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Choosing Well: Are Nonprofits the Right Fit for Values-Driven Farmers?

Chloe Johnson

Summary

Many farmers and farm educators are motivated by social values, including public health, cultural continuity, community development, self-reliance, and environmental sustainability. Often, values-driven entrepreneurs establish nonprofit organizations to center their social missions, reduce exposure to market pressures, and access grant funding. In practice, however, nonprofit status does not eliminate risk; it merely redistributes it. This session focuses on educating farmers about nonprofit formation as a risk-management strategy, examining both its benefits and trade-offs. The session will also introduce alternative organizational tools—such as fiscal sponsorship, cooperatives, hybrid nonprofit/for-profit structures, and B Corporations—that can distribute risk differently while still supporting education, collaboration, and shared resources.

Participants will be invited to consider how well different legal and organizational tools align with their goals around financial, legal, and human risk. Topics include board governance and loss of decision-making control, compliance and reporting obligations, grant dependence, and how nonprofits can exacerbate burnout and financial unease among founders and staff.

Drawing on our work with farmers and farm educators on these topics over the past ten years, Farm Commons attorneys will share what we have learned from farmers about their needs and challenges in forming and maintaining nonprofit organizations, as well as which other models have appealed to social justice-focused farmers. The goal is to expand the range of visible options and support farmers in choosing structures that genuinely reduce harm and increase resilience over time.

Details

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