2023 Annual Report

2023 Annual Report

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Founder’s Letter by Sharon Prince

breaking down barriers to create social change

I believe we all have a desire to share in something greater. I’ve seen during unprecedented crises how we came together, both as a team and as a community.

As our Common Good Through Crisis exhibit asked, how do we continue to address the needs of others when the crisis is over? Perhaps we come away from that crisis with a deeper resolve to solve our challenges.

At Grace Farms, such resolve is deepened through relationships that compound over time and generate extraordinary outcomes. This year was no exception. We invited women presidents from leading universities to discuss fostering inclusive education systems, illuminated diverse voices of culture in the arts, and demonstrated ethical and sustainable practices to eliminate forced labor in our food and building materials supply chains.

Our community work has long involved surfacing issues of social and gender inequities. During Making Space for Women, we invited leaders playing an integral role in creating more equitable communities. They included Sian Leah Beilock, then President of Barnard College and President-Elect of Dartmouth; Frances Bronet, President of Pratt Institute; Helene Gayle, MD, President of Spelman College; and Laura Sparks, President of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.

We discussed how space breaks down barriers and creates social change. As Frances Bronet asked, “When you think about space, how can you design it so you can have unpredictable ways of using it?” We keep asking ourselves that same question, enabling us to remain nimble and adapt to challenging times. This year, we particularly focused on opportunities provided by our 80 acres of landscapes.

In addition to new educational programming and tours for students and professionals, more than 1,500 visitors participated in intergenerational nature programs. We launched our Living Classroom series with our new Director of Horticulture Kimberly Kelly, who demonstrates how to become better stewards of our environment.

Through our new Voices of Culture series, we welcomed more than 4,000 people to experience the work of acclaimed, diverse musicians. The series is curated by Music Director Marcus G. Miller, an accomplished musician and mathematician from Harvard University who has performed at the White House and Carnegie Hall, and tours with award-winning singer and composer Jon Batiste.

Just as Voices of Culture expands our perspectives, our Open Arts Studio for Families helps thousands of children discover their artistic voices. Through this facilitated series, designed by artists and educators, children and families are invited to think, play, and experiment with different modes of art-making, while also fostering community.

We launched the Design for Freedom Ethical Supply Chain Workshop, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) and Turner Construction. Over 80 large manufacturers, technology partners, designers, academics, and government agencies convened at Grace Farms to share strategies to address forced labor in the building materials supply chain.

The Workshop leveraged the momentum generated by the Design for Freedom movement to eliminate forced labor in the built environment. Over 500 leaders and experts attended our Design for Freedom Summit, including students from 27 colleges and universities. We announced new Pilot Projects that now span across three continents.

Just as Pilot Projects demonstrate that building without forced labor is possible, every cup of coffee and tea we serve is ethically and sustainably made without forced labor. Led by CEO Adam Thatcher, Grace Farms Tea & Coffee Certified B Corp, which gives back 100% of profits to Design for Freedom, welcomed more than 20 major corporations to its corporate sponsor program. As a Forbes article said, this new kind of social entrepreneurship is “steeped in purpose.”

We also continued to advance good locally. We supported more than 30 nonprofit organizations through our Space Grants Program and prepared more than 1,000 backpacks with essential goods in partnership with Filling in the Blanks during our signature Gifting for Good program. Throughout the year, and since 2020, we have provided more than 150,000 nutritious meals to our neighbors in need.

Bringing the community together is a common thread, as we recognize that change happens through connection. Adam Silverman, an artist and potter, engaged participants in a project based on his Common Ground, where he harvests materials including clay, water, and wood ash from 50 states and five U.S. territories to create a new material. It’s a reminder of our shared humanity and connection to nature.

These shared connections are part of what make a good life. In our Faith Director’s New York Times’ bestseller Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most, Matthew Croasmun challenges us to consider what makes such a life. In celebration of its release, we hosted a discussion with his co-authors Miroslav Volf, Founding Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture and Grace Farms Board Member, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz, Associate Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture, with Kelly Corrigan, bestselling author and podcast host.

These shared experiences connect us to something greater, now and beyond. In 2024, we are excited to announce the opening of a new exhibit illuminating the issue of forced labor in the built environment. The exhibit, With Every Fiber, designed by Nina Cooke John, architect, artist, and United States Artists Fellow, and curated by Chelsea Thatcher, Grace Farms’ Chief Strategy Officer and Founding Creative Director, will help the public understanding of how humanity touches every single step along the way.

Onward with grace and peace,

Sharon Prince
CEO and Founder

Grace Farms Foundation