems like a good book to digest.
Billy : Its really about like people want to give,
and people who care about what you are doing,
will give you, you just need to keep them informed
of what you are doing. So a lot of people only get
in touch with their donors when they are asking
them for money. Hey, its us here again, please
give us money! Please come to this event! We are
gonna ask you for money. They are not getting
updates like, Hey, we did this great thing, and
your donation is helping this. Have a nice day!
You know, and getting thank you cards and all that
kind of stuff. They say fundraising is friend-making,
so, its really maintaining relationships with these
people, the public. The people who consistently
give and consistently give large amount, are the
people who we keep a dialogue with. We see
these people at the Farmers Market, we talk to

them, or at the event, we take time to talk to them,

and ask them about their families and ask them
about their own gardens, its really just about the
relationships.
Ryan : So rather than just cold calling and an email
asking for a donations and its more like an update
progress showing them what we have done?
Billy : Right, and its both, right? And I imagine you
guys are doing a campaign, you are trying to get
new donors for them, right?
Ryan : Yes, they are going off their grant of this
very foundation and trying to get parents of students on a donor-base level.
Billy : Right, its really like you have to do both. You
have to bring in new people, but its foolish to spend
all of your time getting these new people, and
then just like neglecting the people you have now,
right? Its like buying a new car but not changing
the oil. You know, like Oh this car blows, so I am
gonna spend all my time and money on buying a
new car but all you have to do is changing the
oil, and you car will give you, you know. So, not
to say that our are dispensable engines, but you
know I am saying like you have to like maintain,
like friends too. You spend all your time getting
new friends, but you like, dont spend time, you

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know, like you dont never go to a movies or like

to the bars with the people you knew. You are
gonna lose them. So its both. So, I would say as
you are trying to get these new people, like, you
know, and this book Donor Centric Fundraising is
great cuz it talks about, its really data-heavy, it
talks about the recidivism rights and they are still
hot. So you can get 100 new people, and next year
when you send that mails again, maybe you can
only get 15 of them. And why? They gave to you
in the first place.
Ryan : So its all based about the relationship?
Billy : Right, if you are not maintain the relationships,
it takes a lot of time, but it takes less time to keep
a donor, and to have them give every year, maybe
give more every year, and to get somebody in just,
keep getting more people in the door. Now where
Southern Boone is at, they dont have a lot of
people in their dome so they really need to...
Ryan : Yes, and there is not a lot of room in the
dome, like 4,000 residents there, and its really a
very small area.

Ryan - I think their whole thing is that they want to

be a gathering hole for the community. We are going to stress that, so your opinion would be a good
direction to take. Switching bases to businesses, it
seems like you have good relationships with a lot
of local businesses. Are there separate membership models for them? Is it also tier-based? What
made you decide on the financial figures for those
tiers, and for the individuals, such as farmers,
harvesters, etc?
Billy : We looked at what a lot of other people
are doing online, kind of saw where other people
are at. We also kind of saw where our current
donations were, so we saw like, okay, a lot of
people are here, and theres a couple here and
a couple here, and wed really like to push more
people here. So we kind of felt that by making
those tiers, it would maybe, like, help push people
to the next level. You know? Like if a lot of people
were giving 25 dollars and we gave a 35 dollar
level, which is still squarely not going to blow
them out of the water right?

Billy - Right, so, and you know, with that, those personal relationships are even more important because its a small town, and small towns are kind
of built on these relationships.

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Ryan : Yeah, push it a little upward. That makes

sense. Continuing on the businesses, it seems like
you promise them a logo on the website, event
stuff, do they ever ask, do they barter with you,
to they bargain with you, ask for more than what
you offer?
Billy : Mhmmm
Ryan : Does that like include partnerships for
events?
Billy - Mhmmm. Um yeah, a lot of times, and a
lot of times we just say no. Because, sometimes,
you know it depends. A lot of times theyll want
to come to our events and like handout t-shirts or
something and its like uhhhh no Were trying
to push our message at this event and if youre
just handing out t-shirts for the bank And a lot of
times, they get it. Sometimes, we did a thing with
Ace a few years, and in the spring, like the height of
tomato plant season, we went out there a couple
times and kind of just set up a table next to their
garden section and just gave out some advice and
we could also give out our cards and people could
learn. So it was kind of like a mutually beneficial
thing. We eventually stopped doing it because it
wasnt as mutually beneficial.

Billy : It was a little weird.

Ryan : Were they trying to tell you to push
products, like shovels or?
Billy : No, no they werent. They were super cool
about that but for us, it was like, having the table
set up there was weird because people didnt
really want to talk to us because they thought we
were trying to sell them something. But we were
really just trying to give them advice.
Ryan : Spread awareness.
Billy : Right, and we dont work there either. And so,
where are the shovels? And we were like uhhh inside?
Ryan : So, um, considering the individual planters
for the pantry and business memberships, which
one of those three contributes most to your overall
revenue?
Billy : Thats a good question. Um, I can go look.
Do you wanna do that before you leave?
Ryan : Yeah that would be perfect. It doesnt have
to be exact dollar amounts, but yeah that would
be great. Do any businesses approach you or do
you primarily approach businesses?

Ryan : Gotcha.

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Billy : Um, usually were approaching them.

Sometimes, yeah sometimes theyll come to us. A
lot of times theyll come to us when they want to
like give us free product. Um, which sometimes is
great and sometimes is not. It really, you know the
cash would be great because you cant pay the
electric bill with a free bag of fertilizer.

they worked at the food pantry before so theyve

seen poverty and hunger and malnutrition. So,
you know of have to know, like I said, its friendmaking. You dont just go up to somebody on the
street and be like, Hey do you want to be my
friend? Like, youre friends with people who you
know through other people because you know
you have common interest.

Ryan : Yeah.
Billy : Yeah usually we approach them and usually
its not, its not always cold. We always try to find,
like a way in or somebody. Its like, dont you
know a guy whose brother works there? Lets talk
to him first. See who the right person to talk to is.
Maybe he can introduce us. Oh we always try to
get an introduction instead of just like, I remember,
like doing fundraisers in high school and college
and you have like the letter and youre like Can I
speak to your manager, please? And you know Ive
totally been there but that doesnt work very well.
Ryan : You have to know somebody who gets you in.
Billy : Yeah and you kind of find out about them
and know, okay, this person really cares about,
maybe they have kids in the school, and thats like
how you want to sell it to them. Or maybe, they
grew up on a farm and so they know the value of
agriculture is really important or maybe you know

Ryan : So its like a common value thing? Rather

than just a name to call?
Billy : Right and sometimes you know those cold
introductions work but a lot of times if you know
whats motivating somebody. Because in the work
were doing theres a lot of things. Theres health,
theres environmental education, theres economic
opportunity for young beginning farmers, theres
all the educational benefits for the kids in the
school, science, math, reading. So everybody
is going to see it differently, somebody whos
a teacher is going to see it one way, somebody
who is a business owner or works for the health
department, all of these different things are gonna
see the value in the work thats being done differently.

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Ryan : That makes sense. Do you know, this might

be something to look over there, but the most
common individual membership donation?
Billy : We could look that up.
Ryan : Sounds good. And then um, whats your
biggest piece of advice to a community garden
that is trying to switch from just relying on a grant
to a donorship based model?
Billy : I wouldnt give up on grants. Diversifying
your income is a good idea. I can tell you that
right now, I think between 50 and 60 percent of
our income is grants. And were trying to get that
percentage down because with those individuals,
we would be more stable. You lose one $50,000
grant, and youve lost $50,000. You lose one $50
donor and youre still functioning. You have to put
more time and effort on it, but I wouldnt have them
totally give up on the grant writing and with those
individual donors, just focus on the relationships.
And have Jenny read that book.

of like yeah theres this person and they consistently gave $100 every year and then when they
died they left us their estate which was worth $4
million. And stuff like that happens and you dont
know. You dont know that this person is a millionaire or maybe they know the people who work at
the hardware store, you know the bigger your network of friends is the better.
Ryan : Well, I think thats the majority of my questions. Other than the nitty-gritty boring financial
stuff. But I mean, thanks for all of your advice. Im
definitely going to find that book.
Billy : Oh yeah its great.
- End Transcript -

Ryan : Oh yeah, that book sounds great to me.

Billy : Yeah, its, I read it and I like couldnt put it
down. Its this woman and shes like been a fundraiser her whole life and she tells all these horror
stories and she tells all of these success stories

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The following information regarding memberships

for the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture was
provided by Billy Polanski.

Membership Revenue of CCUA

Approximately $8,000 received from Membership
Tiers

$1,000 - 3

$500 - 2

$100 - 18

$75 - 1

$50 - 23

$10 - 26
$28,000 received from business donors.
$24,000 from Harvest Hootenany and Logo
Displays

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EVENT TIMELINE

MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION

KRCG
NEWS TIPLINE: (573) 896-4534
Email: news@krcg.com
KFRU - David lile
Talk Shows: (573) 442-8255
Columbia Daily Tribune
NEWSROOM: (573) 815-1700
Fax: (866) 628-5873
The Boone County Journal:
Bruce Wallace
Phone: (573) 657-2334
Fax: (573) 657-2002
Email: reporter@bocojo.com
Columbia Missourian:
columbiamissourian.com
221 South 8th Street
Columbia, MO 65201
New phone: (573) 882-5720
Email: news@columbiamissourian.com
KOMU
Angie Bailey
Email: baileyam@missouri.edu
(573)-884-6397

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ABC17 - Joey Parker

Newsroom Phone: (573) 449-1700
Email: joey.parker@kmiz.com

5/6/16 9:05 AM

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