How It Works

FTF is led by a team of people passionate about farming and mission work around the world. This includes:

Chad Merrifield is one of the founders of FTF.  He owns a 1600 ac cash crop farm in Whitecourt, AB. He has been involved in many aspects of farming from dairy to beef, elk, and crops.

Paul and Tanya Gericke are the other founders of FTF. They are currently working as NAB Field Directors and Development Support at Camp Falcon Rock in Romania.

We are also so grateful for the support of Alberta Baptist Association (ABA)

FTF is similar to the Canadian Food Grains Bank but is more grassroots and relational. FTF differs from traditional agricultural-based fundraising in several key ways: 

1. Relationship: you have a direct relationship and communication with the missionaries you are supporting
2. Transparency: You can see exactly where your money goes. You will receive updates and stories about the capital projects as they progress
3. Missions trips: You will have opportunities to go on short-term missions trips to see the impact of your support and help as needed

Any type of project that best suits your farm is perfect. 

• Pledge a portion of your livestock and donate the profit
• Rent out your unused pasture and donate the collected rent
• Give a greater purpose to a small field of crops such as wheat, canola, hay, or sunflowers and donate the profits

We are open to any project that fits your farm.

All pledges are based on the farmer’s own personal pledge. The ask is not for the entire gross proceeds of the crop but net profits as well as donated labour and equipment.

Farmers are encouraged to offset their costs by inviting suppliers to join them in donating the inputs related to the farmer’s pledge.

Pledges are welcome any time of the year. Some projects, animals, for example, are often fall or winter projects. Others are in the spring.

It is ideal to have projects like crops or pasture rent committed to in early spring in order to allow for farmers to gather additional partners in the projects through suppliers and other like-minded individuals.

No. All donations are made through our online platform and flow directly to FTF to ensure accountability of funds and make the process as simple as possible. The last thing anyone wants is a hassle of bookkeeping and money transfers.

We understand that farming has risks to it. We encourage insurance through your own farm to lower the risk on the project. If your crop fails or loses money, you have the decision on how you would like to proceed and what your final donation will be.

No. The farmer owns the projects 100%, same as normal business practice. Insurance is the farmer’s variable cost and as such is owned by the farmer.

Yes! The full amount will be receipted for charitable donations. 

Ideally prior to December 31 in order to send a lump sum to the partnering missions in January.

In our initial pilot year, there were 8 projects completed by individual farmers. In 2022, we have even more that are interested, including a partnering farm in Romania! We are aiming for at least 20 projects.

Yes! In spring 2022, a group of 14 were able to travel to Romania to assist with construction and with serving Ukrainian refugees displaced due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Please fill out the contact form on the Contact page! We will get back to you as soon as possible.   

We raised just over $50,000 USD. This money helped build the main lodge at Camp Falcon Rock in Romania.

Until 2023, a third-party donor has agreed to cover $5,000 US of any administrative fee. This will reduce the participants administrative fees to between 0-5%. It is then 10% for additional dollars between $50,000-$99,999. At $100,000, all fees are covered again and any additional funds are at a 5% admin fee. 

Credit card charges are added, however, cheques are perfectly acceptable without additional costs.