Growing Together: Open Forum

Hi Everyone! I'm curious how people are managing requests for corporate volunteer groups on your farms. 

Do you have a set structure you fold them into? Do you reinvent the wheel every time? What are they paying you? Does it feel worthwhile? 

Thanks,  

Vera, on behalf of a few FBEN members who are looking to optimize their relationships with corporate volunteer groups 

I am curious about this avenue.  I am meeting with a cooperate booking agency next week for Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, RI.  We were hoping to promote event rentals and learn more about what they are looking for but I didn't think of the possibility of also structuring a volunteer effort around their visit.  This sounds like a good way to structure the experience in education and create prosperity for both the group and the farm.  

Happy to share more about our walk-through and their expectations as I learn more.

Melissa Moniz

Sweet Berry Farm

Middletown, RI

Hi Everyone! I'm curious how people are managing requests for corporate volunteer groups on your farms. 

Do you have a set structure you fold them into? Do you reinvent the wheel every time? What are they paying you? Does it feel worthwhile? 

Thanks,  

Vera, on behalf of a few FBEN members who are looking to optimize their relationships with corporate volunteer groups 

Hi Vera, Melissa, and everyone else!

Such a fun question! At KidsGardening, we partner with corporate groups and connect them with local gardens throughout the year, so I have some info I can share from our perspective. We think corporate volunteer days are great ways to get a lot accomplished at the garden, but we also know it is a lot of work on the location, so we always recommend that the farm or garden be compensated with cash to help cover some of the staff time in planning the events and any supplies that might be needed. The amount has ranged drastically from a full-scale build-out that covered all the materials and time to plan it, to jumping in on an existing garden workday where event prep was minimal. 

As for how we plan our full-scale garden build-outs, I've linked an overview of the structure we use below in case it is helpful.

Event Prep Meetings:

• Date/Time
• # of volunteers
• List of Projects (ground prep, building raised beds, moving mulch/soil, planting, painting or staining materials, kid-activity, assembling garden features, etc.)
  • # of volunteers per project
  • Name of project lead
• List of Garden Supplies to Purchase
• Snacks/Food/Drinks
• Trash/Recycle/Compost
• Safety (first aid kits, sunscreen, waivers, etc.)
• List of Volunteer Tools

Event Timeline:

• Days Before the Event
  • Sorting supplies, creating project buckets, and finalizing materials
• Event Day!
  • 6:45 - 7:00 Core Team Arrives
  • 7:00 - 7:30 Core Team Prep
  • 7:30 - 8:00 Volunteers Arrive
  • 8:00 - 8:15 Official Welcome
  • 8:15 - 8:20 Group Photo
  • 8:20 Group Stretch
  • 8:25 - 12:00 Garden Projects
  • 12:00 - 1:30 Clean-Up

I'm excited to learn more from others about their experience with corporate volunteer events.

- Sarah Lane, KidsGardening

I am curious about this avenue.  I am meeting with a cooperate booking agency next week for Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, RI.  We were hoping to promote event rentals and learn more about what they are looking for but I didn't think of the possibility of also structuring a volunteer effort around their visit.  This sounds like a good way to structure the experience in education and create prosperity for both the group and the farm.  

Happy to share more about our walk-through and their expectations as I learn more.

Melissa Moniz

Sweet Berry Farm

Middletown, RI

Hi Everyone! I'm curious how people are managing requests for corporate volunteer groups on your farms. 

Do you have a set structure you fold them into? Do you reinvent the wheel every time? What are they paying you? Does it feel worthwhile? 

Thanks,  

Vera, on behalf of a few FBEN members who are looking to optimize their relationships with corporate volunteer groups 

We utilize corporate volunteer groups a couple of time a year ,and they make such a big difference and help for our garden! We never charge because they are such a help to our garden (getting it ready for the school year and then prep for spring). This is an interesting concept to me for charging them to come help in your garden. I just love having them as a large pool of potential garden volunteers. 

Hi Vera, Melissa, and everyone else!

Such a fun question! At KidsGardening, we partner with corporate groups and connect them with local gardens throughout the year, so I have some info I can share from our perspective. We think corporate volunteer days are great ways to get a lot accomplished at the garden, but we also know it is a lot of work on the location, so we always recommend that the farm or garden be compensated with cash to help cover some of the staff time in planning the events and any supplies that might be needed. The amount has ranged drastically from a full-scale build-out that covered all the materials and time to plan it, to jumping in on an existing garden workday where event prep was minimal. 

As for how we plan our full-scale garden build-outs, I've linked an overview of the structure we use below in case it is helpful.

Event Prep Meetings:

• Date/Time
• # of volunteers
• List of Projects (ground prep, building raised beds, moving mulch/soil, planting, painting or staining materials, kid-activity, assembling garden features, etc.)
  • # of volunteers per project
  • Name of project lead
• List of Garden Supplies to Purchase
• Snacks/Food/Drinks
• Trash/Recycle/Compost
• Safety (first aid kits, sunscreen, waivers, etc.)
• List of Volunteer Tools

Event Timeline:

• Days Before the Event
  • Sorting supplies, creating project buckets, and finalizing materials
• Event Day!
  • 6:45 - 7:00 Core Team Arrives
  • 7:00 - 7:30 Core Team Prep
  • 7:30 - 8:00 Volunteers Arrive
  • 8:00 - 8:15 Official Welcome
  • 8:15 - 8:20 Group Photo
  • 8:20 Group Stretch
  • 8:25 - 12:00 Garden Projects
  • 12:00 - 1:30 Clean-Up

I'm excited to learn more from others about their experience with corporate volunteer events.

- Sarah Lane, KidsGardening

I am curious about this avenue.  I am meeting with a cooperate booking agency next week for Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, RI.  We were hoping to promote event rentals and learn more about what they are looking for but I didn't think of the possibility of also structuring a volunteer effort around their visit.  This sounds like a good way to structure the experience in education and create prosperity for both the group and the farm.  

Happy to share more about our walk-through and their expectations as I learn more.

Melissa Moniz

Sweet Berry Farm

Middletown, RI

Hi Everyone! I'm curious how people are managing requests for corporate volunteer groups on your farms. 

Do you have a set structure you fold them into? Do you reinvent the wheel every time? What are they paying you? Does it feel worthwhile? 

Thanks,  

Vera, on behalf of a few FBEN members who are looking to optimize their relationships with corporate volunteer groups