Apply — SeedMoney (preview)

A girl holding a freshly dug sweet potato at a community garden harvest

The SeedMoney Challenge

Raise money for your garden.
Earn a grant on top.

Run your own 30-day community fundraiser and earn an additional SeedMoney grant based on what you raise — with the page, the coaching, and the tools provided. Open to public food gardens anywhere in the world.

Apply for a grant →

Applications close November 12. Not ready yet? Get fundraising tips by email →

How it works

Rally your community. Earn a grant.

The SeedMoney Challenge is a 30-day group crowdfunding event open to public food gardens anywhere in the world — and it works in three simple steps.

Apply by Nov 12

Apply

Apply for a challenge grant of $100 to $1,000. No experience needed — we’ll help you get set up.

Nov 15 – Dec 15

Rally your community

Invite your community to chip in during the 30-day Challenge. We give you the page, templates, and coaching.

After Dec 15

Earn your grant

The more your community gives, the bigger the grant SeedMoney adds on top of what you raise.

Grants available

Four kinds of grants. One application.

Enter the Challenge once and your project is automatically considered for every grant it qualifies for — based on how it performs in the competition and where it’s located.

$81,000

Total available

432

Grants available

$100–$1,000

Challenge grant range

Challenge grants

$57,600 · 288 grants

Awarded by where your project ranks at the close of the 30-day Challenge. The more you raise, the higher you rank — and the larger your grant.

Final ranking	Grant	# Grants#	Total
1st place	$1,000	1	$1,000
2nd place	$900	1	$900
3rd place	$800	1	$800
4th–9th	$600	6	$3,600
10th–18th	$500	9	$4,500
19th–36th	$400	18	$7,200
37th–72nd	$300	36	$10,800
73rd–144th	$200	72	$14,400
145th–288th	$100	144	$14,400
Subtotal		288	$57,600

Strong start & finish

$8,400 · 74 grants

Bonus grants for projects that come out of the gate fast or finish hard in the final week.

Grant	Amount	#
Strongest start (first 24h)	$400	1
Strong start (top 50, week 1)	$100	50
Strong finish — 1st	$500	1
Strong finish — 2nd	$300	1
Strong finish — 3rd	$200	1
Strong finish — 4th–23rd	$100	20
Subtotal		74

Geographic interest

$15,000 · 70 grants

Awarded by location — no crowdfunding ranking required to qualify.

Region	Grant	#
International — developing countries	$150	40
Maine — home-state projects	$300	30
Subtotal		70

Grants stack. Your total is everything you raise plus any grants you earn. A project that raises $3,000 and qualifies for a $400 challenge grant, a $100 strong-start grant, and a $100 strong-finish grant receives a check for $3,600 ($3,000 + $400 + $100 + $100).

$50 value · every applicant

And everyone wins something

Every project that applies is automatically awarded a free SeedMoney Garden Planner grant — a $50 value — whether or not you raise a dollar. Plan your beds, map your planting dates, and grow more from day one.

See the planner →

Still have questions? Read the full FAQ →

What you get

You don’t have to be a fundraiser.

No experience required. We give you everything you need to run a strong 30-day campaign — and we’re with you the whole way.

A ready-made fundraising page

Your own campaign page with secure donation processing built in. You keep 100% of what you raise — no platform fees and no transaction fees.

Templates and tools

Email and social templates, fundraising tips, and a step-by-step playbook so you’re never staring at a blank page.

Coaching along the way

Practical guidance before and during the Challenge, from a team that has helped thousands of gardens raise their first dollars.

Every grant, automatically

One application enters you for all four grant types you qualify for. No extra forms, no separate deadlines to track.

Ready to grow something?

Start your application at challenge.seedmoney.org. It takes a few minutes, and there’s no fundraising experience required.