Fertile Ground Food Co-op

INVEST IN YOUR VALUES

Fertile Ground Food Cooperative is forging a new path of community empowerment, cooperative innovation, and a healthy future for Southeast Raleigh. For over a decade, our neighborhood has watched grocery stores open and close, three full-service closures since 2013 alone. We're changing that instability and we're closer than ever.

We've raised $5 million of our $13 million goal. That means $8 million stands between us and a grocery store that's open, stocked, and thriving in Southeast Raleigh. Here's exactly what that $8 million does.

THE FINAL STRETCH:  TWO GOALS, ONE FINISH LINE

• $4 Million to Open Our Doors:  This is the last construction funding standing between our community and a full-service grocery store. Every dollar here goes directly into the building: the shelves, the coolers, the checkout lanes, the space itself. This is the gap between where we are today and the day our doors open to customers for the first time.
• $4 Million to Keep Them Open:  Opening day isn't the finish line, it's the starting line. A brand-new grocery store needs a full year of operating support before it can stand on its own: paying our workers a livable wage, stocking our shelves, and keeping the lights on while we build the customer base that will sustain us for decades. This fund makes sure that when we open, we open strong — and stay open.

Together, these two goals are $8 million. They're both essential, and they're both needed now.

OUR FUNDRAISING PROGRESS

Fertile Ground has raised $5 million, with $8 million left to reach our $13 million goal!

We want to reach 2,000 member-owners before the store opens. We currently have 1,080 owners.

KEY DATES ON THE ROAD TO OPENING

• October 17, 2026 — Our Inaugural Harvest Gala, Dix Park's All Faiths Chapel, 6–10pm. An evening to celebrate how far we've come and raise the funds to carry us the rest of the way.

• October 24, 2026 — Our member's groundbreaking moment. The community that built this cooperative breaks ground together.

• Spring 2028 — Our target grand opening, after an 18-month construction period.

Every gift between now and groundbreaking moves that opening date from a hope to a certainty.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Southeast Raleigh does not have grocery stability. The neighborhood has lost four full-service grocers since 2013, each closure taking food access, jobs, and community wealth with it. A store opening here isn't new. A store that stays, and stays accountable to the people who shop there, is.

That's the lesson of Renaissance Community Co-op in Greensboro. RCC proved a Black-led grocery cooperative could open in a food desert  and its closure less than three years later proved that opening is only half the job. RCC's member-owners didn't sustain the ongoing support a co-op grocery needs to survive past its first few years. Fertile Ground is built on that lesson: this campaign isn't only raising money to open our doors, it's building the base of committed, recurring member support that keeps them open, so our story doesn't end the way RCC's did.

This isn't charity. It's an investment in a business that will belong to the people who use it, for as long as Southeast Raleigh chooses to show up for it.

HOW TO INVEST

There are three ways to help us close the gap — pick the one that's right for you.

1. Preferred Shares.  Fertile Ground member-owners living in North Carolina can make a socially responsible investment in preferred shares with the potential to bear future dividends. Your purchase of preferred shares contributes directly to the co-op's capital campaign.  Contact us at info@fertileground.coop to learn more.
2.  Cooperative Donations  Anyone, anywhere, can directly and immediately support the co-op through a direct donation to Fertile Ground, which is incorporated as a for-profit cooperative association. Your direct donation lets us immediately put your contribution to work. Visit our website to make a direct gift.  Note: these donations are NOT tax-deductible.
3. Tax-Deductible Donations. You can also donate through our fiscal sponsor, the Cooperative Development Fund of CDS, which will direct your gift to benefit Fertile Ground. The Fund's nonprofit status allows your donation to be tax-deductible. To make a tax deductible donation, click the green Donate button above. Through our fiscal sponsor, we are also able to accept donations via Donor Advised Funds, retirement account distributions, and more. Please email us at info@fertileground.coop to discuss these options.

GIVE MONTHLY, SUSTAIN THE HARVEST

 A one-time gift helps us open our doors. A monthly gift helps us stay open  and staying open is the part a cooperative can't take for granted. Consider making your gift monthly to sustain the harvest!

Thank you for your support!

As its fiscal sponsor, the Cooperative Development Fund of CDS will use your gift to benefit Fertile Ground Food Co-op in a manner consistent with the Fund's mission to support the wise use and development of cooperatively owned businesses.