Big Green GRANTS

The Big Green Community is a grantmaking body that uses democratic processes to strengthen grassroots organizations growing food. From deciding how the system is governed, to where funding flows, community voices drive this work.

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For Voters

Grants Round 10 [CLOSED] voters can follow the steps below to vote.

Step one
Log into your account on the voting platform.
Use the email affiliated with your organization’s directory listing (usually the main point of contact listed on your application). *Not sure which email to use or don’t have access? The platform will guide you through a quick verification process.
Step two
Get to know the applicants.
Connect with grantseekers on Slack, engage in discussion and get connected digitally. In the voting platform, you can use filters like location, program type, and more to find and support the work that matters most to you.
Step three
Cast your vote by November 23, 2025 at 11:59 PM PST.
Our voting system lets you allocate your vote across multiple organizations. When you log in, you’ll get 100 Seed Credits to distribute across the organizations you want to support.

Big Green DAO Grants Round Calendar

December 5th GR10 Grantees Announced
May TBD GR11 Opens
September TBD GR12 Opens

WHY APPLY

All eligible applicants, regardless of funding, gain access to the Community's capacity-building resources, tailored directly to nonprofits.
Granted members receive voting tokens to decide on future grant rounds, shaping the future of local food systems nationwide.
And can we just say… we think it’ll be the shortest application you’ve ever completed.

We facilitate community-led grants to non-profits to fund, strengthen and connect food-growing initiatives nationwide.

How it works A NETWORK FOCUSED ON MAKING GRANTS, SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND UPLIFTING THE COLLECTIVE IMPACT OF NONPROFITS ACROSS AMERICA THAT ARE GROWING FOOD.

Applying
Big Green periodically opens grant opportunities to nonprofit organizations working to grow food. We've made our application fast and streamlined to cut down the time spent in a grant portal.
Voting
When a grant cycle opens, each member of the Community votes on how much of the Treasury will be used, eligibility, and who should receive grants and how much the grant should be. Grants are awarded based on optimized consensus to reflect the majority perspective of the Community.
Awards
Successful grantees are awarded an unrestricted grant, Community membership, and a token to participate in future votes. The Community engages in peer-to-peer learning, ongoing education and professional development, and supports one another in helping more people grow food.

Inspired by Web3 technology and Decentralized Governance through DAOs

Our Philosophy BIG GREEN BELIEVES FUNDAMENTALLY THAT THE PEOPLE AND GROUPS WORKING ON THE FRONTLINES OF THEIR COMMUNITY KNOW WHERE RESOURCES SHOULD GO. PERIOD.

The Big Green grantmaking program is a first-of-its kind project to restructure grantmaking. Big Green’s grantmaking arm is a network of grassroots nonprofits and donors working together to build a healthier food system in America. By putting nonprofits in the driver's seat and allowing them to make grant awards, we are valuing firsthand experience, subject matter expertise, and local needs. This model allows donors and nonprofits to collaborate and work together as peers, participating in a democratic and entirely decentralized process to fund gardening, farming, and agriculture organizations and projects in the US. Launched in 2021, Big Green DAO is the first nonprofit-led philanthropic DAO in the world. Inspired by the power of decentralization, transparency and the potential of blockchain technology to scale philanthropy more efficiently, we built our model to create a more equitable way to support organizations growing food.

$04.04M
Granted since 2021
170
Organizations granted

Go Deep on What a DAO isA DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), is a blockchain-based organization governed by code instead of people.

A DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), is a blockchain-based organization governed by code instead of people. It’s community-owned by its members with a built-in treasury that nobody has permission to use without the approval of the group. The Big Green DAO is controlled by grantees and donors, with everyone getting the same vote. While there are many versions of DAOs, the Big Green DAO is not fully autonomous and exists both on-chain and off-chain. It operates under the umbrella of Big Green’s 501c3, following all applicable laws and best practices for nonprofit organizations. We utilize numerous safeguards to protect both our grantee members and our donors’ investments in the project.

Big Green Community Leadership THE BIG GREEN COMMUNITY COMMITTEE IS MADE UP OF LEADERS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY, EACH OF THEM WORKING TO GROW FOOD IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES

The Committee leads in governance and grantmaking. They set the direction each year and ensure that every decision is what’s best for the Community and the cause — changing the face of philanthropy while supporting the grassroots organizations working every day to grow food for their communities.

James Grevious
Stephen Lucke
Founder and CEO, Gardopia Gardens
Stephen Lucke, MA, COF is food systems expert and activist focusing on health and environmental justice, educating and empowering communities on how to lead healthy and sustainable lifestyles through urban agriculture. He became aware of San Antonio’s obesity epidemic and climate crises in his college years, sparking his journey to help find a solution to declining planetary and population wellness that disproportionately impacts BIPOC communities. In 2015 at 25 years old Stephen founded Gardopia Gardens to help solve the challenges facing his community by working with educational and community institutions to ensure current and future generations have the knowledge and skills to cultivate a high quality of life for themselves and society, fighting against malnutrition related diseases and environmental degradation.
Derravia Rich
Black Seeds Urban Farms
Falon Tabares
The Healthy Earth Organization
Jamala Taylor
Jamala has earned a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from CSU-Fullerton and is currently pursuing a Master's in Public Administration (MPA) with a concentration in nonprofit management and leadership from the University of Southern California's Sol Price School of Public Policy.

Jamala serves as the Senior Reentry Manager for the Insight Garden Program (IGP). IGP designs and installs gardens alongside participants while teaching a one-year environmental curriculum inside nine prisons and twelve facilities across the state of California. IGP offers all of its participants comprehensive reentry services upon release, and Jamala leads these efforts.

Jamala’s journey into the nonprofit sector began during his 31-year incarceration, 15 of those years being served in solitary confinement at Pelican Bay State Prison/S.H.U. After his release from solitary to the general population, Jamala joined IGP as a participant in 2015. Five years later, in 2020, Jamala earned his release.

Jamala is also a certified life coach, having completed the rigorous nine-month Coaching for Healing, Justice, and Liberation certification program (CHJL). His coaching approach is deeply rooted in the broader social movement, emphasizing organizational and individual leadership development and cohesion. Recently, he launched a consulting firm called “Amandla,” a Zulu rallying cry meaning “Power,” coined during the apartheid era.

He is a staunch advocate for political causes supporting both current and formerly incarcerated individuals, with a particular focus on the unique reentry needs of women of color, ending the use of solitary confinement, and ending slave labor in prison. His advocacy also highlights the transformative power of nature and education in the lives of those affected by the criminal justice system.

An experienced public speaker and facilitator, Jamala has presented at numerous universities (USC, UCLA, UVA, DOJ, etc.) and institutions. His topics range from reentry and the power of education to incarceration, uplifting the needs of women in reentry, and sharing his personal story.
Madeleine Nelson
Big Green