Mel Bartholomew Foundation Ltd
The Square Foot Gardening Foundation (squarefootgardening.org) is the program legacy of Mel Bartholomew and documents grant programs supporting community and school square-foot gardens. The site lists donation-into-grant programs, grant recipient projects, leadership, and contact information, and is linked from the foundation's IRS filings.
Source: Website · Mar 2026
Ideal Applicant
Small-to-midsize community or school nonprofits running square‑foot gardening projects with an educational focus and modest budget needs (single-year grants in the low thousands).
Good Fit
- • Project explicitly uses or teaches square‑foot gardening methods.
- • Request is for modest program support (hundreds to a few thousand dollars).
- • Clear education or school/community engagement component.
- • Local credibility or prior small-grant experience.
- • Located in a state or region the foundation has funded previously (e.g., New York and other U.S. states).
Geography
In the latest year grants were made to organizations in eight states, and over three years the foundation funded recipients across multiple states; one state did receive about one-third of dollars, but the overall footprint is multi-state.
Recipient Variety
The foundation funded nine distinct recipients in 2024 and has funded multiple different organizations each year across the three-year record, with eight new grantees appearing in 2024, indicating a broad set of independent recipients rather than a tiny closed circle.
New Applicants
Direct evidence of recipient turnover is strong (many new grantees in 2024), but the foundation explicitly states it funds only preselected applicants and does not publish an open competitive application process, so unfamiliar organizations may be able to enter the portfolio but likely via solicitation, nomination, or outreach rather than an open grant application.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
