The Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF) provides grants to rural-serving non-profit organizations that promote state-wide and regional planning, economic and community development, and agricultural and forestry education.
Donor Name: Rural Maryland Council
State: Maryland
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/19/2023
Size of the Grant: $45,000
Grant Duration: 11 months
Details:
The Fund’s goal is to increase the overall capacity of rural-serving non-profit organizations and community colleges to meet a multitude of rural development challenges and to help them establish new public/private partnerships for leveraging non-state sources of funding. The Rural Maryland Council (RMC) serves as the administrative agency in receiving the applications and disbursing the grants to the successful applicants.
For Fiscal Year 2024, the RMC, as the administrative agent, is encouraging applications that address the following:
- Agriculture & Forestry
- Agricultural Education
- Regional Food System Development
- Forest Industry Development
- Energy
- Combined Heat Power
- Energy Efficiency
- Biomass
- Rural Broadband
- Including Rural Municipal Broadband Expansion
- Youth Engagement & Leadership Development
- Summer Enrichment Programs
- Career Technology Centers
- Community & Economic Development
- Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development
- Workforce Development.
Funding Information
- For Fiscal Year 2024, the State has budgeted $914,679 in General Funds for the MAERDAF program. However, grant awards are subject to funding availability. The maximum grant amount is $45,000.
- Proposals must serve more than one rural county and be completed between August 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.
Eligible Expenses
- MAERDAF does not generally fund ongoing staff positions due to sustainability. Grant funds may be used to fund staff time associated with completion of the proposed project only
- Construction and renovation of buildings are eligible expenses. Acquisition of land is not.
- The purchase or rental of vehicles is eligible expenses
- Meals are allowable if the costs are reasonable and a justification is provided that such activity maintains the continuity of the meeting and to do otherwise will impose arduous conditions on the meeting participants
- Indirect administrative costs are capped at 10%.
Rural Counties
State-determined rural counties are Allegany, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Kent, Queen Anne’s, St. Mary’s, Somerset, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico and Worcester. Regional projects may include non-rural counties but the majority of service must be provided in rural areas.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must be a 501(c)(3) IRS tax designation or similar and serve a regional or state-wide rural constituency. Trade associations are not eligible. Community Colleges, Career Technology Centers, Regional Councils and Libraries are eligible applicants. The applicant does not have to be located in a rural area or in the area it serves.
For more information, visit RMC.
