Northeast SARE’s Partnership Grant program funds projects conducted by researchers, educators and agricultural service providers working in direct partnership with farmers to encourage design and implementation of innovative solutions to current sustainability challenges related to production, marketing and/or household and community well-being in Northeast farming and food systems, or to strengthen working partnerships between farmers and agricultural service providers to advance sustainable agriculture.
Donor Name: Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/09/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
Northeast SARE funds a broad range of projects; there are no set restrictions on the topics that Partnership Grants may address so long as the projects lead to new information or working relationships that are consistent with the outcome statement and address the program’s review criteria. In the past, Partnership projects have experimented with new crop and production methods, addressed farm management challenges, developed unique machines and tools, explored innovative pest control and grazing strategies, tested new ways of marketing agricultural products, and more.
Funding Information
Northeast SARE’s Administrative Council allocated $750,000 to fund projects for this cycle of Partnership Grants. Individual projects are capped at $30,000; about 30 projects will be awarded.
Grant Period
Typical project length is 2 years. All projects must be completed by November 30, 2027.
Uses of funds
Funds may be used for the following expenses if they are specific to the project:
- Labor, including wages, stipends, salary and fringe benefits for individuals working on the project
- Materials and supplies, including research and education supplies, outreach materials, and project-specific software
- Travel and per diem expenses necessary for the project such as presentation of project results or to explicitly bring information back to project participants
- Expenses to produce publications, like fact sheets, guides, flyers, etc., as well as copies, postage and other project communication expenses
- Compensation for services like farmer stipends, presenter fees and other services rendered, lab fees, as well as research incentives and compensation for interviewees, and subscriptions for project-specific services, e.g., for video conferencing or online data storage
- Meeting and training expenses, including facility rental and participant support costs
- Equipment purchases and fabrication necessary for, and specific to, the project; Equipment with general uses, like a computer or tractor, are not eligible
- Rental or operating charges for farm equipment, land, or greenhouse space
- Subawards for portions of the project conducted by other organizations
- Indirect costs up to 10 percent of total direct costs. Please note that for-profit businesses generally cannot include indirect costs in the budget.
Geographical Areas
The Northeast region includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.
Eligibility Criteria
- Partnership Grants are open to anyone who works with farmers, including personnel at nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, Cooperative Extension, municipalities, state departments of agriculture, federal agencies like NRCS, and for-profit business entities that provide agricultural consulting, veterinary services, etc.
- Northeast SARE encourages projects submitted from or in collaboration with women, the LGBTQ+ community, and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). Additionally, they encourage projects submitted from or in collaboration with Minority Serving Institutions (including 1890s and other historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and tribal colleges and universities) and other organizations in the Northeast that work with historically underrepresented communities.
- As a project leader, you must have the skills needed to oversee and carry out the proposed work. Your organization must have the legal structure and financial capacity in place to receive and execute a Northeast SARE contract, including expending funds needed for the project prior to receiving reimbursements from Northeast SARE; advance payments are not possible.
For more information, visit SARE.
