The Americana Foundation was established by Adolph H. Meyer and Ginger Meyer to support, through philanthropy, their varied personal interests. Their success in industry and their interest in agriculture and the protection of urban open space, combined with their deep knowledge of and appreciation for authentic American art, have been the guiding focus for the programs of the foundation. The original donor believed strongly that agricultural land should never be taxed at its development level. He realized, through the depression, that a nation that could feed its people would always remain strong.

The purpose of the Americana Foundation is to support educational and advocacy programs that address the preservation of American agriculture, the conservation of natural resources, and the protection and presentation of expressions of America's heritage.



The Americana Foundation's major focus is the protection of the agricultural land base. It has funded land conservancies, American Farmland Trust, and some advocacy groups to do educational sessions, some one on one, with farmers and rural land owners. Most of these grants have involved either laying the educational ground work for a purchase of development rights program at the local level or for working with individual property owners.