December, 2004

Our job this month is to communicate as widely as possible who we are, the urgent situation we're in, and how sympathetic folk can help.

At the end of this e-mail (and on our website www.tryonfarm.org/outreach.php) is a letter designed to be a tool for your outreach ventures. The information contained in the letter is explained in detail below. This letter can be sent to organizations, friends, family members, anyone that you want to tell about TLC Farm.

Coordination Information:

Adopt an Organization!!
* Please look at the list of organizations on this website: http://www.tryonfarm.org/contactlist.php If there is not a point person listed and you are interested in forming a connection between the Farm and the organization, EMAIL the outreach group. outreach@tryonfarm.org
* We maintain a list of more detailed answers to Frequently Asked Questions at www.tryonfarm.org/outreach.faq.php. Please use it, and send us additional questions or suggestions.
* If contacts become seriously interested in financial support, feel free to forward them to the finance group at finance@tryonfarm.org. Similarly, if an organization or individual expresses a desire to help in ways that require more in-depth meetings or interactions than you're comfortable with, refer them back to the coordinators.

A bit of background on The Farm
Try/on Life Community Farm is a unique opportunity to share the skills and wisdoms needed to become truly healthy communities in respectful relation with the earth and her children. Nestled on 7 acres at the edge of Tryon Creek State Park in SW Portland, the Farm is an open commons in which many different traditions new and old interweave to become a demonstration of sustainable urban living. We are using permaculture planning, living machines, natural building, and green renovation of existing structures to root our social networks in responsible food, shelter, and energy, and our souls in the gentle wonder of the green world.

Maintained by a strong resident community of people dedicated to social change, we have incorporated as a public benefit non-profit dedicated to making the new world accessible. Working with the Park, local schools and universities, and the greater Portland community, the Farm has started a full educational program bringing students and classes onto the land and hosting workshops, events, and meetings for the public, all designed to enhance Portland=92s sustainable participation with the ecosystem. The Farm also advocates alternative transportation such as public buses, bicycles, and our own planned biodiesel shuttles to ensure that we model fossil fuel-free sustainability and traffic reduction.

But the Farm is in danger
The owners of the land have accepted a bid for $1.5 million to sell the land to a developer who plans to bulldoze it into 23 single lots. Right now, the owners believe that the only way to sell the land at that price is to get rid of the existing community. We have to persuade them that we are, in fact, a reliable and financially viable alternative.

One thing going in our favor is that the development is facing enormous hurdles. Environmental hazards abound, including the need to build an enormous in-filled road up a landslide-prone cliff without allowing any sediment off the land. Well-organized and well-connected community opposition ensures that even if the project is approved by the city, it will be appealed and resisted as much as possible.

But even if the development doesn't happen, that doesn't ensure the continued existence of TLC Farm. So our goal this month is to demonstrate the breadth of community support for this project and the vision we carry, to show how many people and organizations are willing to help us ensure the success of this courageous experiment.

How supporters can help
The Farm depends on gifts of time, energy, and experience from a wide array of sources. Our long-term future depends on our relationships with the ecology of organizations and communities in the area. You are part of a major drive to connect enthusiastic volunteers to potential community supporters. Whether you are contacting established institutions or your crew of friends, wealthy relatives or a fresh face at the co-op: remember that we are building for the long haul. We have immediate needs, but don't give the impression that they're all that's important.

We want you to be our initial contact with people organizations that could prove extremely helpful in the future so that we can begin to develop relationships. Inform the those that you are contacting that we have sought them out because of similarities of intent and common social interest. Remember, we are trying to make friends.

* Letters of Support: The simplest way to help is by writing a letter of support. As a basic step, we need aligned community organizations and individuals with similar goals to publicly state that they agree with the Farm=92s principles, mission, and/or plans. Documented support from the community legitimizes the Farm=92s efforts on a social level and proves that what we are doing is useful in a practical way. Moreover, it demonstrates the variety of allies willing to play a role ensuring the project doesn't fail.

A letter should include a description of the supporting organization or individual, how their mission or values are in line with ours, and why the Farm is important. Any specific mention of skills, resources, or partnerships they can offer should be clearly highlighted: from experienced advice to promotional collaboration, workshop facilitation to in-kind donations of labor and materials.

* Financing: Our goal is to secure $150,000 in private financing by the end of the year. This will show the owners that we not only have the capacity and support to achieve our organizational goals, but that we can raise the necessary money as well. There are a variety of ways in which organizations and individuals can help us:
o Tax-deductible donations. We are finalizing 501(c)3 fiscal sponsorship, so holiday gifts now will save money at tax-time!
o FarmLoans. These individually-tailored personal loans from $1000 to $50,000+ allow anyone to transform savings, stocks, or bonds into Farm-saving investments in a livable future.
o Equity as security. Equity in property (and other assets) can be used as security to allow us to get low-interest loans from sympathetic foundations.
o Networking. Real estate transactions are about relationships. We need to build a solid team of well-connected, experienced allies willing to engage with the variety of institutions, financers, and stakeholders involved, with the success of our long-term vision as their collective aim.

* Participation. While it may be expected that some organizations and individuals are be too busy to plug in directly right now, we are always looking for more partnerships and volunteers. All of our working groups are eager for outside help (see www.tryonfarm.org/plugin.php), and from easy-access work parties to professional advice, there's a way for anyone to get involved. Contact volunteer@tryonfarm.org for more information.

Moreover, we're eager to build organizational partnerships. We see our core mission as finding ways to bring together all aspects of the work of becoming a new society with a more indigenous relation with the earth. We've already engaged with a variety of university departments, schools, and educational nonprofits to bring classes to the land. We're eager to expand our collaboration in all realms, from transportation to housing, community gardening to ceremony, art, and culture.

* Contacts. Finally, ask everyone you engage with to suggest other individuals or organizations that might be helpful to us. Encourage them to think as broadly as possible. Ask them if they're well-placed to do an initial call for us, or if we can use their name as a reference. This is often the most crucial help people can offer!

Thank-you so much. Your help in this effort is invaluable! Our work this month will have deep and long-lasting effects on this place, the city, and the world.

The Outreach Working Group, outreach@tryonfarm.org
Enjoy the day, and breathe deeply into each moment.