Matching Grant! The Good Medicine Well-derness Land Project!
- The RiverWinds
- 31 minutes ago
- 4 min read
A Time-Sensitive Matching Opportunity to Double Your Impact
FireKeepers International, a Native American and Veteran-led nonprofit, has a rare opportunity to unlock matching funds that will help us deepen our impact in East Tennessee and beyond. But first, we need your help raising the matching dollars.
How Does $10,000 Become $20,000 by July 4th, 2026?
It's simple: every dollar donated to this campaign may be matched up to $10,000.
That means your gift has the potential to go twice as far in helping us establish the next phase of the Good Medicine Well-derness Land Stewardship Project—an Indigenous-led resilience and land-based healing initiative focused on PTSD recovery, trauma healing, suicide prevention, and community resilience for veterans, first responders, and families.
Why This Matters Right Now
This project is time-sensitive because it serves as a prerequisite for another grant that FireKeepers has already been approved to receive.
One of the requirements for unlocking those larger infrastructure funds is having small ruminants—such as sheep—actively stewarding the land. Once animals are established, we become eligible for cost-share programs that can help fund critical improvements such as:
Irrigation systems
Permanent fencing
Water infrastructure
Land stewardship enhancements
Yes, it may feel a little like putting the cart before the horse—but those are the requirements. Bringing sheep onto the land isn't just symbolic, therapeutic, or educational. It's a strategic step that opens the door to long-term sustainability and stewardship funding.
The Human Story Behind This Flock
There is also a deeply personal reason this opportunity matters.
Mike, a livestock mentor who has been helping guide FireKeepers through this next chapter, is selling his flock of sheep and has offered them to us at an extraordinary price.
Recently, Mike underwent surgery for cancer and is no longer able to continue caring for the flock. The income from the sale will help support him during his recovery.
Because of Mike's generosity and the impact he has had on our journey, 10% of all funds raised through this campaign will be allocated for benevolence support to assist Mike as he continues his fight against cancer.
When you give, you're not only helping FireKeepers build a healing and educational space—you are also helping someone who has helped us.
The Heritage Story
Among the flock are two remarkable animals—a ewe and a ram that are Jacob sheep, a rare heritage breed associated with the Biblical patriarch Jacob, who later became known as Israel.
Beyond their heritage significance, these sheep have been lovingly cared for and socialized. They are gentle, accustomed to human interaction, and uniquely suited for therapeutic encounters.
Their presence will help create opportunities for:
Veterans working through trauma and PTSD
Visitors exploring homesteading and land stewardship
New shepherds learning animal care
Families seeking meaningful connection with the land
These animals represent more than livestock. They are part of a living story of stewardship, healing, and relationship.
What Is the Good Medicine Well-derness Project?
The Good Medicine Well-derness Project is an Indigenous-led initiative focused on land stewardship, resilience education, food sovereignty, therapeutic experiences, and community healing.
Through this program, FireKeepers is creating a restorative place where veterans, first responders, families, and community members can reconnect with the land, learn practical stewardship skills, build resilience, and experience healing through nature and relationship.
What Your Donation Will Support
Funds raised through this campaign will help cover:
Small ruminants and initial animal-care setup
Safety fencing, gates, and water-access materials
Irrigation preparation and related land infrastructure
High tunnel/hoop house completion, including re-tilling and structural improvements
Benevolence support for Mike during his cancer recovery
One Fundraiser. Multiple Impacts.
This campaign accomplishes several important goals simultaneously:
Helps FireKeepers meet the matching requirement so donations can go further
Places small ruminants on the land, helping qualify for additional infrastructure funding already approved through cost-share programs
Advances readiness for future irrigation and permanent fencing projects
Creates the foundation for therapeutic animal-assisted experiences
Expands land stewardship and agricultural education opportunities
Supports food resilience through completion of the high tunnel growing space
Protects both animals and participants through improved fencing and water access
Provides timely support to Mike during his cancer recovery
Strengthens the Good Medicine Well-derness Program as a place of healing, learning, and community connection
Each piece works together.
The sheep support stewardship, healing experiences, and future funding eligibility. The fencing and water systems protect both animals and visitors. The high tunnel helps grow food and provides hands-on educational opportunities. And through this effort, we also have the opportunity to honor a mentor who has helped make this next step possible.
Help Us Build the Foundation
The Good Medicine Well-derness Project is about more than infrastructure. It is about creating a place where people can reconnect—with the land, with one another, and with themselves.
Your gift today will help us:
Bring small ruminants onto the land
Unlock matching funds
Prepare for future irrigation and fencing support
Complete critical infrastructure improvements
Support therapeutic and educational programming
Assist Mike during his recovery
Launch the next phase of Good Medicine Well-derness
Together, we can create a place of resilience, stewardship, healing, and hope.
Please Give Today
Every donation brings us closer to our $10,000 goal—and every dollar may be matched.
Help us launch the next phase of the Good Medicine Well-derness Land Stewardship Project and build a stronger foundation for healing, stewardship, and community connection.