In the 11th year of Grady Britton’s annual grant, we selected two local nonprofits to receive $25,000 in-kind marketing and branding expertise and 150 volunteer hours. MESO is this year’s marketing grant winner, and Brown Hope is this year’s volunteer grant winner! Given the incredible organization we had the chance to speak with, we also want to recognize a few other candidates for this year’s grants, one of which is Portland Fruit Tree Project.
Portland Fruit Tree Project creates access to healthy food by gathering and providing neighborhoods with fruit trees, which also encourages that community to keep up those resources. It also helps decrease the amount of waste while creating a sustainable way to produce healthy foods in the area.
The nonprofit started in 2006 under the name “Neighborhood Fruit Tree Project” due to the mass amount of fruit falling from the trees in North and Northeast Portland neighborhoods. Since then, it’s donated more than $535,000 worth of fruit to local food distributors, completed 820 harvesting events and welcomed more than 11,000 volunteers to the organization.
Through their two programs — Tree Care Services and Backyard Harvest — Portland Fruit Tree Project ultimately takes care of neighborhoods’ local ecology. From offering orchard care to teaching lessons for DIY, to all of their year-round harvests, the nonprofit is a steward to our local communities and their environments.
To get involved, there are both volunteer and donation opportunities available. You can volunteer as an individual or get a group and do it together, and the summer harvest sessions sound like a particularly fun way to do some good.
While we’re bummed we couldn’t award grants to more organizations, we hope what you learn about them sparks a passion to support in ways you can. You can read more about our other grant candidates: Stone Soup, Equitable Giving Circle and Impact NW.