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We are looking for creative and collaborative approaches to address challenges and provide opportunities to people who live in rural communities. This program provides grants to non-profit organizations for projects that improve rural communities within Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. This includes efforts such as building or improving facilities; purchasing necessary equipment to facilitate a local program; and funding capital improvements which enhance a community’s infrastructure, viability and/or prosperity.
Examples of rural community grant projects
- Fire engine for rural fire department
- Multi-purpose community building
- Improving community park facilities
- Computers for a community center’s educational classes
Grant amounts
Maximum grant request is $5000. Due to growing demand, the average amount awarded is between $500 and $2,500. An organization may only be awarded grant funds once per calendar year.
Deadlines and requirements
Grants applications are reviewed monthly. The last day to submit a 2026 grant request is Tuesday, December 15, 2026. The program will reopen January 4, 2027 for the 2027 cycle. Grant requirements include but are not limited to:
- Submission of grant requests through our online application: Apply here.
- A letter of written support from a current AgWest employee or an active AgWest customer.
- Evidence of financial backing for the project from other sources.
- If the project is chosen, a W-9 or IRS determination letter must be submitted.
The following individuals, organizations or activities are not eligible to receive funding through the community grant program:
- AgWest customers
- Lobbying or political organizations
- Fraternal or labor organizations
- Projects that have raised zero funds before applying
- Projects benefiting individuals, corporations and/or LLCs
- Scholarships or sponsorships of any kind
- Operating expenses or advertising
- Funds to purchase food items
- Fundraising events, dinners or benefits
- Travel expenses for individual/groups
- Sports team or camp sponsorships
- Deficits already incurred, loans or debt retirement
- Annual community events
By clicking the Apply Now link you will be directed to our third-party service provider’s website. The service provider will collect certain personal information about you to allow us to review and process your grant application. By completing the online grant application, you intend to interact with the third party for these purposes.
Please see our privacy statement for further information.
IN THIS SECTION
Caring for communities
At AgWest Farm Credit, caring for the communities where our customers and employees live and work is vital to living out our purpose.
One AgWest staff member who has been active in giving back to her local community is Bethany Filter, Portfolio Manager for the Santa Maria branch, serving growers along California’s central coast.
Bethany has made an incredible impact on her local area in recent years, primarily leveraging AgWest’s Rural Community Grant (RCG) program. Aimed at helping communities thrive, the program awards local nonprofits up to $5,000 and requires a letter of support from an AgWest employee or customer.
Since 2023, the Santa Maria branch has secured more than $113,000 in RCG funding for 33 different community projects and programs, many of them spearheaded by Bethany.
“It doesn’t take as much time as you think,” she said in a recent interview. “You don’t need hours and hours to support your community and make a positive impact.”
Getting started
The first grant Bethany and her branch secured went to support a high school sports complex built in honor of AgWest customer Roy Killgore, who passed away suddenly in late 2022.
That same year, three AgWest Local Advisory Committee Guided Giving Grants were awarded in her area, and, at an AgWest member’s suggestion, Bethany and Relationship Manager Karen Gamboa began serving on the food and shelter committee of a local nonprofit, the Santa Barbara Foundation.
“It opened our eyes to how much need is in our community,” Bethany says. “The connection between our customers and the branch and community has been amazing.”
Impact on community
Since then, Bethany has helped spearhead dozens of grants from AgWest by encouraging customers and staff to submit applications and by writing letters of support herself. Recipients range from high school robotics clubs and historical societies to food banks and homeless shelters.
One of the many worthy programs her branch has supported is the Food for Good Initiative, run by the Good Samaritan Shelter in Lompoc, California.
The shelter operates a 3.5-acre farm, which provides job training for shelter residents and enough produce to feed 600 people experiencing homelessness in their area daily. The $4,500 RCG award went toward purchasing a loader to increase work efficiency on the farm.
“I love nonprofits that can provide a true wraparound service,” Bethany says.
Sylvia Barnard is the executive director of Good Samaritan Shelter and says the contribution from AgWest has made a big impact on its operations.
“This was so significant to us because we were manually having to move items before, sometimes with wheelbarrows we rented, and this helped us become more self-sufficient,” Sylvia says.
Another standout organization is Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, which supports at-risk youth with access to food and housing, substance abuse education and prevention, and family engagement, among other services. Four thousand dollars from the RCG program was used to help purchase and install showers at a local youth shelter.
Inspired by her experience with the Rural Community Grant program, Bethany recently became a board member of Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture, or SEEAG, marking her initial commitment to nonprofit service. For Bethany and her branch, the RCG program provides an effective avenue for improving the lives of those living and working in the association’s service areas.
“I think it shows how invested AgWest is, including our members and staff, in having our local communities thrive and move forward, and not disappear over the years.
“From meeting basic human needs to educating the next generation and workforce in both ag and non-ag fields, we’re committed to helping the great communities we live in thrive,” she says.
To learn more about AgWest’s Rural Community Grant program and apply, click here.