Stories that inspire
mind.heart.mouth
The mind.heart.mouth community garden is one of the funding recipients of the Foundation of Greater Montréal’s Collective Fund for Social Equity for 2023. Following their participation in our funding application process, we asked them to tell us about their experience. Here are their thoughts:
The Foundation of Greater Montréal is working to transition its practices to a trust-based philanthropy model. What was your experience with our application process like, including your discussions with our team and the support you received?
Compared to several other funding application processes, our experience with the Foundation felt less stressful—I would even say it was enjoyable. Our contact person was enlightening and friendly, and I learned a lot about best practices in applying for funding as a result. Their approach, including the questions they asked about the project, gave me the feeling that FGM really wanted to understand the challenges our initiative faces, our approaches and objectives, and above all, the importance of helping the people this project aims to help.
What challenges does your organization face other than a lack of funding?
Access to space [is a major issue]. Due to food insecurity, the current need is so concerning that we want to expand and involve more people affected by this major issue. Unfortunately, while there is no shortage of spaces, accessing them to grow more food is a huge challenge.
How can funders support your work, beyond providing funding?
Letters of reference [would be very helpful]. Contacts too, for example, for seeking access to land to create gardens. FGM [or other funders] may be aware of opportunities to access and use certain spaces.
What community or philanthropic issues deserve greater attention?
It has been proven that people experiencing poverty and who have less education have more health problems and die earlier than wealthier and more educated people, and these disparities exist even in rich countries like Canada. Depending on the location, 18% to 24% of our current population is over 60 years of age—almost a quarter of society—and many of these people are living in precarious conditions. […] So it’s important for us to effect change and create avenues to help them live in a way that enables them to contribute, and above all, that enables them to feel like proud members of society rather than stigmatized by ageism—including their own self-judgment.