Education Grants allow applicants to conduct education and outreach activities for the benefit of the greater sustainable ag community, and promote efforts in farmer innovations, community resilience, business success, ag diversification, and best management practices.
Donor Name: Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant | Reimbursement
Deadline: 08/02/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
Education Grants are open to academic institutions and organizations, such as non-profits and non-governmental organizations, who are interested in conducting education and outreach activities for the benefit of the greater sustainable ag community, and promote efforts in farmer innovations, community resilience, business success, agricultural diversification, and best management practices. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and 1890 land-grant university faculty/extension cooperators are especially encouraged to apply for this grant for their education and outreach activities. SSARE also considers proposals from organizations/institutions whose projects involve farmers from indigenous agriculture that produces products for community food systems. These enterprises may be eligible where the production activity has an annual value of less than $1,000, even if products are not sold due to cultural factors.
Education Grants should focus on a topic area of sustainable agriculture relevance that meets SARE’s program goals. In addition, the proposed project should comprise education/outreach efforts/activities that support the research/education foundation of the institution/organization, and must clearly articulate how those education/outreach efforts/activities will be implemented and evaluated.
Examples of Education Grant projects can include one or more of the following, but are not limited to:

Experiential (Demonstrations, on-farm tours, field days, workshops, trainings, case studies);
Integrative (Conferences, seminars, course curriculum)
Reinforcement (Fact sheets, bulletins, books, manuals, videos, online technologies, guidebooks)

SARE encourages proposals on quality of life topics that focus on the social health of a farming system. These can include, but are not limited to:

Heirs property;
Farmers’ markets; food hubs; locavores; CSAs;
Local/regional processing/slaughter;
Food sheds and food circles;
Direct marketing and value-added;
Beyond organics value chains;
Farm to School/Institution;
Civic agriculture, agritourism;
Denominations of origin/geographic indications;
Non-GMO movement, Slow Food, chef collaboratives;
Urban ag systems;
Food policy councils, governance structures; and
Local/regional certification/branding.

Funding Information

Education Grant project maximums are $50,000, limited to two (2) years.
Education Grants are paid by reimbursement of allowable project expenses.

Who can apply?

Researchers from public and private institutions, such as 1862 and 1890 land-grant universities or other colleges and universities; government agencies, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service or USDA-ARS; non-governmental organizations; and community-based organizations.
Education Grants strictly fund education and outreach activities related to sustainable agriculture whose outcomes are intended to benefit farmers and farming communities. There is no research involved in these grant projects.
Southern SARE accepts proposals from applicants in the Southern region: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Grant Requirements 
Education Grant proposals must meet the following basic requirements in order to be considered for funding:

Project outcomes must focus on developing sustainable agriculture systems or moving existing systems toward sustainable agriculture.
The project must clearly articulate what is being taught, to whom and how the project will accomplish those goals.
The results must be realistic, acceptable to farmers, logical, and capable of leading to the actions and benefits described in the proposal.
For farmers involved in your project, the primary occupation is farming/ranching or part-time farming. Producers run their farm alone or with family or partners and have a least $1,000 of documented annual income from the operation, as defined by USDA. SSARE also considers proposals with farmers from indigenous agriculture that produces products for community food systems. These enterprises may be eligible where the production activity has an annual value of less than $1,000, but products are not sold due to cultural factors.

For more information, visit Southern SARE.