Skip to main content
An Official Vermont Government Website

Sponsorship Opportunities

Overview

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (Agency) annually demonstrates its support for sustainable and equitable food systems, agriculture workforce development, innovation in agricultural product development, and/or land access and stewardship.  The Agency works to promote these important objectives by sponsoring events or conferences that advance that underlying mission. The decision to award a sponsorship and the award amount is at the discretion of the Agency’s Sponsorship Review Committee, and is based on alignment with the Agency’s mission, prospective or proven impact of the event, and offered opportunities for the Agency to connect with its constituents.

Application Considerations

Please review the following information before developing your application:

meeting

  • Requests are considered monthly by the Agency's Sponsorship Review Committee.  
  • Applications are due by 4:00 p.m. on the second Friday of each month to be considered that month.
  • Sponsorship requests must meet minimum of three event criteria as established by the Agency to be considered eligible.
  • Applications should be submitted at least 20 days in advance of the planned event date. 
  • The Agency Sponsorship Review Committee seeks to approve requests that are geographically and topically varied. 
  • Please make sure to provide as much information as possible about the event and ensure the application is fully complete.
  • While supporting events, the Agency is also interested in communicating to constituents who may attend this event. This may include messaging about regulations or programs that apply to the event target audience. As part of a sponsorship award the Agency may request accreditation and/or additional messaging benefits be extended to the Agency. As appropriate, the Agency Communications Director will coordinate media outreach including any social media presence concerning the event.
  • The Agency reserves the right to partially fund sponsorship requests.   

 

farm show

Criteria for Funding

The Agency Sponsorship Review Committee will determine how an application will promote the Agency’s mission to create a vibrant and viable agricultural community in Vermont.  Each application must demonstrate how it will address a minimum of three of the following event criteria:

  • Agricultural/Food Systems workforce development
  • Increase food access to a specific population
  • Increase agricultural business or value-added product development capacity 
  • Build consumer awareness around local food
  • Promote agricultural practices and stewardship of natural resources, farmland stewardship and farmland access 
  • Agricultural education and agricultural literacy 

 

Attention is also paid to the following considerations when reviewing sponsorship requests:

1. Evaluation of success of previous event (related to past sponsorships).

2. Projected Impacts of the event.  Please be sure to consider and address in your application: 

  • Is this a community, statewide, northeast regional, or international event? 
  • How many people will be reached? 
  • Is this reaching/serving an economically challenged area? 
  • How will this event reach a diverse audience?
  • Does this support ag industry resiliency, diversification, or innovation? 
  • Effect on different ag industries (e.g. dairy, produce, value added, maple, Vermont made) 

3. Events supported through other Agency funding opportunities, such as grants or contracts, will not be prioritized for funding through sponsorships.

4. Organizations who have not received sponsorships previously or within the same fiscal year may be prioritized.

5. Methods for how the Agency’s sponsorship will be promoted.  Please indicate opportunities for Agency sponsorship promotion in your application, such as:

  • Radio 
  • Print 
  • Social media 
  • Opportunity to table 
  • Speaking opportunity 
  • Logo visibility 

How to Apply

While the Agency does not require a report following the event, we encourage applicants to consider having event metrics tracked and available for any future sponsorship requests. 

Access and Submit Online Sponsorship Application here: Sponsorship Request Form

You can also download, print an application form, fill out, and mail to the Agency.   

Download: VAAFM Sponsorship Request Form

Please send to:

sponsorship