A man standing up on a ladder next to a building.

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.

Progress on stewardship impact goals

In fiscal year 2025, CHS and the CHS Foundation invested nearly $8.7 million to implement the second year of our 2024-2026 stewardship strategic plan. Building on our first-year momentum, 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 communities thrive.

Educating rural youth graphic
Building ag career pathways graphic
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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.

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Cooperative matching grants

Apply year round.

Learn more
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Twin Cities funding

Apply:
March 1 to April 30
Oct. 1 to Nov. 30

Learn more

General inquiries

We consider other requests that benefit agriculture or the cooperative industry. 
Apply year-round or contact [email protected] for more information.

CHS Foundation

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

Ag leadership and general programs

Apply year-round

University funding

Apply:
Jan. 1 to Feb. 28

Ag health and safety

Apply year-round

Cooperative education

Apply:
Jan. 1 to Feb. 15

Scholarships

Visit website for additional information

Guidelines

  • 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
    • A cooperative’s own private, corporate or related Foundation- regardless of charity status.

Impact

Screenshot of Cooperative Minds website

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.

Learn more about Cooperative Minds
CHS Employees volunteering at a river.

Our employees raised more than $1.6 million for their favorite nonprofit organizations in fiscal year 2025 through the CHS Giving Campaign, which includes a dollar-for-dollar donation match by CHS up to $5,000 per employee. More than 900 employees supported 896 organizations through the campaign in fiscal year 2025.

2025 CHS Sustainability Report

The CHS sustainability strategy places ongoing focus on supporting people and communities. CHS and the CHS Foundation invested more than $8.6 million in 2025 in rural America through a variety of partnerships.

Read our sustainability report
Tanner Peterson holds up the FFA jacket he earned when he was a student

The CHS Foundation grant to FFA supports national and state FFA programs and help retain inspiring ag teachers like Tanner Peterson.

Learn more
Volunteers at Feed My Starving Children

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.

Firefighters rescuing a man from a grain engulfment

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.

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students working on precision ag projects

The CHS Foundation cultivates ag talent through support of scholarships and curriculum at 25 partner colleges and universities.

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CHS Foundation teacher grant top finalists.

At the 2025 CHS Annual Meeting, the CHS Foundation awarded $57,500 in ag teacher grants to eight recipients in support of rural agricultural education programs aimed at cultivating the next generation of agricultural leaders.