The endowment ensures farmers and producers go and stay organic in perpetuity.

Santa Cruz, California, June 11, 2024—The CCOF Foundation advances organic by supporting the people and communities who care for the land.

Guided by the wisdom of our farming roots, the CCOF Foundation unites the organic community to advance organic agriculture. We offer intentional education, financial support, and growth opportunities for organic professionals. Our vision is a world where organic is the norm.

The CCOF Foundation’s work has been rooted in community from the beginning, when in 1973 the founding members united around a kitchen table and a cause: clean healthy food. Our community has grown into a network of thousands of organic producers across North America and dedicated CCOF staff who are passionate about making a difference.

The CCOF Foundation is undertaking a bold $5 million campaign to raise funds for the CCOF Foundation’s programs—which provide scholarships for future organic farmers, disaster relief for organic farmers suffering from hardship, and wrap-around services for farmers transitioning land to organic—as well as unrestricted funds to enhance the CCOF Foundation’s ability to support famers as they go and stay organic.

Becky Blythe, one of the most tenured staff at CCOF, chose to carry forward CCOF’s passion in her will when she bequeathed a $100,000 gift to the CCOF Foundation.

After careful consideration on how to utilize this gift in a way that best honors Becky’s legacy while advancing a world where organic is the norm, the CCOF Foundation has launched the CCOF Endowment, of which the Becky Blythe Endowed Fund is the inaugural gift.

An endowed gift helps maintain a steady level of funding for the CCOF Foundation, ensuring that the Foundation can support organic farmers in perpetuity.

About the CCOF Foundation

The CCOF Foundation is a nonprofit organization with a vision of a world where organic is the norm. CCOF’s organic principles promote and enhance biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil fertility, and restore, maintain, and enhance ecological harmony. The CCOF Foundation braids an equity lens into all programming, focusing support on small farming operations, farmers who are socially disadvantaged, and partner organizations. Since its inception, the CCOF Foundation has:

• awarded nearly $7 million in grants to support future organic farmers, farmers transitioning from conventional to organic agriculture, and farmers experiencing hardship;
• provided nearly 7,000 organic producers with education and training through our Organic Training Institute;
• supported the transition of over 100,000 acres of farmland from conventional to organic;
• been tapped by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) to lead the West/Southwest Regional Center for Organic Transition in seven states (California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, New Mexico, and Hawaii); and
• been selected by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) as one lead for their Organic Transition Pilot Program.

Please consider joining the CCOF Foundation in advancing a world where organic is the norm by considering our endowment in your legacy giving or making your contribution to the CCOF Endowment today. Email waray@ccof.org for more information.

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