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Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association

2021 Goals

2020 is the first year of our new 10-year strategic plan. In the first year we’ve made great progress toward our four impact areas:

  • Change the environment in which people make their food decisions so that local organic is an accessible primary choice for all.
  • Engage 1% of Maine’s population in our educational programming, leading to more people in Maine growing and eating local Maine organic food.
  • Promote legislation that is critical to organic farmers and gardeners, addresses climate change, and promotes a healthy environment, a strong rural economy, and a socially just, healthy society.
  • Support the increase of MOFGA certified organic producers by 50% to 750 operations and have 10% of the state’s agricultural lands managed organically by 2030.

In 2021 we will continue to work toward these impact plan goals. MOFGA, which is the oldest and largest state-level organic organization in the country, will also celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2021. We will work to engage and grow our community with a series of events and ambitious fundraising goals for our endowment in order to support our programs well into the future.

Fundraising events/Opportunities

Although 2020 is an anomaly due to COVID-19, MOFGA has met this challenge and adapted with online educational events and an online version of the Common Ground Country Fair.

In 2021 MOFGA plans to reinstate our in-person events, headlined by the Common Ground Country Fair with its 60,000 attendees and hundreds of vendors. Other planned events include MOFGA’s brewfest Bread and Brews and a 50th anniversary party among many others. MOFGA will continue to offer sponsorship opportunities for like-minded business partners, and engage with members to further the goals of our strategic vision.

Beth Schiller harvests tomatoes at Dandelion Spring Farm. PHOTO / COURTESY OF BLUE HORSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Giving Opportunities

MOFGA has giving opportunities year round, and actively seeks business partners as members and as sponsors for events and projects. MOFGA also engages in membership drives to widen our base of support across Maine and beyond. Business memberships provide crucial membership income for MOFGA and also offer businesses a chance to reach our entire membership base.

Volunteer Opportunities

MOFGA is a volunteer-driven organization, relying on the support of almost 2,000 volunteers each year. There are many opportunities for people to get involved in informal or very substantive ways. Some volunteers take on enormous responsibilities, and set the programming and policy agendas for the Association by serving on a standing committee. Volunteer committees exist for nearly all aspects of the organization’s work, including fundraising, policy, the Fair, and more. The Common Ground Country Fair, always the third weekend after Labor Day, is run largely by volunteers each year.

Leadership

Beth Schiller, Board President: Owner, Dandelion Spring Farm
Sarah Alexander, Executive Director

Board officers

Stacy Brenner, Board Vice President: Co-owner, Broadturn Farm

Logan Johnston, Board Treasurer: Co-owner, Oaklands Farm

Jo Ann Myers, Board Secretary: Co-owner, Beau Chemin Preservation Farm

Board Members

Eli Berry: Co-owner, Crystal Lake Farm and Nursery

Jeremy Blaiklock: Owner, Seaflower Garden & Design

Sam Brown: Forester

Melissa Emerson: Owner, Pinetree Garden Seeds

Todd Little-Sebold: Professor, College of the Atlantic

Sam May: Co-founder, Maine Harvest Federal Credit Union

Ellen Sabina: Outreach and Communications Director, Maine Farmland Trust

Anna Shapley-Quinn: Co-founder, North Branch Farm

David Shipman: Retired, FEDCO Organic Growers Supply

Ben Tettlebaum: Director, Pinnacle Risk Strategies

Annie Watson: Co-owner, Sheepscot Valley Farm

At A Glance

Established: 1971
Employees: 43 (38 FTE)
Annual revenue: $3,874,071

Top funding sources

43.5% Individual/Business
41% Earned Income
9% Government
4% Foundation
2.5% Endowment income

Contact

294 Crosby Brook Road
PO Box 170,
Unity, ME 04988
(207) 568-4142

mofga.org
facebook.com/MaineOrganicFarmersAndGardenersAssociation
twitter.com/MOFGA

Mission Statement

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is a broad-based community that educates about and advocates for organic agriculture, illuminating its interdependence with a healthy environment, local food production, and thriving communities.

Service locations

State of Maine