A New Home for the Harvest: Campaign looks to boost donations for Agriplex expansion
Jan. 23—Entering the new year more than halfway toward its funding goal to expand its Cullman campus, the North Alabama Agriplex is making it easier than ever to claim a contributing piece of local culture by unveiling a new tiered giving system with a thematic agricultural twist.
The Agriplex's A New Home for the Harvest campaign makes room for contributions of any size for its planned community hub addition, whether they're $1 or $100,000 in size.
Donors' contributions will be recognized via one of six categories that build on the idea of working the local soil from the ground up: "Harvesters" represent the highest giving tier with contributions of $100,000 or more; "Cultivators" come next with gifts of $75,000; "Growers" designates those who have contributed $25,000 and "Sowers" $10,000; while "Seeds" marks a $5,000 contribution and "Roots," as the foundational tier, marks gifts of at least $1,000.
"Tiered givers will be featured on a prominent artistic donor wall in the new community hub," the nonprofit explained in a press release. "The Agriplex is currently working with local sign designer Bradley Brock and Creative Signs to create a custom donor wall design," noting that there's plenty of room on the design to assure that your contribution is prominently visible.
Agriplex director Rachel Dawsey on Monday said the campaign is more than 60 percent toward its funding goal, with approximately $1.4 million already raised — leaving $900,000 to go. The 8,525 square-foot project, which will house a new teaching kitchen, office space, and more services within a newly-built addition at the Agriplex's west Cullman campus, is being funded entirely without debt financing, she noted.
"We are not taking out any kind of loans to do this, and as a nonprofit, that's a blessing," she said. "We've never carried debt, which is a path that our board would like to continue on with this project — so they definitely want to have the funding in place before we build. Once it's there, though, we will definitely be able to act quickly and get construction started."
In addition to the tiered giving system, larger contributions also can be acknowledged through naming sponsorships, which commemorate such gifts by dedicating key pieces of the new addition to their sponsors. Two such naming opportunities already have borne fruit: The lobby of the community hub will be named in memory of the late Jerry Eddleman, a founding Agriplex board member who passed away in 2023, via a $75,000 donation from Cullman Savings Bank. The addition's multipurpose classroom also is being sponsored through a $60,000 donation from Tom "Big Doc" and Judy Williamson. Remaining available naming opportunities include the $300,000 Teaching Kitchen sponsorship, two $100,000 Teaching Kitchen partners, a Porch and Breezeway sponsorship for $300,000, in addition to other options.
Last year, the North Alabama Agriplex reached more than 26,000 people — including 7,700 on-site learners — through its nonprofit outreach mission to educate the Cullman area, as well as the wider north Alabama community, on self-reliant historical farming, forestry, and land stewardship practices, as well as the area's rich and unique agricultural history. The new community hub, says the Agriplex, will allow both it and the Cullman County Extension Office "to provide more programming and outreach for the residents of North Alabama. Canning and bread making classes, nutrition and cooking classes, along with kids' cooking clubs will all be options in this new space."
Visit the Agriplex's website at agriplex.org for information on how you can take part in growing the nonprofit's community hub fundraising effort.
Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 234.
