A reflection on all the accomplishments we’ve been able to support in the agriculture/environmental industry! Here is a quick recap of our 2022 giving in honour of Giving Tuesday…

The Grand Family, which includes the philanthropic arm Grand River Agricultural Society, the Grand River Raceway, and The GrandWay Events Centre, is proud to celebrate this Giving Tuesday!

With a vision to nourish people, animals, and the planet GRAS does this through our mission of supporting innovation, education, economic growth, and community enabling agriculture and the environment to thrive. Giving back remains at the core of who we are at GRAS! We are proud to have had the opportunity to give back over $300,000 since April 2022 and we still have 4 months left in our fiscal year!

Here are just a few events and organizations we have worked with this past year:

Equine Guelph

• Partnered over 3 years to support the Equine JobTrack, Large Animal Emergency Training, and youth programming.

Groves Community Hospital Foundation Memorial Garden

OAC Student Liaison Program Expansion

Ontario Bee Keepers Association

Elementary School Breakfast Program

•  Supported the breakfast program for 37 rural schools within the membership area.

Community Mini-Grants

• 6 awards this past year. Our next round of applications opens in April 2023, stay tuned!

GRAS Events:

Breakfast from the Farm Event

• Partnered with Food and Farm Care Ontario to provide a family-friendly day of education in farming and agriculture in Ontario.

Harness the Hope

• Grand River Raceway event featuring the Ontario Women’s Drivers Championship. GRAS matched $12,500 funds raised that evening, for a total of $25,000 going towards cancer support.

Pizza Perfect

•  Ag education event hosted for grade 3 elementary students.

The SPARK Symposium

• This event ignited collaboration where agri-food innovation meets investment.

Scholarships:

Indspire

• Partnered with them for a two-year term under the Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries, Scholarships, and Awards program for students going into agricultural and environmental post-secondary programs.

GRAS Scholarship Program

• 12 awards of $2,500 each. Applications open April 2023, stay tuned!

We had the opportunity to host several non-profit events in the new GrandWay Events Centre:

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Centre Wellington gala
• Pedal for Portage cycling competition
• Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce (CWCC) – Several events throughout the year including their Biz Breakfasts and Annual Awards Gala
• West-Central Junior Dairy show in the paddock
• And so many other great organizations!

Another exciting announcement we had this past year was the launch of The Rapid Response Program, which began in April 2022. It will provide up to $10,000 to support Ontario-based, agriculture, agri-food, agri-products, and clean-tech businesses, as they work with established business connections to advance market opportunities and secure sales for their innovative products, processes, or technologies. GRAS committed $50,000 this past year, which has now been fulfilled.

We are proud of the work we’ve done and are looking forward to the year ahead! Happy Giving Tuesday and we hope you’ll share your giving stories with us today as well. Use hashtag #GivingTuesday and tag us!

Check out various applications and forms here: https://grandriveragsociety.com/philanthropy/ 

Learn more about all GRAS initiatives here: https://grandriveragsociety.com/blog/ 

Learn more about Giving Tuesday here: https://www.givingtuesday.ca/