Save Sisters Hill Farm

Mission

We aim to honor the Farm's commitment to growing healthy foods that nurture bodies, spirits, communities, and the Earth. We plan to uphold the Farm's tradition of small-scale, sustainable agriculture. We will take care to maintain its educational and charitable benefits. You can find our full mission statement here.

Plan

We have come up with a phased approach to realizing the Mission.

Phase 1: Buy the Property

We are forming a limited liability corporation, to be known as SHF Farmland, LLC, whose function is to buy the entire 70-acre property that the Sisters of Charity have put up for sale. After concluding the purchase, the LLC will sell off one or more lots on North Anson Road — a parcel comprising about 20 acres that includes a 1950's-era house, a cottage, and a pool. The LLC will then grant a conservation easement, covering the remainder of the property, to a local land trust. This easement will block future development, but allow farming to continue on the existing farm acreage.

Phase 2: Run the Farm

Meanwhile, we are planning to form a new non-profit entity, the Friends of Sisters Hill Farm. The process to form the entity and secure tax-exempt status will take some months. The LLC will donate the farm acreage and the farm buildings to the Friends; at which point, its work done, the LLC will go out of business. The Friends' board will steward the nonprofit and oversee the work of the farm director, who will manage the day-to-day operations of the Farm and its development into a strong non-profit entity.

How You Can Help

We would like to ask for your support with both phases outlined above.

Our top priority is to fund the LLC. We have already gathered $700,000 in pledges in just a short few weeks. We are asking those of you who can do so to pledge $100,000 or more. Our goal is to come as close to $2 million as we can. An amount of this size — and we believe it's obtainable — will allow us to make a serious offer to the Sisters, with enough left over to cover the costs of subdividing the property and obtaining the necessary approvals. If you do contribute to the LLC, you can expect to receive a proportional share of any tax benefits and proceeds that the LLC may derive from the sale of the lots, the conveyance of the conservation easement, and the donation of the farm acreage. No one, however, should view this as a conventional investment. We expect the people funding the LLC to receive only a partial return of their capital. However, those who do step up at this point will play a major role in preserving Sisters Hill! If you would like to participate, please reach out ASAP to Glenn Novarr, who is compiling a confidential roster of pledges.

For reasons having to do with securities law, the LLC must limit contributions to large-dollar amounts. If you can't join the LLC with $100K or more, but can make a meaningful contribution short of that figure towards the purchase of the property, we are eager to hear from you. Please get in touch with Glenn to let him know how much.

Alongside our efforts to buy the land, we are looking ahead to setting up Friends of Sisters Hill Farm with a formal board of directors. All kinds of talents and abilities will be needed. If you're an accountant, lawyer, human resources specialist, non-profit manager, farming enthusiast, fundraiser, strategist of any variety, if you're good at forming alliances, or if you know how to get things done, please let us know. Once the Friends organization is formed and its tax-exempt status secured, it will be able to receive charitable gifts directly. If you have an interest in making a post-acquisition donation to the Friends, please reach out to Glenn. These tax-deductible gifts will help to sustain the Farm's tradition of showcasing best practices, serving the poor, and training aspiring farmers.