GET INVOLVED AT THE GRAIN PLACE
Donate to The Grain Place
Financial Gifts: Your gifts will support farm operations, and help us establish educational and scientific programs to enhance the legacy of a pioneering organic farm. Your tax-deductible financial contribution each year makes you a Friend of the Foundation, and you will both receive periodic updates via email and be listed on the annual report of donors.Mail your gift to: Grain Place Foundation, 1904 N. Hwy 14, Marquette, NE 68854 or give online through the link at the bottom of this page.
Read more about how your donations play a meaningful role in our work.
Large Gifts : We have dreams of expanding the work of our Foundation with additional staff, education opportunities and more. Most of the initial significant donations have come as gifts of the ownership of The Grain Place, from the Vetter family. This gives us the land and soil. All our annual operating expenses, though, come from your donations. A large gift would enable us to take a leap forward with our mission. We would love to talk with you about these possibilities.
Volunteers carry out our mission
The Grain Place Foundation depends on volunteers! Board members and volunteers receive no compensation and currently pay their own personal expenses to serve.- Service on the Board
- Fund Raising and Grant Writing
- Furthering our educational mission
- Developing Volunteer Opportunities
- Communications – website, social media, newsletter, etc.
- Networking with others in organic/regenerative agriculture
- On-farm research
- Operation of the Guest House
- Farm Management
- General Administration
- Farm Labor
interested in volunteering with us?
We hope you will let us know if you would like to volunteer with the Foundation. We encourage you to use this form to let us know more about your interested and skills. (You can also submit information by email to organic@grainplacefoundation.org.)
Intern with The Grain Place
Looking for an unforgettable summer experience on an organic farm? Want to swap the hustle and bustle for open skies, hands-on farming, and a real connection to your food? The Grain Place Farm is calling.We’re looking for two Farm Interns to join us on our 280-acre farm in the heart of Nebraska—where we produce grains, legumes, and pastured livestock using the highest level of certified organic and regenerative agricultural practices. This internship is paid ($15/hour), with free housing available on the farm in our new intern house.
The ideal candidate is passionate about growing healthy food; working with (rather than against) nature; and seeking foundational and transformational experiences in their academic and/or career journey.
As an intern at the Grain Place Farm, you’ll work alongside our Resident Farmer and Farm Manager on diverse crop production, livestock care, and general farm upkeep. This isn’t just any farm internship, it’s an opportunity to be part of a unique nine-year crop rotation system that produces abundant yields without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. You’ll gain practical skills and big-picture thinking related to soil health, agroecology, and holistic farm management. Additionally, you’ll be encouraged to spend time reflecting and pursuing personal education related to your interests.
The Grain Place Farm has played a role in transforming the lives and career aspirations of previous interns. To take a sneak peek into their experiences, please see our intern blog here and read the Organic Center’s interview with a former intern (now board member!) here. You can meet our farmers here. Finally, you can watch a documentary about the farm here.
Review of applications will begin March 1 and continue until the spots are filled.
Our Intern
House
Harrison House
Thank you to those who helped us finance the construction of Harrison House. It was substantially completed in late 2023 and housed our first intern in January 2024. Initially funded with a gift from Linda and Greg Harrison, construction was completed with many hours of volunteer labor and financial support from others. Landscaping and construction of decks at both outside entrances is expected to be completed in 2025. With volunteer labor this is projected to cost about $10,000. Occupancy can be increased by finishing the basement. Financial gifts are still welcome.
What Do We Do With Donations?
Grain Place Foundation is the majority owner of the farm having been given 65% of the shares of The Grain Place, Inc., a privately held, for profit corporation with ownership restricted to members of the Vetter family and the foundation. The goal over the next few years is to have the foundation hold 85%. Don Vetter’s former home has been given to the foundation and serves as the private residence of one of the resident farmers. Continuing the practice of the Vetter family of investing all of the income from the operation of the Grain Place back into the farm means that funds for the operation of the Foundation come from elsewhere. The seed money to legally establish the foundation came from gifts given in memory of Don Vetter who died in March of 2015. Grants help fund some of our specific research projects.In April of 2023 we contracted to become a partner in the USDA’s TOPP program which has enabled us for the first time to hire employees of the foundation. We are grateful for the many volunteers who help administer the foundation, conduct research and education, and even help operate the farm.
You may direct the use of your gift through the “purpose” item on the “donate” button or through comments on your check.
- “Friends of the Foundation” gifts support general operations. It takes about $20,000 annually to keep the foundation legally operating with volunteer directors. We also invest up to $15,000 annually in farm operations specifically to enable the farm to support two resident farmers. When our TOPP contract ends we hope to be able to continue a foundation employee to help administer the foundation and continue outreach and education programs. This would require an addition $50,000 or more of outside support.
- “Field Day Sponsorships” help make our annual Field Day and other educational programs possible. These sponsors receive recognition in Field Day promotions and activities.
- “Rogean Taylor Vetter Memorial” gifts have enabled us to establish an endowment specifically to support internships. We have established a formalized summer internship program for students. Income from this endowment will be used to directly support interns. In the Spring of 2025 this fund had grown to over $100,000.
- “Intern House Building Fund” gifts will help us landscape, operate, and expand “Harrison House” for interns, researchers, volunteers and other folks who need to spend a few days or few weeks on the farm. The house currently has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, common area with kitchen, and laundry facilities. This project was primarily funded by gifts of $125,000 from Greg and Linda Harrison. Additional gifts of about $25,000 have enabled substantial completion. We estimate that exterior construction and landscaping will take an additional $10,000 and annual operating costs will be about $5,000. Additional bedrooms in the basement may be added as need arises.
- The “Unrestricted Endowment Fund” was established in 2022 with an initial gift of $100,000 from Greg and Linda Harrison. This fund may be spent at the discretion of the Board of Directors. It is invested under the direction of the Board’s Endowment Committee.
- Gifts for special projects such as research, promotion of, Dreaming of a Vetter World, or events are always welcome. Folks have also given to purchase equipment or develop infrastructure for the farm.
For information about gifts to Endowment Funds or specific other projects contact: Jay Vetter, 1711 Mills Drive, Estes Park, CO 80517 jay@grainplacefoundation.org 308 850-3020
