Munnell Run Farm Foundation Inc
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Watershed Challenge
The program is an environmental knowledge competition and education event for sixth through eighth grade students from schools in the Shenango River Watershed. Schools in three counties in Pennsylvania and two counties in Ohio come to Munnell Run farm in October to test their knowledge and learn about forestry, aquatics, wildlife, soils and watersheds at stations around the Farm. Lunch is served and awards are given to round out the day.
Earth day
Each year a special event is held to commemorate Earth Day. The theme changes from year to year but activities have included hands-on learning about wildlife, wetlands, alternative energy, forestry and rural life.
Farm Day
This annual event is meant for the entire family to experience the community asset that is Munnell Run Farm. It is held the third Sunday in September and celebrates the end of summer with local artisans, farm marketers, and music. Tours of the Farm from tractor or horse drawn wagons, lots of childrens' activities, food provided by local nonprofit organizations and educational programs are featured.
Regional Food Venture
The Regional Food Venture is a project led by Munnell Run Farm to establish a commercial kiitchen incubator in Mercer County, Pennsylvania to support our local growers and entreprenuers. The kitchen, nearing the comletion of the planning and design, will repurpose an existing building to create a licensed commercial kitchen that will be "kitchen incubator" for local food entrepreneurs to begin and nurture a food related business.
Archery Event
A 3-D archery shoot, set in our woodlot and riparian wetland trails, serves as a fund raiser for us and attracts archers from the surrounding region. We get the opportunity to showcase the natural assets of Munnell Run Farm while providing a recreational opportunity.
Where we work
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Login and updateAwards
Governor's Award For Environmental Excellence 2003
PA Department of Environmental Resources
Affiliations & memberships
Chamber of Commerce 2012
External reviews
Photos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The ultimate goal is to instill a knowledge and appreciation of the interrelationship of agriculture and the natural world in 10,000 students annually, focusing Pre-K-6 children but also reaching out to middle and high school students. We believe that hands-on exercises reinforce the students’ learning process. To do this effectively we need to build the capacity of Munnell Run Farm to accommodate entire school classes in terms of staff, classroom and outdoor teaching stations. This saves school costs for field trip transportation. It is common for 160 students from a single school to visit Munnell Run Farm for a day’s programming. Our only classroom can accommodate a maximum of 40 students. Hands-on activities require smaller groups (10-15) to visit the various teaching stations where an educator provides instruction on the topic. The 2010 census provides that there are 14,130 students in the K-6 range in Mercer County alone. Coupled with students from surrounding counties the potential for student visits is great.
The need is to extend water and sewer lines to allow construction of toilet facilities to the existing education building and a stand-alone facility for events and casual visitations . A long awaited restroom will replace a portable toilet in 2015. We need to replace the pavilion ($30,000) as it displaces a useful teaching station . Also needed is a building classroom, laboratory, and administrative offices. The estimated cost is $1.2 M. We also believe it is important to demonstrate the conservation of soil, water and energy in a “do as I do” manner. Although our installed conservation practices, including a managed woodlot, tree plantation, cropland diversion terraces, grassed waterways, contour strip cropping, rotational grazing, solar powered pasture watering system, a fenced riparian forested buffer and constructed wetland, and A 10kw wind generator. Needed are additional teaching stations and access to 35 acres of additional grounds. Also needed are storm water management practices, including waterways, catch basins and a retention pond that will also serve as an aquatic habitat demonstration area and fire protection. The estimated cost is $125,000. We also supports local farmers through demonstration, marketing and infrastructure. We will help local small scale farmers become financially sound by extending their harvests, adding value to their crops and marketing what they produce. Planned is a licensed shared commercial kitchen where producers can preserve their produce for later sale or add value to their raw produce by making sauces, salsas or other product for year-round revenue generation. Grants enabled us to create operating and management plans and a design for converting an existing building into the commercial kitchen. Needed is funding for the $750,000 estimated cost of construction and two years of management costs. The kitchen will become self-sustaining through rentals and various educational programming.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We will attract capable and motivated board members and volunteers to provide the energy needed to reach our goals. We will make our organization attractive to these individuals by taking steps to ensure that our organization is adequately protected from liability and property damage and that board members and volunteers are protected as they serve our organization. We will seek professional advice and secure the necessary protections, seeking grant funds to help us carry out this important task.
We will Improve existing education programs and create new programs that meet the needs of school students and other programs which are desired by adults such as hand-made crafts, local history, cooking with herbs and home grown vegetables. We will use polling through our website, social media and personal contacts to reach those outcomes. We will ensure the sustainability of our educational staff through continued educator training and networking. We will also recruit and train a cadre of volunteers to supplement our teaching staff to ensure that a meaningful experience is provided to large groups attending our programs.
We will Improve the infrastructure of the Farm per the Master Site Plan developed in 2005 to better accommodate children, adults, groups (large and small) in both structured and self - directed programs. The pressing need is to construct handicapped accessible restroom facilities for which we have raised $35,000 out of the $120,000 needed. We look to complete the project in 2015. We will hire an architectural firm in 2015 to design our main education/activity/office building and embark on a fund raising campaign to build it. We will also reconstitute the Regional Food Venture Advisory Committee to take the lead in seeking funding for the shared commercial kitchen incubator.
We will step up our grant seeking activity through Guide Star, Network For Good, and the Community Foundation of Northern Mercer County. We will establish a working fund raising committee to recommend policies and make an annual plan to ensure that funding is sustainable. We will recruit motivated individuals from a cross section of local business and industry to play an active role.
In the near term we will begin accepting credit/debit cards for events and at our gift shop. We will also make better use of the internet for registering participants for programs and special events.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The core assets of Munnell Run Farm include 163 acres of field, forest and riparian land under long-term lease and conservation easement. In addition there are farm buildings repurposed as classroom, gift shop, trout nursery and rural life museum. Interpretive trails, a stream, and an historic house serve as teaching stations. Our Master Site Plan guides us toward reaching our goals of making Munnell Run Farm into a premier agricultural and ecological education and visitor center in the region. Machinery for operating and maintaining the farm includes tractor and implements, mowing equipment, and a tour wagon with wheel chair lift. Inventory items at the gift shop include T-shirts, tote bags, field guides and gift items. A lease with a local farmer keeps the pastures and crop fields in active production, displaying agriculture to visitors. Our website and Facebook page help to keep our followers informed of programs and other news.
The County Commissioners insure the farm’s buildings, provide liability protection and pay wages for the Conservation District staff, which is committed to MRF operation and educational programming. Operating partnerships include Trout Unlimited, County Historical Society, the Shenango Conservancy, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, and the Small Business Development Center at Gannon University. Additional partnerships aid in our ability to provide meaningful programming. They include Trumbull County SWCD, Shenango River Watchers, PA Game Commission, PA Fish and Boat Commission, PA Bureau of Forestry, PA Bureau of State Parks and Penn State Cooperative Extension. Local businesses have been supportive of our programs and special events.
In the near future we will construct a handicapped accessible public restroom that can accommodate our large crowds at special events and provide for year round programming. A maple sugaring program will add another dimension to our educational programming and create another source of revenue. We will also complete the interior of the Bigler House History Museum and Country Store gift shop and make improvements in the Activity Building to better serve visitors. Long term, we will construct a building to accommodate 200 people and provide office space. Improvements in accessibility to all parts of the farm will allow us to showcase more of the conservation practices installed as well as different habitats that exist on the farm. The Master Site Plan will be our guide throughout the process.
We will make it easier to make donations and on-line sales we will begin to accept credit cards on line and at our gift shop. We will continue to use Network for Good for on-line donations. Credit cards will also be accepted at special events via mobile communications.
We will monitor the impact of these changes through our accounting system, Google Analytics, and registrations for programs. We will conduct surveys both on-line and personal contact so that we can make appropriate adjustments
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
-Completed construction of access road and improvement of existing lane. This was a major part of the Master Site Plan adopted in 2005, it provides better access and signage to help visitors navigate to the Farm. A visitor friendly facility will ensure that repeat visitations and word of mouth provide an increased clientele.
-Completed reconstruction of the historic Bigler House, also a part of the Master Site Plan it provides the historic/rural life capability for expanding the educational programming and expands our reach to another segment of the potential clientele that will make use of the Farm. To make full use as an education facility a cadre of volunteers is needed to help with programming and facility and gardens upkeep.
-Completed design and operating plans for shared commercial kitchen (Regional Food Venture). Included in the Master Site Plan it adds the dimension of support for local agriculture production through value added product development. Economics of the times eliminated the government grant sources that we depended on for funding the construction and management. A private public partnership is necessary for this to become reality.
-Completed construction of Country Store and opened for business with expanded inventory. It added another dimension to MRF marketing strategy but lack of adequate staffing does not permit regular store hours so the potential for sales was not realized. A cadre of volunteers or other method of keeping regular store hours is needed.
-Increased number of programs provided by 200%, adding variety as well as number of programs. Several large groups sent by schools punctuated the need for a cadre of volunteer teachers and facilitators for these special programming occasions. The lack of adequate restroom facilities was punctuated by these groups. Also, our current activity building can only accommodate 35 persons. Large group orientation is impossible during inclement weather. The Master Site Plan includes a building that can accommodate up to 200 people. It would serve as the initial gathering place for large groups with bus parking nearby. The facility would also accommodate other groups and can be another revenue stream through rental for meetings, weddings or other events.
-Increased number of adult programs by 300%. The Guest Artisan Series” has been successful and can be expanded further with an addition to the guest artisans. Needed also is to provide meaningful programs for teachers in meeting the Environment and Ecology Standards required of them in PA.
-Use “Donate Now” to accept on-line donations. Although the Donate Now button is part of the website it has not resulted in a large number of donations. A revised website will to make it more enticing for visitors to make on line donations. We must get more visitors to the website.
-reached 3,000 visitors at annual Farm Day event for first time, resulting from an increase in outreach efforts. Added additional fund raising projects.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Munnell Run Farm Foundation Inc
Board of directorsas of 06/05/2016
James Mondok
Mercer County Conservation District
Term: 2011 - 2011
Fred Brenner
Grove City College
Donal Koontz
PA Farm Bureau
Jeff Kremis
Neshannock Chapter Trout Unlimited
Amy Reeher
Trumbull Soil and Water Conservation District
Jay Russell
Debra Plant
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes