We have some major news to share. We have officially changed our name to Wildseeds Fund and we couldn’t be more thrilled about it!
Here’s how it came to be:
Earlier this year, we made a significant shift to our grantmaking that, unbeknownst to us, would change the direction of our organization for good. Inspired by the writer Octavia Butler’s bold vision for a new path for future generations, we renamed our core grantmaking program to Wildseeds Grants. To us, wildseeds possess a resilience that enables them to resist, spread, and flourish, just like our movements. Under the Wildseeds Grants, we expanded our intention of growing deeper roots with grantee partners by making sure they have the infrastructure, communications skills, and strategic support they need to thrive, now and forever. With this name change, we received an enthusiastic response from our greater community who soon simply began calling us Wildseeds.
As we marveled at the external impact of this programmatic shift, the seeds of this new name took root in our community and within our own organization. We began to identify more heavily with wildseeds in general, understanding their role as stewards of the next generation. Wildseeds are resourceful, creative beings full of imagination and the power of transformation. They continue to identify ways to succeed against all odds, just like us.
We believe deeply that we are the wildseeds of the funding world. Since 2012, when Food and Farm Communications Fund was established, we’ve always gone against the grain, filling grantmaking needs that no one else was addressing and making bold investments that others deemed too risky. This initial need was rooted in narrative change and storytelling strategy for organizers on the frontlines of food and farm systems change.
As much as seeds are “intimate immensities”, in the words of farmer and author, Rowen White, we see how the emergence of a wildseeds story is an expression of its relationship to, and health of, its ecosystem. In this way, over time, the trust and confidence we’ve built with our stakeholders has enabled us to share power and evolve our grantmaking to a movement-led participatory model where we have had the opportunity to cede decision-making of our primary grant offering, and more fully realize our values. This process of honoring belonging in an ecosystem that collectively holds power with decision-making and capital has created a process to democratically invite the voices of diverse community members and redistribute resources within our communities. To date, our giving has surpassed $6 million.
Today, we are proud to reintroduce ourselves as the Wildseeds Fund! This new iteration of our work is also a continuation of the lineage that we have always been a part of. We remain steadfast in our commitment to protect our food and agricultural systems through climate, land and labor justice. And we are still creating a space of belonging for the frontline organizers amplifying stories that center our collective health and shifting the control of our food and agriculture systems from corporations back to the people. The only difference now is that we have a new name that not only matches the intention of our work, but also the direction of where we hope to go.
Though we have changed our name, our focus has not shifted. We are still committed to resourcing the community organizers and media makers working to protect our food and agricultural systems. We will continue preserving the ancestral food traditions of our cultures and cultivating strong relationships with independent farmers and food system workers prioritizing community nourishment, healing, resilience, and sustainability. Like wildseeds, we are holding true to our stories while adapting to the times and preparing for our future. We believe our new name creates space for us to fully embody our values and intentionally invite more folks into our movement.
We, Wildseeds Fund, enthusiastically invite you to explore our work and consider how you too can commit yourself to protecting our food and agricultural systems through climate, land and labor justice.
While our name has changed, our goal is that you, our community of grantee and philanthropic partners, feel seen, heard and reflected in our grantmaking and practices. We look forward to expanding our impact, connecting to more movement organizers doing dynamic work, and funding the next generation of wildseeds that are ensuring collective nourishment, resilience and healing for all.
In solidarity,
Esperanza and Shavaun