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Grants

 

The School Garden Grant Program
Whole Kids Foundation, Whole Foods, Foodcorps
Award ceiling: $2,000
Closing Date: Dec 31, 2011

The School Garden Grant Program is able to provide grants of $2,000 to support school garden projects in the US, UK and Canada. To be eligible for a garden grant, applicants must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or nonprofit K-12 school that is developing or currently maintaining a school garden project that will help children engage with fresh fruits and vegetables. Garden projects may be at any stage of development; planning, construction or operation. For cases in which an applicant facilitates garden projects in more than one school, multiple garden grants may be requested under a single application. In occasional cases, additional funds may be awarded for special projects. In selecting grant recipients, priority will be given to both limited-resource communities and to projects that demonstrate strong buy-in from stakeholders. There is a limit of one garden grant per school.
To be considered, applications must be received by 5pm CST, December 31, 2011. Applications must be complete in order to be considered and cannot be changed once submitted. Initial grantees will be announced in February 2012. Grant funds will only be disbursed after a grant agreement has been signed and returned by grantee. Once final funding decisions are made grants will be awarded by Whole Kids Foundation. Funds will be disbursed to recipients as a one-time, one-year award. Completion of an end-of-grant survey will be required for all recipients.

Full announcement here.

 

2011 Conservation Innovation Grant Funding Opportunity
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Award Ceiling: $1M 
Closing Date: Dec 28, 2010
 
Overview: The purpose of CIG is to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies, while leveraging the Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection in conjunction with agricultural production. CIG projects are expected to lead to the transfer of conservation technologies, management systems, and innovative approaches (such as market-based systems) into NRCS policy, technical manuals, guides, and references or to the private sector. CIG does not fund research projects. Projects intended to formulate hypothesis do not qualify. CIG is to apply proven technology which has been shown to work previously. It is a vehicle to stimulate the development and adoption of conservation approaches or technologies that have been studied sufficiently to indicate a likelihood of success, and to be candidates for eventual technology transfer or institutionalization. CIG promotes sharing of skills, knowledge, technologies, and facilities among communities, governments, and other institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users. CIG funds projects targeting innovative on-the-ground conservation, including pilot projects and field demonstrations. View full announcement: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/cig/pdf_files/CIG_FY_2011_Announcement_for_Program_Funding.pdf 
 
 
Good Agricultural Practices Cost Share Reimbursement
Oregon Department of Agriculure
Maximum reimbursement: $250
(Re)Certify by: December 31, 2010
 
In order to facilitate greater adoption of USDA’s Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) among a more diverse group of farmers, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is offering cost share reimbursement in 2010 to assist with the costs of GAP certification. It is recognized that the cost of certification is a significant barrier to the adoption of Good Agricultural Practices for small farms and beginning farmers 
Farmers who meet one or both of the following conditions are eligible to receive cost share assistance in 2010:
1. Farms of less than 30 acres
2. Farmers or farm managers that have been producing crops for 10 or less years
Oregon producers or handlers who receive and/or update their certification from a USDA accredited certifier between: May 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010 are eligible to receive reimbursement for 75% of certification fees, up to a maximum of $250.
More information: http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/ADMD/gap_ghp.shtml
 
 
Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Award Ceiling: $300k
Closing Date: Jan 18, 2011
 
The Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants (SPECA) program seeks to: (a) promote and strengthen secondary education and two-year postsecondary education in agriscience and agribusiness in order to help ensure the existence in the United States of a qualified workforce to serve the food and agricultural sciences system; and (b) promote complementary and synergistic linkages among secondary, two-year postsecondary, and higher education programs in the food and agricultural sciences in order to advance excellence in education and encourage more young Americans to pursue and complete a baccalaureate or higher degree in the food and agricultural sciences. 
View full announcement: http://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/educationchallengesecondaryhep.cfm
 
 
AmeriCorps State and National Grant Competition
Corporation for National and Community Service
Closing Date: Jan 25, 2011
 
On October 18, 2010, the Corporation released amended notices for the 2011 AmeriCorps grant competitions which include greater emphasis on evidence-based programs, information on priorities, definitions of Focus Areas, information on the review and selection process, and 2011 national performance measurement pilot information. National Performance Measures Notice of Intent to Apply: In order to help us gauge the number of applications we are likely to receive, please send an e-mail 60 days prior to the deadline to americorpsnational@cns.gov, for National applicants, or americorpsapplications@cns.gov for state commissions. National applicants should state the competition for which you will be applying. State commissions are encouraged to include an estimate of the number of programs you will be submitting to the state competitive competition. Although submission of the notice of intent to apply is not mandatory, your e-mail will help the Corporation to plan more efficiently for review. More Information on AmeriCorps State and National For more information contact your state commission, which you can find here http://www.americorps.gov/about/contact/statecommission.asp if you are interested in the State grant program. Contact (202) 606-7508 if you are interested in the National grant program. 
Full announcement and application instructions at: http://www.nationalservice.gov/for_organizations/funding/nofa_detail.asp?tbl_nofa_id=83
 
 
Funding for Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems
The 1772 Foundation
Letters of inquiry accepted until January 28, 2011
 
The 1772 Foundation, Inc. has announced that grant funding will be made available for sustainable food systems and agricultural endeavors in 2011. All organizations who wish to be considered should send a one-page letter of inquiry through the foundation's website. The foundation is particularly interested in the following: Food hub development, historic sites that promote agricultural education, urban agriculture, farmer training, farm to cafeteria programs, innovative approaches to sustainable food systems, Heritage Breeds and Heirloom Vegetable and Fruit Protection and Propagation, and youth farm education.
View full announcement: http://www.1772foundation.org/content/1772/announcements/announcementsfor2011agriculture.pdf
 
 
Specialty Crop Research Initiative
USDA/NIFA
Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-SCRI-003357
Award Ceiling: $47.3M
Closing Date: January 31, 2011
 
The Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) was established to solve critical industry issues through research and extension activities. SCRI will give priority to projects that are multistate, multi-institutional, or trans-disciplinary; and include explicit mechanisms to communicate results to producers and the public. Projects must address at least one of five focus areas: research in plant breeding, genetics, and genomics to improve crop characteristics; efforts to identify and address threats from pests and diseases, including threats to specialty crop pollinators; efforts to improve production efficiency, productivity, and profitability over the long term; new innovations and technology, including improved mechanization and technologies that delay or inhibit ripening; and methods to prevent, detect, monitor, control, and respond to potential food safety hazards in the production and processing of specialty crops. 
View full announcement at: http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/rfas/specialty_crop.html
 
 
Higher Education Challenge Grants
USDA/NIFA
Award Ceiling: $750k
Closing Date: February 4, 2011
 
Projects supported by the Higher Education Challenge Grants Program will: (1) address a State, regional, national, or international educational need; (2) involve a creative or non-traditional approach toward addressing that need that can serve as a model to others; (3) encourage and facilitate better working relationships in the university science and education community, as well as between universities and the private sector, to enhance program quality and supplement available resources; and (4) result in benefits that will likely transcend the project duration and USDA support.
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/educationchallengehigheredhep.cfm
 
 
Organic Research and Extension Initiative
USDA/NIFA
Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-ICGP-003388
Award Ceiling: $19M
Closing Date: February 10, 2011
 
The OREI seeks to solve critical organic agriculture issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research and extension activities. The purpose of this program is to fund projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products. Priority concerns include biological, physical, and social sciences, including economics. The OREI is particularly interested in projects that emphasize research and outreach that assist farmers and ranchers with whole farm planning, especially those relating to climate change. Projects should plan to deliver applied production information to producers. Fieldwork must be done on certified organic land or on land in transition to organic certification, as appropriate to project goals and objectives. Refer to the USDA National Organic Program (http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop) for organic production standards. 
View full announcement at: http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/rfas/OREI.html
 
 
Farm Energy Audits and Efficiency Assistance Grants/Loans
Rural Energy For America Program Grants/Renewable Energy Systems/Energy Efficiency Improvement Program (REAP/RES/EEI)
 
The REAP/RES/EEI Grants Program provides grants for energy audits and renewable energy development assistance. It also provides funds to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements.
How much are the grants?
The grants are awarded on a competitive basis and can be up to 25% of total eligible project costs. Grants are limited to $500,000 for renewable energy systems and $250,000 for energy efficiency improvements. Grant requests as low as $2,500 for renewable energy systems and $1,500 for energy efficiency improvements will be considered. At least 20% of the grant funds awarded must be for grants of $20,000 or less.
More information and applications at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/or/reapee.htm