June 9, 2023
At Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM), we have a number of funding opportunities available to support Vermont agriculture, food, and forestry businesses. These grants can help you expand your capacity, break into new markets, purchase equipment, improve infrastructure, and more. Receiving a grant can be a game-changer for your business, but applying can feel a bit intimidating. Read on for a guide to help you get started!
Identifying Funding Opportunities
Between the Water Quality Division, the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative, the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, the Farm to Institution Programs, and other programs within Agricultural Development, VAAFM releases approximately 30 funding opportunities per year. Our Funding Opportunity Calendar allows you to preview the schedule for most of our grants for the entire year, so it’s a great place to start when looking for support.
Earlier this week, VAAFM grant managers delivered a 1.5 hour webinar on the various grant opportunities available to Vermont farmers. You can watch the recording here: Helping VT Farmers Access AAFM Grant Resources for an overview of a wide range of funding opportunities, including Water Quality grants (3:27 in webinar), Working Lands Enterprise Initiative grants (15:36), Dairy Business Innovation Center grants (33:21),Trade Show Assistance Grants (53:21), Local Food Purchase Assistance grants (1:00:50), Farm First and PASA farmworker relief payments (1:09:45), and Produce Safety grants (1:18:50).
Each grant opportunity is outlined in a Request for Applications (RFA). The RFA serves as a comprehensive guide to a grant opportunity so you can determine if it is right for you. It provides essential information, including the grant amount, eligibility criteria, types of projects funded, timeline for the application and project, application questions, scoring criteria, and grant requirements. The RFA is released first, typically several weeks before the application opens.
Signing up for the Agricultural Development Newsletter is the best way to stay up to date with all the funding opportunities offered through VAAFM, and we share grants from other organizations as well. Although the funding opportunity calendar gives a broad overview of our typical schedule for a year, new programs are added often, and dates are subject to change. This email newsletter will be sent to your inbox every Sunday with announcements of grants through VAAFM and our partners, as well as educational content and a variety of other resources relevant to Vermont food, agriculture, and forestry businesses. We also announce funding opportunities in Agriview, the Agency’s monthly print and e-news publication.
How to Apply
After you identify a funding opportunity, begin by reading the full RFA to understand the application process and make sure your business and project are eligible and a good fit for the grant opportunity. Regardless of the funding opportunity you’re interested in, a first step for any applicant should be to register in WebGrants, VAAFM’s grant management portal. It can take up to two days for your registration to be approved, but you only need do this once, so go ahead and do this now so you don’t have to worry about it come application time! Once you’re in WebGrants, you can use this Application Guide to help you navigate the portal.
After identifying a funding opportunity and getting set up in WebGrants, it’s time to complete your application. Next time on the blog, we’ll be sharing tips for crafting a stellar proposal. See you again in a few weeks!
Thanks for reading the Marketing and Agritourism Blog! I’m your host, Kristen Brassard, Marketing & Agritourism Specialist at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets. Stay tuned every other week for tips on marketing and incorporating agritourism practices on your farm and be sure to sign up for our Agriculture Development Newsletter so you never miss a post!