Get Growing…
Update for 2024
Funding Resources and Opportunities for Farmers and Small Businesses
The Western Colorado Alliance held a farmer grant writing workshop in Grand Junction last month, coordinated by their regional organizer, Nick Allan with many Western Slope farmers attending to learn the grant writing ropes from the wonderful speakers that night. Here is a summary of the workshop and links to the resources that were shared.
Two professional grant writers Jennie Aubert and Illene Roggensack started off the workshop by presenting on how to determine if a grant is a good fit for the project a farmer is looking to fund. Farmers should ask a series of critical questions about the funding source, and some examples of the types of questions you should ask can be found in the information packet that was provided for the workshop by the Western Colorado Alliance.
Other topics discussed around grant-writing were: information required for effective grant proposal presentation and how to develop project goals, objectives and expected results, which can all be found here. The workshop also included a list of resources on finding grants.
These are also listed in the information packet linked above and they are a great addition to the resources we listed in our previous blog post about writing grants.
EQIP grants can fund small-farm improvements like high tunnels.
Later in the evening several panelists were invited to speak. These panelists represented different organizations that award grants. William Brownlee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS); Ashley Garrison from the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB); and Daniel Reed from the LOR foundation, which supports community solutions and local conservation initiatives.
Each panelist spoke to what their organization looks for in grant submissions. A common recommendation from the panelists was for farmers who are writing grants to get to know the people at the organizations who are awarding them.
They can help direct you to provide the information they most need, and cultivating a relationship makes you stand out amongst other applicants. For some grants, partnerships with other nonprofits or organizations - rather than applying solo - are more likely to be successful or may even be required. Planning ahead of time and having a well thought out timeline for the project you are seeking to fund is essential. Here are links to the resources from the panelists as prepared, shared by the Western Colorado Alliance.
The two main NRCS grants discussed were the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). More information about both these programs can be found here: EQIP fact sheet and Conservation Stewardship Program Fact Sheet.
And here is a general overview of the funding from the CWCB: CWCB Funding Fact Sheet
Overall, it was a great night. Thanks to the Western Colorado Alliance for making this workshop and all these resources available. By passing this along, we hope to help those looking for grants to fund their own farm projects! So please also share it with anyone who would benefit.
