MCFM-CF designed the Next Stage Grant to provide funding to local, regenerative farmers and other food producers who are improving sustainable farming and business practices or growing toward the “next stage” of their local food businesses.
Donor Name: Mill City Farmers Market Charitable Fund (MCFM-CF)
State: Minnesota
City: Minneapolis
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 03/01/2022
Grant Size: $1,000 to $7,000
Details:
The Mill City Farmers Market Charitable Fund (MCFM-CF) is committed to the success and sustainability of the local food economy. Through equipment, technologies and other capacity building that increases yields, improves growing practices and supports small sustainable businesses, farmers and makers become more efficient and successful. They have seen these farmers’ hard work and innovation and know they can be successful with a little help from their community.
Next Stage Grant Program uses can include:
- Support farmer transition to organic certification and other sustainable and regenerative farming and land management practices
- Training, courses and other forms of education related to capacity-building and sound business practices from professional service providers or qualified consultants (Other farmers or business owners, marketing specialists, web designers, etc.)
- Innovations that improve efficiencies, growing practices or product quality
Funding Information
Next Stage Grants range from $1,000 to $7,000 and past projects have included season extension, cold storage for produce and flowers, organic certification and experimenting with new tools and techniques.
Eligibility Criteria
Farm or business must:
- Sell at one or more regional farmers markets. Preference will be given to applicants with a higher percentage of sales coming from direct-to-consumer sales.
- Be located in Minnesota or within 200 miles of Minneapolis
- Adhere to Mill City Farmers Market’s Sustainability Statement or the project must aim to bring them closer to meeting it.
- Have been in operation for more than one year
- Not required to be a current vendor at the Mill City Farmers Market
- Farms structured as 501(c)3 nonprofits are eligible to apply as of 2022
For more information, visit Mill City Farmers Market Charitable Fund.
