Grow it Yourself - US

Start growing food at home and share the joy of growing food with others.

GIY is all about encouraging people to give food growing a try and believes that growing our own gives us a better understanding of food.

At the heart of the global GIY movement are local GIYers connecting with each other and creating GIY projects in their communities to share their knowledge and develop new ideas, building awareness for a sustainable and healthy lifestyle. GIY also runs pr...

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GIY is all about encouraging people to give food growing a try and believes that growing our own gives us a better understanding of food....

Read more

Join the communities already benefitting from starting a Grow it Yourself - US

You'll get guides and resources on how to bring this idea to life.

There is no funding available for this idea in South Africa, but these resources will still help to make your project happen!

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“My involvement in GIY has really helped me in both my physical and mental wellbeing. It has also helped me connect with the local community and I’ve loved helping other people to grow their own food!”

Grow it Yourself - US
Shane Maher
GIY Champion

How to start a project on ChangeX

  • 1

    Create your project page

    Click the green start button to register and set up your project page. It’s quick, free and easy.

  • 2

    Complete a 30 Day Challenge

    Complete simple steps in 30 days to get your project off the ground.

  • 3

    Activate your project

    Follow the 5 Step Guide and your action plan to bring the project to life.

  • 4

    Share impact

    Share impact by posting a summary and photos and completing a survey.

Great for

  • is interested in food growing
  • is passionate about the ethos of GIY
  • enjoys bringing people in the community together

Grow it Yourself - US project essentials

5 Step Guide

  • Decide to become a champion
  • Get help
  • Find a location / venue
  • Prepare for the launch
  • Launch your GIY group

Time

Suggested: As a Champion you’ll need up to 4 hours per week to start and maintain your GIY Group.

Resources

More information on how to get started and any resources shared by the Grow it Yourself - US

1223 Grow it Yourself - US projects have already been started

See where

Meet the Social Innovator

Welcome to GIY. As this crisis unfolds we've seen an overwhelming interest in food growing. We want to help as many people as possible to start growing their own food and we hope you'll join us to inspire more people in your community to grow some food, firstly by 'growing it forward' sharing seeds and seedlings with neighbors and when restrictions allow, by launching a GIY Group or a community food growing project. Food is an area where people can take actions that have immediate sustainability and health impacts, and growing some of your own food is a simple, compelling way to develop a deeper understanding and connection with food which in GIY we call ‘food empathy’.

Michael Kelly, Founder of GIY

1223 Grow it Yourself - US projects have already been started

See where

Members

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Why a 30 day challenge?

    The 30 Day Challenge was developed by our Team based on our experience working with communities. We’ve learned that the first weeks are critical to build momentum and get off to a good start with any community project. Teams who complete these steps within the first month are much more likely to successfully complete their project!

    The Challenge is a series of simple steps that each applicant has to complete to get their project off the ground and unlock funding, if there is funding currently available for that idea in your region. Steps include watching a video and/or reading content, having a call with a ChangeX team member, forming a team so that you have support, having your first team meeting, sharing a team photo, and sharing a project action plan.

  • What can funding be used for?

    Once funding is received it can be used to cover direct set-up costs of the new community project. For example space rental, insurance fees, seeds and planting materials, tools, training fees; pretty much any materials you might need for a project that benefits your community.

    Funds cannot be used for the costs of work that has already been carried out, costs unrelated to the setup and maintenance of the new project, payments to group members for their work on the project. Funds can’t be used for the promotion of religious causes, non-charitable activities, sponsorship or fundraising events. Please read the terms and conditions for further details.

  • How do I know if there is funding available?

    On idea pages, if there is funding available for the idea in your region you will see “Funding available” and the region listed in the turquoise box. When you first login you will also see a green banner at the top of the screen saying “live funds near you” if there is funding available in your region. The ChangeX homepage will feature those live funds near you.

    A note on the waitlist: when all the funding has been allocated to applicants, new applicants will go on a waitlist. If some applicants that are in the fund don’t successfully complete the 30 Day Challenge their funding will be released and can be then allocated to those on the waitlist. To see if you are going on a waitlist check the main fund page, ideas fully allocated will have the note “Join the waitlist” instead of “Apply to start”.

  • What is ChangeX?

    ChangeX is a platform that connects communities to proven ideas and funding.

    By empowering local changemakers with proven ideas from social innovators and accessible funding from our partners, we aim to build healthier, more inclusive and sustainable communities. Our work is aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and together with our partners, we aim to impact 1 billion people globally by 2030.

    • Communities: Get the funding, resources and support you need to start impactful projects in your community.
    • Social innovators: Connect with local changemakers, access funding to scale your idea, and impact more communities globally.
    • Funders: Fund the themes and regions they care most about, with measurable impact, and at global scale.

    We believe that by bringing the best social innovations and the world’s changemakers together in a shared community, we can accelerate the spread of innovations across the world and have a bigger impact. Together we aim to unleash the potential of changemakers by enabling collaboration, by sharing knowledge and resources, by connecting changemakers across different disciplines and innovations and by opening up access to the world’s best proven social innovations to everyone.

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