Partnerships Between the Heartside Gleaning Initiative and Local Businesses in the Grand Rapids, MI Area

Many nonprofit organizations are in need of ways to create funding opportunities to maintain the integrity of their operating systems. One way to raise funds is to invite local businesses to participate and provide ways to become involved in the inner workings of the nonprofit organization. By partnering a nonprofit organization and local businesses, ideas and funds can be spread to both partners in order to increase the viability of the overall community. For one local nonprofit agency, The Heartside Gleaning Initiative, the possibility of partnering with local businesses in the Grand Rapids area is promising. Research regarding various fundraising opportunities was conducted in order to create four fundraising categories: (1) providing customers with donation information through the form of pamphlets, (2) use of donation boxes in the place of business, (3) donation of a certain percentage of sales for a set duration of time, and (4) participation in a fundraising event with other community partners. These options, compiled in an informational pamphlet, along with a generated contact list of local potential business partners are the result of this semester long collaboration and provided to the Heartside Gleaning Initiative to begin the process of recruiting partners. The many challenges associated with this project included conflicting schedules among project members as well as with local community partners. By utilizing the information we have gathered, one could survey the potential partners for feedback or plan a future fundraising event involving various community partners. Introduction Poverty and health issues are two of the biggest problems in our society today. One of the biggest contributors to these growing issues is that poverty stricken neighborhoods often reside in what are known as a food deserts. A food desert can be defined as an area, whether rural or urban, where businesses with healthy food are located many miles away (Beaulic et al., 2009). They form when there is a population of people who do not have financial resources or physical capabilities to access places that sell healthy whole foods (Shaw, 2006). This issue is especially prevalent in neighborhoods where there are a large number of low-income and multi-ethnic residents. The nearest places, with access to food are small convenience stores, which usually do not sell healthy whole foods, which in turn correlate with a variety of health issues as a result (Walker et al. 2010). People in food deserts are at risk of many diseases that could develop later in life due to prolonged malnutrition and lack of knowledge. These diseases include: coronary heart disease, adult onset diabetes, hypertension, and obesity (Adams, 2010). Despite these problems occurring in several areas, the focus here is that many of these issues are apparent in a community known as the Heartside District of Grand Rapids, MI. This area hosts a variety of ethnicities, is primarily low income, and is surrounded by restaurants and local businesses, which limit access to much needed dietary resources. The Heartside Gleaning Initiative was created in order to give the people of Heartside district access to healthy foods in order to increase the overall well-being of the neighborhood. This initiative is a nonprofit organization with a goal of “working with local businesses, non-profit groups, farmers markets, and community members to collect and distribute fruit, vegetables, and herbs that would otherwise be wasted”. Another goal is to educate community members about nutrition and the importance of healthy eating (About the Gleaning Initiative, 2014). In order to address the goals of the initiative certain issues must simultaneously be addressed. From what was learned, researched, and experienced regarding the availability of food for Heartside residents, the Initiative needs more assistance and support. Currently the Gleaning Initiative does not have a means of funding its efforts. Our semester long focus is to give the Initiative the tools to develop funding opportunities through working with local businesses and organizations to expand their donations, volunteers, and materials, which will help to improve the lives of neighbor residents in need. Action Plan The initial project plan was to create a list of Heartside businesses in order to find potential collaborators. The contact information is to be collected and provided via a list to the Gleaning Initiative for future collaboration. The next course of action was to provide a pamphlet filled with information involving a list of potential benefits to the business along with a Gleaning Initiative mission statement and contact information. A second flyer will be created as in insert for the pamphlet, which will include a detailed list of fundraising ideas to potentially be put into action in the