MFA grants help FFA members

With support from the MFA Incorporated Charitable Foundation, at least 25 Missouri FFA members will receive a financial boost for their new or existing Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects in 2024. The $25,000 donation made by the foundation in August will provide selected students grants of up to $1,000 for their SAE.

MFA Incorporated General Counsel Stefan Knudsen, front left, presents this year’s $25,000 donation for Supervised Agricultural Experience grants to Missouri FFA Foundation Executive Director Heather Dimitt-Fletcher. Joining them are Missouri FFA state officers, in back from left, Kiley Mattson of Stanberry, vice president; Sam Tummons of Columbia, president; Lynn Dyer of Higginsville and Isabella Hamner of Camdenton, both vice presidents.Participation in an SAE involves practical agricultural activities performed by FFA members outside of scheduled classroom and laboratory time. The program allows students to consider multiple careers and occupations, learn expected workplace behavior and develop specific skills within an industry.

The MFA Charitable Foundation established its annual contribution to Missouri FFA in 2021, with the first grants awarded 2022.

“We’re extremely thankful for MFA’s ongoing support of our SAE Grant Program,” said Heather Dimitt-Fletcher, executive director of the Missouri FFA Foundation.

“Consistently, when I ask recipients how the grant impacts their SAE, they say they would not have been able to start or expand their project without it. Ultimately, these grants provide students opportunities to learn life skills, obtain business experience and start down a path of financial stability.”

Missouri’s SAE grants piggyback on the national program, Dimitt-Fletcher explained, so interested students can apply for both Missouri FFA and National FFA grants online at ffa.org/participate/grants-and-scholarships/sae-grants. The application portal typically opens in early October. For more information, students should visit with their FFA advisor.

The MFA Incorporated Charitable Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to education, youth, solving community problems and improving quality of life. To learn more, visit mfa-inc.com/about/charity.

See related FFA story in this issue here: From SAE to CEO.

READ MORE from the October Today's Farmer Magazine