Stewardship

Supporting the ag industry and co-op communities

CHS invests in programs that strengthen hometown communities and develop future generations of ag leaders through CHS community giving and the CHS Foundation. These initiatives support CHS sustainability efforts and long-term focus on people and rural communities. Download the 2024 CHS Sustainability Report.

Progress on stewardship impact goals

In 2024, CHS and the CHS Foundation invested more than $8.2 million to implement the first year of our fiscal year 2024-2026 stewardship strategic plan. We made significant progress toward achieving our three-year goals, demonstrating the positive impact that we make on cultivating tomorrow’s agriculture leaders and helping our communities thrive.

Our funding opportunities

CHS community giving

CHS community giving serves cooperative communities through support of cooperative matching grants, Twin Cities projects, volunteerism and industry support.

Cooperative matching grants

Apply year round.

Learn more

Twin Cities funding

Apply:

March 1 to April 30

Oct. 1 to Nov. 30

Learn more

General inquiries

We consider other requests that benefit the agriculture or cooperative industry.

Apply year-round

CHS Foundation

The CHS Foundation builds ag career pathways and educates rural youth through support of ag safety.

Ag leadership programs

Apply year-round

Learn more

University funding

Apply:

April 1 to May 31

Learn more

Ag health and safety

Apply year-round

Learn more

Cooperative education

Apply:

Jan. 1 to Feb. 15

Learn more

Scholarships

Visit website for additional information

Learn more

Guidelines

Guidelines for all CHS funding
CHS stewardship does not make funding decisions based on race, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin or ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information, familial status, veteran status, or characteristics protected under any applicable laws of any location in which CHS operates.

CHS supports national-level and state-level requests within the main CHS trade area: Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming

Projects at the local level will be accepted through the CHS Seeds for Stewardship cooperative matching grants program

Organizations must be a 501c3 or related charity to be eligible to receive funding

CHS does not support:

Individuals, individual needs or individual fundraisers

Sports teams or athletic requests

Academic/local school requests are not supported except through CHS Seeds for Stewardship including debate, robotics and other academic teams, after-prom, school fundraisers, etc.

Medical/disease related causes

Groups with religious affiliation

Political campaigns, fundraisers or lobbying efforts not endorsed through CHS government affairs

Dairy industry-related requests

Impact

The CHS sustainability strategy places ongoing focus on supporting people and communities. CHS and the CHS Foundation invested $8.2 million in 2024 in rural America through a variety of stewardship partnerships.
Learn more
Cooperative Minds, a free, online curriculum created in partnership with Discovery Education, offers a gamified learning experience, career profiles, and ready-to-use activities and curriculum to help students discover the opportunities available in agriculture.
Explore more
During the CHS Giving Campaign, CHS matches employee contributions with one dollar for every dollar donated. In 2024, CHS and 918 employees raised nearly $1.65 million through employee donations, the CHS match and fundraising events like kickball.
The CHS Foundation grant to FFA supports national and state FFA programs and help retain inspiring ag teachers like Tanner Peterson.
Learn more
CHS employees participate in hunger-related giving and volunteerism as part of CHS Harvest for Hunger. Since 2011, CHS employees have raised more than $8.4 million and 4.09 million pounds of food for local and regional food pantries, shelves and nonprofits.
Financial support from the CHS Seeds for Stewardship program helps local fire departments respond to incidents like grain bin rescues. More than $240,000 has been provided to support grain bin safety equipment and training since 2018.
Learn more
The CHS Foundation cultivates ag talent through support of scholarships and curriculum at 25 partner colleges and universities.
Learn more
The CHS Foundation awarded $47,500 to rural community projects to support safety and basic needs services in 10 communities.
Learn more