Counties Receive Ag Literacy Grants

The IAA Foundation awarded $647,000 in Ag Literacy Coalition Grants to support the local efforts of Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC). This funding, in the form of a matching grant, provides an average of $8,000 to each of the 80 Ag Literacy Coalitions serving 89 Illinois counties in total. Last year Ag Literacy Coordinators reported conducting 28,848 programs, an impressive average of 360 programs per county coalition.

Based on successful fundraising and proper gift stewardship, the IAA Foundation will fully fund the 2023-2024 IAITC program of work including teacher grants, reimbursements to counties for Summer Ag Academies, and ensuring all print resources remain available to Illinois teachers at no cost.

During the most recent school year, 582,594 students and 40,046 teachers engaged in ag literacy lessons through IAITC. This reflects a 182% increase in student reach and a 64% increase in teacher reach and strongly indicates a return to resource use as re-adjustments to post-pandemic education continue.