Program on the Environment

There are often many different moving parts in community based agricultural sustainability. Food banks that distribute fresh produce to neighborhoods need to be able to source their food, and much of the time they turn to gleaning organizations for help. Gleaning organizations are groups that partner with local businesses or farms to gather excess food that would otherwise become waste products, which is then either self-distributed or donated to food banks. These organizations require volunteers and donors for support in order to continue their essential work, and volunteers want to be able to find organizations whose ideals and methods they agree with. With all of these separate groups working together, it’s important to be able to communicate ideas concisely between each party. In this study, I worked with the non-profit urban orchard, City Fruit, to research effective communication techniques between a community based organization and its supporters. To accomplish this, I acted as a development coordinator to organize grant applications, donor information, and event sponsorship requests for City Fruit. During my internship I would make calls and write acknowledgement letters to supporters and record correspondence within our donor management software, Little Green Light. I also conducted a donor survey to analyze motivations and gather demographic information. I found that consistent communication, clear indication of goals for all parties, and mutual trust and understanding are some of the most important factors in maintaining healthy partnerships.