The Professional Development Grant program funds projects that help service providers improve the way they work with farmers through research-based education.
Donor Name: Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/02/2026
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
Professional Development Grant projects use an outcome funding approach with a “performance target” to describe the changes in practices, behaviors or conditions among service providers expected to result from the proposed project.
This program encourages innovative solutions to challenges in farming and food systems in the Northeast USA, including but not limited to the areas of:
- Marketing and business
- Crop production
- Raising livestock
- Aquaculture
- Economic and social sustainability
- Ecological knowledge
- Projects related to climate and/or bioenergy work that provide direct or indirect benefits to farmers, ranchers, and private foresters
Funding Information
Awards typically range from $30,000 to $150,000 and about 5-6 projects are funded annually.
Project Period
Typical project length is 2 to 3 years. The maximum project length allowed is 3.5 years.
Geographic Area
Geographic area Northeast SARE grants must engage communities in the Northeast USA, which includes the following areas: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.
Eligibility Criteria
Members of the Northeast SARE Administrative Council, SARE staff, and SARE State Coordinators are not permitted to be funded or named in proposals.
Project Leader Eligibility
The Project Leader can be anyone who works with farmers, including personnel at:
- Nonprofit organizations
- For profit businesses (including farms) that provide agricultural consulting, veterinary services, etc.
- Farms, farmers, farm employees and farming community groups
- Communities committed to building the capacity and resilience of sustainable agriculture
- Colleges and universities
- Cooperative Extension
- Municipalities
- State Departments of Agriculture
- Federal agencies like NRCS
Organization Eligibility
The Project Leader must be housed at an organization that:
- Can sign and commit to a contract with Northeast SARE
- Has enough funds to cover at least the first two months of project expenses. Northeast SARE grants are reimbursement-based. Advance payments are not possible. Reimbursements can be made as frequently as monthly. The reimbursement from the first month can be used toward future month’s expenses.
- Can register in SAM.gov to get a required Unique Entity Identifier, if your project is awarded.
- Will respond promptly to communications from Northeast SARE.
- Is able to implement the project as outlined in the proposal.
- Can submit annual reports each year of the project, plus a final report within 60 days of the project end date.
For more information, visit Northeast SARE.
