It’s been a crazy week here at the farm. Really crazy! We are in the final year of our lease on this beautiful farm in Culpeper and looking to make some major decisions about our future. As we formulate the plans and requirements necessary to bring our farm-school to fruition, we have come to accept that this location and the current amenities on this farm do not fit our growing needs.
Front of home showing 2 story attached apartment/dorm
Realizing that we have just under a year to find a place, secure funding and move, we decided we would begin what we thought would be a lengthy search. Well, we were wrong. What seemed to be an amazing opportunity in Goochland, VA popped up at the top of our farm property search. Lengthy requirements list in hand, we met the realtor and explored the farm. Barring a chicken coop, it was as if we had taken our requirements list to both an architect and site planner and they laid it all out for us and our school. It couldn’t be more perfect. (We can easily add a chicken coop. 🙂 )
Front of barn
The price of the farm seemed daunting at first. When we were home and had time to mull things over, I ran the numbers for the school. A portion of the student tuition would cover this mortgage. This was doable. But, we would need to procure private funding and have a year or two of interest only payments to get us started. So, how does one find this type of financing? Well, the owners of the farm have mulled things over themselves and are willing to provide a hefty portion of the funding, so right off the bat, we have a big step in meeting our financing goals. Other friends have promised to share the information and see what they drum up. We could even take a corporate sponsor – a company who has an interest in helping with education.
We created a GoFundMe campaign, not only for raising funds, but to gain the interest of one or a handful of investors to team with the owners to fully finance this property. Any funds raised over and above the property costs will be directly applied to other school needs including scholarships, smart boards, and other school supplies. The GoFundMe link features a presentation offering background on our project as well as details of the property. Farm School GoFundMe campaign.
If you are interested in helping us work with those kids that fall through the cracks in the system, contribute if you can and most importantly, share! Help us spread the word!
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