Budget Building Sowing the Seeds for a Thriving Future

Nancy Bacon and Dwight Hutton, Washington Nonprofits

Your budget is your financial plan. It represents your organizational values and it communicates your priorities to audiences inside and outside your organization. An effective budget allows you to make good decisions for your organization and community. In this interactive session, we will explore three aspects of budget building: 1) Culture: Your values and core beliefs are reflected in your budget. We will show you where they show up and how you can shape your budget to stand for your mission. 2) Budgeting: Now the brass tacks of budgets: the chart of accounts, cost allocation, and the budgeting process.3) Communications: A well-crafted budget that represents your values is something to communicate to your community! Let’s talk about how to explain your financial plan to funders and market followers. You will leave this session able to define your culture before sitting down with a pencil and paper, explain how you allocate costs, and talk about your budget with someone outside your organization.

Social Media Sanity: Strategies and Secrets to Keep Your Market’s Social Media Fresh and Bountiful throughout the Season
Sarah Dylan Jensen, Mockingjay Press, Snohomish and Stanwood Farmers Market

Just like our markets, a social media strategy isn’t one-size-fits-all. And how do we fit doing social media in among the 1,000 other to-do items on a Market Manager’s task list? (Hello, Honeybucket disasters and wind storms galore…) In this beyond-basics session, we’ll tackle skills to help you navigate the wonderful world of Facebook and how to integrate it into your farmers market planning strategy. We’ll touch on various platforms to get your market at the top of customers’ minds without losing your own. You’ll take away some new ideas on how to manage the chaos of social media technology so you can focus on what really matters – bringing produce to the people!

Vendor Recruitment and Retention: Looking towards a Changing Landscape
Farmer Panel: Genine Bradwin, Kirsop Farm; Katie Green, Wild Hare Organic Farm; Ryan Lichttenegger, Steel Wheel Farm

Markets need to look forward to and plan for changing market landscapes that will benefit farmers, shoppers and the overall Farmers Market organization. How do markets find new vendors and retain the existing ones by being flexible and creative? How can market management help vendors add value and help with technical assistance and training? Several successful Puget Sound farm vendors will provide ideas and discuss solutions to maximizing their sales, increasing business connections and enhancing their overall experience selling at Farmers Markets.

Sustainable Fundraising That’s Enjoyable for Everyone
Susan Howlett, Author and Consultant

If fundraising isn’t your favorite part of your work, you’re doing it wrong! In this highly interactive session, we’ll identify who wants to support you and how best to ensure their generosity and loyalty. You’ll leave with practical, no-cost steps you can take right away to sustain your vital work with joy and ease, and get others to join you in the process.

Building A Strategic Marketing Plan for Your Farmers Market
Kelli Diann Billips, Seattle Farmers Market Association

Strategic planning is an essential tool that establishes a direction for your markets storytelling. In this workshop we’ll cover the full gambit: target research, defining your primary and secondary targets, creating a simplified marketing message, defining the voice of the market, and developing goals for content creation and distribution. We’ll also identify the best media platforms to reach your targets, and allow you to focus your time on the approaches that work for your marketing budget. You’ll walk away with the tools to create clarity and consistency in your storytelling, and train other market staff to establish a unified voice across all media platforms.

Location, Location, Location! Securing your Location, What to Do If You Need to Move, How to Handle Vendors, Community, Partners, Communications
Manager Panel: Karen Erickson, Everett Farmers Market; Gary Purves, Everett Farmers Market; and Sam Kielty, Neighborhood Farmers Market

Location, Location, Location! One of businesses’ basic truths is more important than ever at a successful farmers market. Long serving market managers will discuss the challenges (and perks) of moving a successful market and ensuring its personality, vendors and community support stays intact. Panelists will share best management practices regarding: choosing a location, new stall assignments, expenses, advertising, vendor communications, growing shopper support, creating positive spins, and how not to lose one’s cool. Participants will receive examples of communication tools, timelines to ensure success, advertising ideas and examples of property leases and contracts.

Succession Planning Basics
Randy Brinson, Third Sector Company

What does “succession planning” mean in your organization? Nonprofit executives and board members often react nervously to conversations about succession. According to BoardSource, 73% of nonprofits have not yet created a plan for their leadership continuity. Lack of succession planning puts missions in danger and organizations at risk if there’s a sudden transition in a key leadership role. But such transitions also provide opportunities for growth if your organization has a culture of leadership continuity focused on developing the human capital it will need for the future. This workshop will: Frame succession planning as essential to your organization’s long-term sustainability; Outline the essential components of an effective succession plan; Present options for beginning your organization’s leadership continuity work; Provide specific tools and resources to support that work.

Protecting Your Market: Rules and Regulations that Help You Work Effectively with Vendors, Customers
Jordan Boldt, Executive Director, Vancouver Farmers Market

Who loves a bunch of rules? Honestly, not many people. But don’t worry, because with a thoughtful and creative approach to your market regulations, you can set yourself up for success. In this session, we’ll cover everything from basic market guidelines to addressing issues with customers, and most importantly, we’ll talk about how to enforce and uphold these rules while simultaneously winning over vendors and shoppers. You will leave with an understanding of all the areas you should be addressing to protect your market and templates to get you started. Whether you’re a small market looking for starting point or a complex organization trying to refine their risk management strategy, this session is for you. And since we’re talking rules…there will be some pretty crazy stories about the people that inspired these rules in the first place.

The Care, Feeding and Weeding of Volunteers
Maria Anderson, Elk Run Farm and South King County Food Coalition

Learn how even a tiny organization without specialized volunteer management staff can recruit, effectively manage, and retain volunteers over time. Along with some tools and templates, the session will explore a shift in perspective of how volunteers are viewed and managed away from a hierarchical structure, toward a collaborative, talent honoring partnership. The session will cover: Messaging for effective recruitment; Preparing volunteers before they arrive on-site; Understanding what your volunteers need; Volunteer self-management techniques; Elk Run Farm’s management philosophy; How to prevent problems before they start; Effective (and simple) volunteer appreciation. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask specific questions about their own volunteer programs and will leave with a renewed excitement about the vibrancy and resilience that good volunteers can bring to a mission.

Better Safe than Sorry: Developing a Safety Plan and Protocols for your Farmers Market
Al Wurth, Safety and Heath Consultant Labor and Industries

None of us want to think about terrible things happening at our market, but in the event that they do we want to be ready. Join staff from Washington State Labor and Industries as they walk you through creating a proactive market safety plan that reflects the needs of your market big or small. Workshop will cover what plans and protocols markets should have in place, who should know about your plan, and active shooter protocols to keep the most people safe if the unthinkable happens

Understanding Shopper Behavior at Farmers Markets to Increase Vendor Sales
Jennifer Antos, Executive Director, Neighborhood Farmers Market

As the local food movement continues to mature, and competition for the retail market dollar increases, the need for farmers to develop direct marketing strategies to engage consumers is critical. In 2018 and 2019, FARMroots, a program of Greenmarket and GrowNYC, created a method to measure how shoppers interact with an individual vendor’s stand at farmers markets. This session will share how they gathered data by observing customer behavior, share the strategies they developed for improving customer satisfaction at farmers markets, and how participating vendors ultimately increased sales, on average, 11-15%, after making simple changes in their booth. This session will present GrowNYCs customer behavioral analysis tool, as well as ideas for how markets of every size and capacity can adapt this model to increase customer satisfaction and interaction. This work was funded in part by the USDA’s FMPP/LFPP grant program and first presented by Christopher Wayne at the 2019 National Direct Agricultural Marketing Summit.

Statewide SNAP EBT Incentive Match Program Training
Alyssa Auvinen, Project Director for Washington State Department of Health
Alan Ismach, Research Coordinator, UW Center for Public Health Nutrition
Jamie Wells, Washington State Department of Health

Is your market offering part of the statewide SNAP Incentive Match Program? Come learn about important updates for the 2020 season, including the unveiling of the new statewide SNAP incentive program logo and name! We will also show the program materials available to participating markets and requirements for tracking SNAP transactions in your market. Come prepared with questions!

Roundtable on Climate Change and Farmers Markets
Joan Qazi, Geographer, Educator

Wildfires, smoke, changing seasonality, floods, and then drought.  Are you concerned about what climate change means for farmers markets?  Join our roundtable discussion to learn more about likely consequences of climate change for Washington State and for our farmers markets.  We will brainstorm farmers market adaptations  to our changing climate as well as the role of farmers markets as one of the solutions to decrease our carbon footprint.  Come with your suggestions and your questions; leave with a plan of action.

Shape Up Your Backend for a Fun and Successful Farmers Market Season
Doug Farr, Seattle Farmers Market Association
Stacy Carkonen, Tacoma Farmers Market

For many outside of the farmers market world this appears to be an easy job. How many times have we heard “What do you do in the off‐season?” But as all of you know seeing up and running a market is just one aspect of what it takes to run a successful and prosperous business. What happens behind the scenes on the back end of your market is often where the rubber meets the road in time management, systems efficiencies and data tracking.

During this interactive workshop participants will learn strategies to streamline the back end of your business. From data collection for use in identifying trends and trouble spots to payroll and project management this workshop will have your back end shaped up in no time. Workshop goers will also have the opportunity to share systems they are using to make life easier and their market more profitable.

Navigating Insurance for Farmers Markets and Vendors in 2020
Facilitator: Colleen Donovan, WSFMA with Larry Spilker, Campbell Risk Management

It’s clear that insurance is an important risk management tool in protecting your farmers market, vendors, board members, and partners when there is a claim of some sort of physical injury to people or damage to property. What’s not so clear is what you need, what’s required, where to get it, and how much it will cost. This workshop will look key questions we’re facing in 2020: What do all insurance terms mean and what are the farmers market industry standards? Should a farmers market “require,” “recommend” (strongly?), or say little about liability insurance? What are the Pros and Cons? All vendors or just certain types? Where can farmers markets and vendors get insurance, what does it cover, and cost? Best practices around communicating and planning change to market policies that have real costs and may touch on personal philosophies. What else can a market be doing to mitigate risk?

Cultivating SNAP-Ed Partnerships: Leveraging Programming to Increase Food Access at Farmers Markets
Sydney Debian

Farmers markets and SNAP-Ed program providers share a goal of increasing both food access and the use of SNAP benefits to purchase fresh, healthy foods. However, it can be tough to know where to start when creating new partnerships or strengthening existing ones! This session will give an overview of SNAP-Ed, talk about tips for market managers and providers on collaborating with each other, and identify examples of activities and programs that can benefit and support farmers markets, local providers, and the surrounding communities.

Crisis Communications: Proactive planning and Communication Strategies to Stay Ahead of the Crisis
Kimmi Devaney, KDev Communications

Life is full of surprises, and crises tend to occur at the least convenient moments. Is your farmers market prepared for a food safety crisis or another situation that calls the market’s reputation into question? This session will prepare you with the tools to develop a plan, navigate media interviews and stay centered amidst the chaos.

What’s the Difference: How to Educate Consumers about Why Buying Direct is Important
Catt Fields White, Farmers Market Pros and San Diego Farmers Markets

Learn how to use simple messaging techniques to make your market shoppers feel empowered and increase loyalty. Surprisingly, even loyal customers often don’t realize the difference that buying direct makes to the financial sustainability of small farmers and to their own communities. This session offers specific phrasing and graphics you can use to explain the difference in the net benefit to farmers and food makers when consumers buy at retail stores vs direct from producers. Let shoppers know that they hold the key to giving farmers the ability to keep farming, and that small farming can have a positive effect on climate trends. Learn to increase attendance at your market by letting consumers know the positive health impacts of eating fresh foods and the favorable results of keeping their dollars in their own community.

Funding the Gap: Raising Money for your Food Access Programs
Stacy Carkonen, Tacoma Farmers Market

During this interactive workshop you will walk away with concrete strategies and activities to begin a fundraising plan that works for you and your market regardless of size.