North Shore Nonprofit Launches Commonwealth Places Campaign for New Community Garden

$50,000 goal to win matching grant through MassDevelopment’s Commonwealth Places Initiative

May 14, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com

Jonathan Berk, Patronicity, 617-750-6008
jonathan@Patronicity.com

Emilee Herrick, Nourishing the North Shore, 413-822-5349
emilee@nourishingthenorthshore.org

MassDevelopment and the civic crowdfunding platform Patronicity have launched a new Commonwealth Places campaign with the nonprofit Nourishing the North Shore (NNS), which will build an organic community garden serving residents and families across the North Shore. Nourishing the North Shore’s organic community garden will be a space to grow both food and community, with gardening education, nutrition and cooking classes, innovation gardens for future farmers, and seasonal events.

“Nourishing the North Shore’s community garden will go beyond growing food, serving as a resource for residents and visitors to learn about the local food system and contribute to its success,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “We’re pleased to support this campaign, which will help build vital infrastructure for the garden and further NNS’s mission of providing access to healthy food.”

Located in West Newbury, the NNS organic community garden will serve as a home base for community members and volunteers. From individual garden beds to shared tools, educational spaces, and places to forage wild berries or learn about bees, the garden is designed to build community interaction around health and well-being.

If the campaign reaches its crowdfunding goal of $50,000 by June 27 at midnight, the project will win a matching grant with funds from MassDevelopment’s Commonwealth Places program. Learn more and donate at patronicity.com/NNS.

“Nourishing the North Shore's organic community garden is more than just a place to grow food, it’s a place to grow community,” said Nourishing the North Shore’s Program Coordinator Emilee Herrick. “We envision a space where everyone in our community can gather to share, learn, grow, support and connect with each other and the land - all of which are key to the vitality and resiliency of our community and local food system,” added Herrick.
Commonwealth Places is a collaborative initiative from MassDevelopment and Patronicity that leverages public support for placemaking projects through crowdfunding and a matching grant from MassDevelopment. The program engages residents in the development of strategic projects in their towns and cities. In June 2017, MassDevelopment announced $1 million in funding for the second year of the program, which has supported successful campaigns across the Commonwealth, from Northampton to Hyannis. Communities, nonprofits, and other entities can learn more about these successful projects, donate to ongoing campaigns, and apply at massdevelopment.com/commonwealthplaces.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2017, MassDevelopment financed or managed 377 projects generating investment of more than $4.3 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 9,488 jobs and build or rehabilitate 1,863 residential units.