The Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) is offering a grant opportunity to promote the expansion of value-added agriculture production, processing, develop food systems, and healthy food access within the state to enhance Michigan’s food and agriculture industry.
Donor Name: Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD)
State: Michigan
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/04/2023
Size of the Grant: $100,000
Details:
MDARD will accept proposals that are intended to establish, retain, expand, attract and/or develop value-added agricultural processing in Michigan; expand or develop regional food systems; or expand access to healthy food, including farm markets, urban agriculture, and hoop houses.
Funding Areas
Funding will be focused on the following types of projects:
- Food hub development
- Food access, including access to fresh/nutritional foods
- Value-added food processing Innovation and equipment Technical assistance, including feasibility studies that lead to jobs/investment Outreach and training.
Grant Criteria
- Grants will be awarded a maximum amount of $100,000. Please submit applications in whole dollar amounts and round to the nearest $1.
- Expenses for equipment items within the budget will be allowed for grant reimbursement from February 2, 2023, to the close of selected and awarded grants.
- Equipment: Any tangible, nonexpendable, personal property directly related to the grant activities over $4,999 per item. In the budget narrative, provide the basis of the cost estimate (e.g., price analyses, vendor quotes) for each piece of equipment, new or used, and its correlation to the purpose/goals of the project to justify your need for the equipment to be purchased.
- All financial documentation and proof of payments must be kept and provided. No grant activities or budget expenses will be allowed prior to February 2, 2023.
- Applicants must provide a minimum 30% cash match.
- The match is 30% of the grant amount you are requesting. For example, if you are requesting a $100,000 grant, you must provide a match amount of at least $30,000 making the total project amount $130,000. If you are requesting a $50,000 grant, you must provide a match amount of at least $15,000 making the total project amount $65,000.
- Cash match is required, and in-kind contributions will not be counted as part of the required 30% match.
- The required 30% cash match should not be paid by the applicant from federal or state funds received under another federal assistance agreement.
- Salaries may only be included as cash match, cannot exceed 25% of the grant amount requested, and must be realized during the grant project. Applicant must demonstrate that the time and salaries included were directly spent to support the project seeking grant funding.
- Travel costs are only allowed under match funds. o Awarded projects must maintain records that clearly show the source, the amount, and the period during which the match was allocated.
- All matching funds must be: Verifiable from the grantee’s records; and§ Necessary, allowable, reasonable, and allocable to accomplish the§ project’s goals.
- Match Commitment – The funds being provided under this grant require the Grantee to provide a funding match to secure a disbursement of funding. Project costs, grant amount, and match amount committed by the Grantee are identified in the Project Budget included in the Grant Agreement. If a Grantee fails to provide the match amount identified in the Grant Agreement, or if the total project cost for a completed project is less than the amount identified in the Grant Agreement, which leads to a reduction of the match amount, the Grantor may reduce the grant amount. The amount of this reduction will be communicated to the Grantee before a final grant payment is made to the Grantee. If total project costs are less than what is included in the Project Budget in the Grant Agreement, the Grantor will typically reduce the grant payment amount to a level that equals the percentage of the project identified in the proposed Project Budget that would have been funded by the grant payment. Under no circumstances will a grant payment be made if the Grantee fails to provide at least a 30 percent match.
- Only one proposal per applicant will be considered. Your organization may be a partner on more than one application.
- If you have received a MDARD Value Added & Regional Food Systems Grant in the last two years, you are not eligible for this grant round.
- Applicants must use the provided application form, and all sections must be complete to be considered for review.
- Up to 10% Administrative Cost is allowed if the grantee is a non-profit. Administrative costs are the grantee’s allowable direct costs for the overall management of the grant.
- All applicants must be registered as a vendor in the Vendor Self Serve system with the State of Michigan prior to submitting an application
- Grantees will be eligible for reimbursement up to three (3) times at specified dates, during the 18-month grant cycle, with the final reimbursement provided at the completion of the project and final site visit.
- Each grantee will be required to submit written reports and appropriate financial documentation to MDARD for payment. Grantees may also be required to report on the outcomes and impact of their grant for a period of time (up to three years) after the grant period ends.
Grant funds cannot be used to pay for:
- Land acquisition
- Purchase of a building or facility
- Structural repair of building or facility
- Indirect costs are not allowed under this grant program. Indirect costs are defined as the expenses of doing business that are not readily identified within the project but are necessary for the general operation of the organization and the implementation proposal related activities.
- Salaries, wages, and benefits
- Equipment installed outside of the State of Michigan.
- Acquisition costs of general-purpose equipment or lease agreements to own (i.e., lease-to-own, or rent-to-own). General Purpose Equipment means equipment that is not limited to technical activities. Examples include office equipment and furnishings, modular offices, telephone networks, information technology equipment and systems, air conditioning equipment, reproduction and printing equipment, and motor vehicles.
- Travel costs
For more information, visit Value Added & Regional Food Systems Grants.
