Now in its fourth year, Kubota continues its commitment to hometowns across America with its Kubota Hometown Proud® grant program, awarding $600,000 in grants to 20 deserving community-based nonprofit organizations in 2024 – distributing more grants to more communities in one year than ever before. Kubota Hometown Proud is an annual grant program that encourages 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 March and received 1,590 applications before Kubota selected its 20 regional grant winners. Then all 20 community projects were put up for public vote to determine which 10 winners would receive additional funding through a $50,000 grant.
“The Kubota Hometown Proud grant program not only saw more applicants than ever before from nearly every state in the country, but also more grant winners. In years past we’ve named five grant recipients, and this year we had 20,” said Todd Stucke, President of Kubota Tractor Corporation. “Our dealers embody the spirit of their hometowns, and it’s important for us to give them more resources to give back to local organizations that matter most to them and their customers, positioning them as the local dealer of choice while shining light on the important work being done in their hometowns. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all who were a part of this year’s program.”
In August, Kubota opened the public voting phase of the program allowing the public to choose their favorite hometown nonprofit to receive a chance at more grant funding. In all, more than 94,000 votes were cast. As a result, the 2024 Kubota Hometown Proud grant program winners are:
2024 Kubota Hometown Proud: $50,000 Grant Recipients
- Ag Alley at Shanél Valley Academy, Hopland, Calif., supported by Garton Tractor
- Bryant City Park Improvement Project by Bryant Up & Coming, Bryant City Park, S.D., supported by Eastside Equipment
- Cape Fear Heritage Garden at Cape Fear Botanical Gardens, Fayetteville, N.C., supported by Linder Turf & Tractor
- Developing Ag Opportunities for Residents at Bethel Hills by Advocates for Community Choice, Marthasville, Mo., supported by Wayde’s Equipment
- Diamond Dream: Enhancing Youth Baseball & Softball Fields by Cross Plains Youth Sports, Cross Plains, Texas, supported by Abilene Equipment Center
- Downtown Community Park by Leave it Better, Eastman, Ga., supported by Mid-State Tractor and Equipment
- Friends of Distant Hill Accessible Nature Trail and Pavilion Project, Alstead, N.H., supported by Pinnacleview Equipment
- New Heart: Feeding Those in Need by Fed By Faith, Joelton, Tenn., supported by Coleman Tractor of Nashville
- Vocational Tech Program at the Lighthouse Ranch for Boys, Loranger, La., supported by Star Equipment
- West Union Recreation Ballpark Restoration by Future Plans, Inc., West Union, Ohio, supported by Baxla Tractor
2024 Kubota Hometown Proud: $10,000 Grant Recipients
- Agricultural Education Space for Black Youth and Adult Land Stewards by Black Oregon Land Trust, Corbett, Ore., supported by Moen Machinery Company
- Barns Repair and Restore at AACORN Farm, Kalamazoo, Mich., supported by Wolf Kubota
- Bristow Town Square Renovation by Bristow Historical Society, Bristow, Okla., supported by Kubota Center of Tulsa
- Denton Freedom House Gardens Project, Denton, Texas, supported by Zimmerer Kubota
- Growing Food and Opportunities by The Farm School at Gibbs Road, Kansas City, Kan., supported by Coleman Equipment, Inc.
- Growing Hometown Pride by Wello, Inc., Green Bay, Wis., supported by Service Motor Company
- High Tunnel House for Free Produce at Matthew 25 Farm, Inc., Tully, N.Y., supported by Empire Tractor
- Pony Van for Stable Moments by Justin’s Place, Wilmore, Ky., supported by Central Equipment
- Refugee Children Farm Educational Shelter by Transplanting Traditions Community Farm, Chapel Hill, N.C., supported by The Tractor Center
- UGArden Community Farm Stand at the Univ. of Georgia, supported by Gene and Matt Tractor Sales
Kubota also announced that Ben A. from South Carolina, is the winner of the 2024 Kubota Hometown Proud national sweepstakes. Ben selected the Kubota Z422KW-54 prosumer zero-turn mower as his prize and will plan to put it to good use upon receipt from his local Kubota dealer, Hendrix Machinery Inc., located in Pooler, Georgia.
Through this program, Kubota aims to invest in hometowns across America to help make a sustainable impact on community programs and projects – from building agriculture centers and barns, to supporting equine programs, community gardens, and vocational farming projects for youth and veterans – which is exactly what the brand’s hard-working equipment is built for. To-date, the company has awarded nearly $2 million in Kubota Hometown Proud grant funding. For more information and official rules for the Kubota Hometown Proud grant program, please visit KubotaHometownProud.com.