Customer Story

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.

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