Kitchen Gardeners International: KGI Annual Report 2007
Description:
Kitchen Gardeners International is a 501c3 nonprofit founded in Maine, USA with friends from around the world. Our mission is to empower individuals, families, and communities to achieve greater levels of food self-reliance through the promotion of kitchen gardening, home-cooking, and sustainable local food systems. In doing so, KGI seeks to connect, serve, and expand the global community of people who grow and prepare some of their own food.
Goals:
-To provide a structure, virtual and real, for kitchen gardeners worldwide to: meet up with each other; share their passion for food, cooking, and organic gardening; and further their skills and knowledge in these areas
-To introduce new people to the joys and benefits of actively participating in one's food production and preparation
-To inform KGI's supporters and the general public about the many ways of participating in and contributing to a sustainable food system and planet
-To help individuals and communities to achieve higher levels of food self-reliance through education, garden promotion, technical assistance and charitable giving
-To promote fellowship, cultural exchange and international understanding via a shared love of kitchen gardening
Main Activities and Achievements in 2007:
1) KGI website and newsletter
The KGI website and electronic newsletter continued to be our main outreach and education tools and both showed signs of strong growth in readership. Traffic to our website averaged 74,000 unique visits per month, up from 56,000 for the previous year. Our newsletter readership rose from 2800 people to 4800 or an increase of 70%.
2) Media and public outreach
KGI continued added to its media portfolio in 2007 with coverage in more than 50 newspapers and magazines. We were accepted into the YouTube’s new nonprofit program and reached thousands of new people with “food for thought” messages and educational videos that way. KGI was also invited to attend and be represented at various food and garden related events, both near and far. These included participation in the “Maine Fare” food festival, presentations to garden clubs in Maine and New England, participation in the Kellogg Foundation’s annual “Food and Society Conference” organized last year in Traverse City, Michigan.
3) International Kitchen Garden Day
KGI coordinated the fifth annual International Kitchen Garden Day on August 27th. The day was recognized and celebrated by a number of groups and individuals from different parts of the world, both large and small.
4) Grow-Off Show-Off
KGI launched this activity in 2006 to increase the visibility of kitchen gardens and gardening in various communities, rechristening it the “Grow-Off Show-Off” contest in 2007. The contest drew a wide range of entries – pictures, PowerPoint presentations, blogs, podcasts, videos - from four continents and was co-sponsored by Mother Earth News.
5) KGI Mini-grants program
KGI launched its mini-grants program in earnest in 2007 through a $1000 grant to the nonprofit group, Vanastree, of southwest India. Vanastree is using these funds to help women gardeners of theWestern Ghats region to get more food and value out of their gardens while protecting biodiversity. As part of the grant, Vanastree is setting up seed-saving groups in nine villages and offering training in bee-keeping, farm journalism, and adding value to gooseberries.
Staff and board updates:
KGI’s board consisted of Jan Maes, Roger Doiron, David Buchanan, and Maya Howard. Roger Doiron continued to staff KGI in 2007 on a part-time basis.
Financial Report:
KGI made considerable strides in its fundraising in 2007 thanks to a growing number of individual donors and the generous support of the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, Fulbright Academy, New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Lawson Valentine Foundation, and Helianthus Fund.
Revenues, Gains and Other Support
Foundations and project grants 17,050
Individual donors 5,922
Website-related revenues 626
Total revenues 24,048
Expenses
Program-related costs 20,346
Fundraising costs 2,193
Administrative costs 728
Total expenses 23,266
Change in Net Assets 782
Net Assets, Beginning of Year 4362
Net Assets End of the Year 5144
Report Approved by KGI Board on Feb 11th, 2008
Roger Doiron
Jan Maes
David Buchanan
Maya Howard
Posted by KGI on February 12, 2008 3:28 PM to Kitchen Gardeners International
----------
Kitchen Gardeners International is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that relies on the financial support of individuals to fund its educational and outreach activities. If you found this information useful, please consider becoming a KGI member. Thank you.