Kubota continues its commitment to invest in hometowns across America with its Kubota Hometown Proud community grant program, awarding $600,000 in grants to five deserving communities. Kubota Hometown Proud is an annual grant program that encourages municipalities and nonprofit organizations to partner with their local Kubota dealership to apply for grant funding consideration.
This year, the program launched a call-for-entries in April and received nearly 800 applications before Kubota selected its five $100,000 regional grant winners. Then in August, all five community revitalization projects were put up for a public vote to determine one lucky “Community Choice Grant” winner to receive an additional $100,000, which ultimately was awarded to Lucasville Community Park, a new park concept for a small town in Ohio that needed a community gathering place.
“Kubota is proud to give back to the communities where our dealers live and work,” said Todd Stucke, Senior Vice President for Kubota North America, and Senior Vice President for Marketing, Product Support & Strategic Projects for Kubota Tractor Corporation. “This year the Kubota Hometown Proud grant program saw applicants from nearly every state in the country. We are incredibly honored to support this year’s projects and hope our funding and equipment will assist in bringing each winner’s vision to life to serve each hometown for many years to come.”
The 2023 Kubota Hometown Proud Grant Program winners include:
- Lucasville Community Park (Lucasville, Ohio): Every hometown needs a community gathering space, and that is what this project is all about: Together with their local Kubota dealer, Ricer Equipment, Lucasville Community Park is the 2023 Community Choice grant recipient. The $200,000 will be used to build an amphitheater and construct the next phase of the park that consists of building a ¼ mile paved walking path to make the space accessible to all.
- Black Farms, Food and Families Project (Lebanon, Tenn.): The Black Farms, Food and Families project, in partnership with Absolute Kubota, the New Farmer Academy at Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Tennessee State University (TSU), will use a Kubota Hometown Proud Grant to build an educational greenhouse, to help revitalize minority interest in agriculture through an heirloom “seed-to-feed” project.
- The Children's Village (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho): ““Every family deserves a village” is the belief of Children’s Village, a trauma-responsive safe haven providing crisis youth housing and family support services. Partnering with their local Kubota dealer, Coeur D’Alene Tractor, The Children’s Village applied for and won a 2023 Kubota Hometown Proud grant of $100,000.
- Hunger Task Force (West Milwaukee, Wis.): Hunger Task Force, Milwaukee’s Free & Local food bank, is a unique program that includes a 208-acre urban farm that grows fresh produce for local families. The Farm is supported by 5,000 volunteers and equipment from their local Kubota dealer, Lochen Equipment and the Kubota Hometown Proud Grant will help to purchase much-needed equipment for the farm.
- The Giving Grove (Dallas, Texas): The Giving Grove community orchard program helps volunteers install and maintain fruit trees and berry bushes that provide a free source of fresh food for urban neighborhoods. With the support of Schaffer Kubota, this grant will allow GROW North Texas to purchase a truck and landscape trailer to transport trees and supplies to the 24 existing orchard sites around the region.
In March, Kubota announced its third annual Kubota Hometown Proud grant program, calling on cities, towns, municipalities, and nonprofits to apply for consideration. More than 700 entries were received this year from across the country, demonstrating diverse and genuine needs from communities big and small. Kubota is honored to invest in hometowns across America and help make sustainable impacts for the future – from building agriculture centers and barns, to supporting community gardens and vocational farming programs – which is exactly what the brand’s hard-working equipment is built for. To date, the company has awarded $1.2 million in Kubota Hometown Proud grants.
For more information and official rules for the Kubota Hometown Proud grant program, please visit KubotaHometownProud.com.