Transformational grant will accelerate program designed to help farmers build viable businesses.
SEATTLE, WA / ACCESS Newswire / May 13, 2025 / Washington Farmland Trust, a nonprofit that protects threatened farmland and supports farmers across the state, has received a $400,000 grant from the KeyBank Foundation.
Funds from the grant will support the organization's Farm to Farmer program, which helps farmers find land, access resources, and thrive as business owners and stewards of the land. This is the largest private grant this program has received to date. The program has a special focus on assisting farmer collectives in gaining long-term tenure of farmland, a model that leverages collective expertise and resources to allow farmers to build viable businesses and secure land affordably. The collective model is greater than the sum of its parts, empowering farmers to work together to overcome challenges and achieve shared goals.
The Farm to Farmer program offers dedicated support for farmer collectives through all stages of formation and organizational development, working through the funding and land acquisition process and bringing together networks of like-minded individuals.
"At KeyBank, our mission is to help the communities we serve thrive," said Brian Marlow, KeyBank's Washington State Market President. "The Farm to Farmer program is a vital step toward creating a food system that benefits everyone, where local farmers can come together to build sustainable businesses as they provide fresh, healthy food to their neighbors."
"Through my role supporting farmer collectives at Washington Farmland Trust and as a farmer myself, I know first-hand how difficult it is to farm. Collective farming models offer a solution to the isolation, land access challenges, and affordability concerns that so many farmers face. I am deeply grateful to this multi-year grant from the KeyBank Foundation so that we can keep supporting this important work." Alex Machado, Farmer Collectives Manager, Washington Farmland Trust.
About Washington Farmland Trust
Washington Farmland Trust (WFT) is an accredited land trust working to protect and steward threatened farmland across the state. WFT aims to keep land in production by making it accessible to a new generation of farmers. Since its founding 25 years ago, Washington Farmland Trust has conserved 34 farms, stewarded 3,747 acres, and provided direct support to 610 farmers. Learn more at wafarmlandtrust.org/25.
About KeyCorp
In 2025, KeyCorp celebrates its bicentennial, marking 200 years of service to clients and communities from Maine to Alaska. To learn more, visit KeyBank Heritage Center. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $189 billion at March 31, 2025. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank Member FDIC.
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SOURCE: KeyBank
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/washington-farmland-trust-awarded-400-000-grant-from-keybank-foundat-1027059
