The Professional Improvement Foundation (PIF) is a member-directed nonprofit that funds programs and activities to advance ACN members and the agricultural communications profession. You can also make a contribution by contacting the ACN office at 952-758-5811, or sending a payment by mail. Make checks payable to the ACN Professional Improvement Foundation and mail to:

ACN Professional Improvement Foundation
126 W. Main Street
New Prague, MN 56071

PIF is a 501(c)(3) organization. Contributions are tax-deductible and may be eligible for employer matching. Tax ID: [number] 36-3540-723. If your employer matches tax-deductible contributions, please submit your contribution through your employer.

Need a Reason to Donate? We’ll Give You Three!

The Professional Improvement Foundation (PIF) is a member-directed non-profit organization that provides funding, direction, and input for a wide variety of programs and activities that benefit ACN members and helps advance the agricultural communications profession.

Here are three reasons to give to the ACN Professional Improvement Foundation:

Pay it Forward: Have you received a PIF stipend for Ag Media Summit or IFAJ Congress? Help provide the same growth opportunities for your peers.

Pave the Way: PIF provides scholarships and internships for ag communications students who become the agriculture industry’s future journalists, PR professionals, photographers, designers, and publishers. Your gift opens the path for tomorrow’s leaders.

Practice Excellence:PIF funds Communications Awards contests, regional workshops, webinars, and Ag Media Summit—programs that help you refine your craft and advance professionally. Giving to PIF invests in your development, the development of others and the organization’s future.

PIF Is Now Accepting 2026 Grant Proposals!

The ACN Professional Improvement Foundation (PIF) is now accepting proposals for 2025 grant funds. The submission deadline is October 31.  

PIF’s mission is to provide professional improvement programs to members—and nonmembers— both career veterans and students—in the field of agricultural communications. PIF Trustees support and promote the ag comm community through scholarships, internships, and training sessions across a variety of fields, from writers and photographers to editors and freelancers.
Proposals will be evaluated by the Trustees in November on the merits of:

1. Audience scope to ACN members – the number of members who benefit from the grant
2. Impact – does it fill a need?
3. Contribution to helping ACN’s position as the go-to resource for professional development for agricultural communicators.

The deadline to submit a proposal is October 31st. The submissions will be reviewed and selected by PIF Trustees by the end of 2025.

If you’re asking for $5,000 or less, use the small grant form to submit a proposal. If you’re asking for over $5,000 or more, use the large grant form to submit a proposal. 

 Thanks to Our Individual Donors

• Willard Johnston
• Samantha Kilgore
• Steven Mercer
• Lyle Orwig
• Harlen Persinger
• Kenna Rathai
• Elaine Shein

 Thanks to Our Corporate Donors

• Agricultural Communicators Network
• Lyle E. Orwig
• Gardner & Gardner Communications
• Chicago Writers Association