Grant Advising

 

We are expert grant writers with decades of experience running and partnering with farmers markets and can review your existing application or help you write a new one.

Looking for general grant writing tips? Check out our funding specific blog posts!

Already find a grant you’d like to apply to and are looking for assistance? Have a great project that needs funding? Not sure where to locate grant opportunities?

Farm 2 Facts staff can work with your team to identify funding opportunities and create a competitive grant application. We bring extensive experience working with grant opportunities for food system work.

How we can support you:

1. Identify grant opportunities – We can meet with your team to learn about your projects and goals to identify the best grant opportunities.
2. Develop a competitive grant – We will help structure your application to provide a clear indication of your project plans, timeline, and budget.
3. Report on your activities and successes – How will you share your successes? Farm 2 Facts data collection toolkit provides a range of options to record and present data that tells your funders the story of your work. Tracking your progress ensures that you build a strong relationship with existing funders and also equips you with important statistics that can help you pursue funding for future projects.

Contact us to find out how we can help you secure grant funding for your next project.

Which grant opportunities are right for you?

Most organizations secure a range of grant opportunities, which can provide an important foundation to strengthen and grow projects.

In particular, the USDA is an important source of funding for food system programs in the US.

Here is some insight about USDA funding and considerations if you are pursuing this funding:

• • The USDA provides about $50 million per year in funding to local food systems, but only 16% of farmers markets successfully complete the application and are awarded grants. We can partner with you on an application and help you win the grant.
  • USDA grants typically provide multiple years of funding, which can provide important stability to grow a project over several years.
  • The best applications include the following:
    • Data collected from the previous 1 – 2 years
    • Accurate data interpretation
    • A meaningful purpose and clear mission that drive a strong narrative
  • USDA grant opportunities most relevant for farmers markets include:
    • Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP)
    • Local Foods Promotion Program (LFPP)
    • Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP)

Local & National Foundations

While USDA is a great source of funding, it is not the only grant available. Most regions have at least one foundation or state grant that support local community projects and farmers markets. Even if you’ve secured USDA funding, these local foundations can play an important role in supporting ongoing projects that complement USDA-funded work. For example, farmers markets have secured funding from local foundations to support market match programs that match Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds spent at farmers markets. This essentially doubles the buying power for shoppers who use SNAP. These grants often require less strict data requirements than the USDA, which may make them the right option if you are just getting started.

If you are looking for major funding besides the USDA grants, many privately-funded national philanthropic organizations could make just as big of an impact on your market. We have worked with several national applications.

We can work with you to identify grant opportunities, figure out which grants make the most sense for your project, and help you put together an award-winning application.

Featured Past Grants

Farm 2 Facts offers data collection software and training which can help you get started on your long-term funding plans.

Let’s work together to reach your goals!