The City of Grand Rapids asked the Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council to take over managing a fairly large community garden that there were water supply problems with, now resolved. The only disclaimer was we had to pay for our own insurance.
The Food Systems Council is sponsored by West Michigan Environmental Action Council, and when our staff person checked on it he found out that it was just a $150 rider on WMEAC's insurance. We had a very small unrestricted grant we could take that out of. Now, I imagine as a large non-profit WMEAC has pretty good insurance already, but maybe it would be a similar situation with the museum. If they wanted you to come up with whatever the extra charge is, a tiny fund-raiser would do it. How small the charge is might depend on what city you're in, or other circumstances, but it would be worth checking out. Cynthia Price Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council On 7/12/06, William Hohauser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
This is a big, big issue. First of all we live in a country where lawsuits are dispensed like disposable cups. You could find an insurance policy by yourselves or thru an organization that helps non-profits with their insurance or you could see if the museum's insurance already covers the garden. They must have a policy that includes coverage of their grounds. Unfortunately the museum may have changed it's mind about the arrangement with the advocacy group and is using the insurance as a way to say get lost. There are precedents with lawsuits against community gardens. They have happened, a few legitimate lawsuits and others not. A few resulted in monetary awards to the plantiff. In New York City most of the gardens are now covered by the city's Parks Dept. or have an arrangement thru a non-profit organization. Without coverage, individual garden members could become the focus of a lawsuit. That would be a big problem. You may have to reassess whether this museum is a good partner after all. If they refuse to cover the garden (of course it may not be them, insurance companies are always looking to reduce their responsibilities) and the advocacy group can't raise the money, this project may have to be moved elsewhere. William Hohauser 6th Street and Avenue B Garden New York City On Jul 12, 2006, at 7:16 PM, Molly MacDonald wrote: > Hi everyone > > I am part of an organization that links groups that > want to start a community garden with community > partners who have land to offer. We're a brand new > group and are still learning the ins and outs of > community gardening. We've recently linked an > anti-poverty advocacy group with a local museum that > has land in their courtyard. The land has been tilled > and plots prepared, but the museum has now said that > planting cannot take place unless the gardeners come > up with insurance. Since all of them are on welfare or > disability this is hardly a fair request. I was just > wondering what other people's experience has been with > this sort of issue. Is there a precedent for lawsuits > in community gardens? Does anyone have any suggestions > as to how to quell the museum's fears, navigate this > situation etc? Thank you. > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > > > ______________________________________________________ > The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one > of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the > ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http:// > www.communitygarden.org > > > To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https:// > secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
