Open — Draft / Verification Hold pending authoritative confirmation of deadline time zone and current-cycle funding amount/range.Atlas Opportunity Score 74/100
Kentucky Berea College Grow Appalachia Garden Grants — 2026 Cycle
Grow Appalachia, a strategic initiative of Berea College, is accepting 2026 Garden Grant proposals from qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations or fiscally sponsored organizations serving Central Appalachian communities. Final proposals are due October 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM, but the current official materials do not publish the deadline time zone or a universal award range, so Atlas is holding applicant-specific outreach pending those confirmations.
FundingThe current official 2026 Garden Grants page and proposal guidelines do not publish a universal per-applicant award range, award ceiling or total funding pool. Atlas will not infer an amount.
DeadlineOctober 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM. The current official materials do not publish the deadline time zone, so applicant-specific outreach remains on Verification Hold until the time zone is authoritatively confirmed.
Last verifiedSeptember 23, 2026
Required next actionConfirm the authoritative October 1 cutoff time zone and current portal status, then screen only 501(c)(3) or fiscally sponsored organizations rooted in Central Appalachian communities with food-security experience, local leadership, fiscal-management capacity and readiness to deliver the required organic gardening curriculum. Verify the applicant's business Contact, Email_Opt_Out, permanent hard-bounce state and prior ORIGINAL outreach history before any applicant-specific AutoSend outreach.
Broad Eligibility
501(c)(3) organizations or organizations under 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsorship serving Central Appalachian communities, including Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. Applicants should be community-rooted, experienced in food-security work and capable of managing grant funds and required organic gardening programming.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score 74/100. Strong food-security and nutrition-access relevance with explicit support for organic gardening education, consumables, selected equipment and food-preservation resources. N9+ Fit 0/100 because the opportunity does not support a defensible remote-exam, vitals or telehealth use case. QC Healthcare Fit 8/100 because medical clinics may participate when otherwise eligible, but the funded work is gardening/food-security programming rather than clinical delivery.
Grow Appalachia Garden Grants — 2026 Cycle is a current Berea College-administered opportunity supporting community-based organic gardening and food-security programming across Central Appalachia, including Kentucky.
Eligibility. Grow Appalachia states that awards can be made only to organizations with 501(c)(3) status or organizations operating under fiscal sponsorship from a 501(c)(3). The program has partnered with churches, universities, community nonprofits, schools, medical clinics and extension offices, but every funded applicant must satisfy the nonprofit/fiscal-sponsorship requirement. Competitive applicants should be rooted in and led by their communities, have food-security experience and demonstrate responsible grant-management capacity.
Deadline and submission. Proposal submissions opened August 1, 2026. Draft proposals submitted by September 1 at 5:00 PM were eligible for staff feedback. Final proposals are due October 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM through Grow Appalachia’s online application. The current official Garden Grants page and 2026 proposal guidelines do not publish the deadline time zone, so Atlas will not infer one.
Required materials. Applicants must submit the online proposal and upload both a detailed program budget and the organization’s overall budget. Proposal questions cover community context, food-security need, goals and objectives, recruitment and retention, partnerships, organic education, required curriculum delivery, team capacity and program sustainability.
Allowable costs and restrictions. The 2026 guidelines divide budget requests among labor, travel, consumables, instructional costs, equipment and administrative costs. Labor may not exceed 50% of the total request and administrative costs may not exceed 5% of the budget subtotal. Equipment can include durable gardening and food-preservation items. The guidelines prohibit non-organic sprays, fertilizers or treated seeds, animals raised for meat production, conference travel or registration, workshop honoraria, consultant positions, general facility maintenance, gardening books, rain barrels, program vehicles, computers, decorative garden infrastructure, fruit trees, flowers and decorative plants.
Match and funding amount. The current controlling public materials do not state a universal match requirement, a universal award ceiling or a total 2026 funding pool. Atlas will not invent these values.
Atlas fit. The opportunity is a strong food-security and community nutrition fit but not a defensible N9+ opportunity. N9+ Fit: 0/100. QC Healthcare Fit: 8/100. Dr. Miltie direct-vendor fit is not established.
Official sources: Grow Appalachia Garden Grants and the linked 2026 Proposal Guidelines.
Source verificationReferenced source · growappalachia.berea.eduAtlas last verified this record September 23, 2026. Always use the funder's current application materials, amendments and portal instructions as the controlling source.View source and application materials ↗
