With the help of goats, Germantown nonprofit gets creative to raise funds

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“I was putting a leash on, which is very difficult … You may think it’s easy. There's different kinds of goats,” Holmes explained. 

Holmes is a community intern at the Philly Goat Project, which teaches life and job skills.

Karen Krivit, who co-founded the project in 2018, said the project brings agricultural experiences to the urban landscape.

“Especially in regards to our mission in creating jobs, programming and opportunities for the Black and brown community in Germantown and using our resources and becoming allies in the social justice movement to equalize opportunities,” she said. 

The pandemic made fundraising for the nonprofit difficult over the past few months — goat yoga and grants from schools for educational programs stopped. 

What a beautiful day to walk some goats. We visit the Philly Goat Project. Goat yoga and educational programs needed to be put on hold due to the pandemic. The non profit is getting creative with funding. pic.twitter.com/RSmv4sWwuW

— John McDevitt (@JM1060) June 24, 2020

So to raise some money, the goats went virtual, showing up on Zoom meetings, and they have been clearing vegetation on properties by eating it. 

“Yeah poison ivy and poison oak doesn’t bother them at all. They eat that first, it’s really delicious to them,” Krivit explained. 

The farm will be hosting free no-touch visits on Sunday, June 28, and masks and social distancing are part of precautionary measures.