Veterans Ecological Trades Collective

We will graduate 80+ veterans and allies from our Permaculture Design Course between now and 2025. Working with our partners, such as Enterprise for Equity (www.enterpriseforequity.org/) the Washington State Veterans Conservation Corps (www.dva.wa.gov/program/veterans-conservation-corps), the Northwest Agriculture Business Center (https://www.agbizcenter.org/) and Conservation Northwest (https://www.conservationnw.org) we'll see 50% of our program participants launch or develop existing Conservation, Agriculture, Forestry or Ecology careers, while 25% of them continue on to a degree program, or direct hire. 100% will report that participation has given them benefits in personal development and community networking.

Our 120 farm offers solace and service opportunities, such as producing food for the local food bank, fishing in our private pond, community barbecues, campouts, and more. Veteran internships and mentoring opens paths for careers which clean up the environment, produce healthy food and landscapes, and clarify a life-and-work passion for vets. In time our veterans farm will also include a transitional program from vets working through housing issues, a full service Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program with meat, dairy, and vegetable options, an onsite commercial kitchen for value added processing, classrooms, community events venues, shops and laboratories. That may sound like a lot, but we have over 60,000sf to renovate and make useful to the community, providing not only veterans but our broad community with benefits.

Still, its one step at a time, and one foot in front of the other. read more about this years goals here: https://6b87fb0c-bd73-44e8-9830-909d1b9ff3e4.filesusr.com/ugd/5e7fcf_ec61f87114e54045bedeadb6e42cde4b.pdf

In fall 2018 we secured a 120 acrefarm, and valued at $560,000. Our first step is to Level UP. IN 2020 we had a budget of just over $40k, and total revenues of $56K. And like so many, Covid-19 knocked us sideways. We are coming back highly focused and with better skills. Starting in June 2021 we are launching a capital campaign which will see us raise $400k+ over the following year. To achieve this we are working on a three fold marketing and development program:

1) Capture 7-8 small grants of $5-$15K, often co-authored with local partners, valued at $50k. This builds capacity and networking integrity for us and our partners while giving us funds to cooperatively engage at the intersection of our missions.
2) Capture 2 medium sized grants of $20-$50 K with Agency and National partners such as the Washington State VA and The Farmer Veteran Coalition totalling $100K, and submit a 2022 Washington State Legislative Session Community Project Funding for $400K.
3) Reach 10,000 new supporters through PR/Advertising campaign bringing $50k across social media platforms.

In order to do this we will be working to develop capacity that pays 2-3 staff- An Office Manager, a Volunteer Coordinator and a Social Media/PR specialist. we will also bring on a volunteer caretaker, who will realize some of the benefit of being able to grow a private garden and help with tending animals and provide site security.

P/CEO Deston Denniston will continue to volunteer through 2021; In 2020 he logged nearly 3000 hours for the organization, accepting only travel reimbursements. In addition to Deston's time, another 4000 hours of volunteer time were logged by a total of 25+ volunteers. This year we plan to smash those numbers; as Covid breaks we anticipate 50+ volunteers logging over 10000 hours.

In addition to paying the above mentioned staff, who will be essential to program and operations, we will begin remodel of some of our farm infrastructure; In fact we have already met our primary funding goals for 2020, namely bringing in revenue to have a solar power station built on site, a project targeted to be installed by May 2021. You can read more about our 2020 year in review and some of our 2021 goals here: https://6b87fb0c-bd73-44e8-9830-909d1b9ff3e4.filesusr.com/ugd/5e7fcf_5315d890b063412f81c83c0548301160.pdf

The solar power station will allow us to power a small shop which in turn will help us start reclaiming our infrastructure and provide an outlet for creativity. It will also provide some essentials - night time and security lighting, and power for the well, which means we can do laundry, provide hot showers during our multi-day intensives, and refrigerate food- including a charcuterie locker where we will cure meats raised on site to share at our veterans fellowship events.

Founder Deston Denniston, in addition to 35+ years work in farming and forestry, a Masters in Agriculture Science, and 10+ years work in experimental construction/code development, currently sits on the Board of the Washington Chapter of the Farmer Veteran Coalition.

Board members include a Current US Navy Cheif Petty Officer and Seabee, A pHD who is a WA State Statitician and Epidemiologist, A senior member of a professional Accounting firm, a Professor of Nursing, and a farmer veteran with nearly a decade of Poultry breeding experience. Past Directors have included a Tribal Manager with a US recognized Treaty Tribe, a retired DNR Forester and Water Quality Manager, and a retired Senior Staffer with the WA State Governors Office. Most of our Board members are veterans or have worked professionally with veterans and/or the DoD. The reason we can do this is because despite being a new non profit, none of us are new to non profit work. VETC is a new organization designed by an experienced team to meet current needs.

The 120ac farm didn't fall in to our laps. We were heavily vetted by the prior owner through their contacts at the Washington State VA and Veterans' and Friends of Puget Sound. They looked at our history since 2012, prior to our 501c3 status. One of the questions we were asked was how we had funded our earlier projects. In fact, we hadn't. Aside from gas for travel, we spent no money on our first 80 hour program. Deston did not charge for services, and donated meat and veg from his own farm. Churches and food banks and farms donated all the rest that our cadre needed for food. A tool rental loaned us the tools need for hands on work. The venue was eager to accept garden installs as trade for the two weeks of the groups time on their site. Since then there have been pasture management courses, hog slaughter and butcher, massive earthworks demonstrations, and barbecues... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q33c1NycLmI and https://vimeo.com/145073984.

When the 120 acre farm was donated, we set about fixing the well, securing some outbuildings for use as storage and animal barns, opening grounds for garden and row crop, and hosting our first onsite trainings. IN 2021 the site will see its second intensive Permaculture Design Course, and anticipates 20 graduates. In fall 2021 we will continue architectural design charettes, classes intended to design the nearly 2ac of covered space at the site. In addition to this we have a Habitat conservation and Forestry Management plan in the works with the USDA, part of which will cover the 20ac of open space conservation wetlands we are moving into a permanent conservation easement.

Over 2021 we will complete a Forest Management and a Conservation Habitat Management plan with the USDA, begin the process of doing a Brownfields Assessment with the EPA which addresses the illegal dumping and trace effects of the sites former use as an industrial poultry processing facility, establish a Managed Intensive Grazing Program for our livestock, explore the options for opening a green burial site for veterans with the Federal VA Cemeteries Program, start our forestry programs with WSU Extension Service, and continue our Permaculture Education platform backed by PINA 510c6- as well as continue monthly work-parties and veterans fellowship barbecues.