FUNDING:
The Good Food Fund in Michigan is a collaborative effort with 20+ organizations that can fund production, distribution, processing, or retail enterprises benefitting low and moderate-income, food-insecure Michigan communities. The effort, which includes Fair Food Network, Capital Impact Partners, Michigan State University Center for Regional Food, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation, aims to create a $30 million fund to supply loans, grants, and new market tax credits for businesses and organizations involved in the good food sector. For more information on the Good Food Fund, click here.
Developing Healthy Places
Purpose: The Kresge Foundation seeks to fund nonprofit or government initiatives that build healthier and more equitable food systems, transportation infrastructure, and land use.
Eligibility: Nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations, government entities.
Funding: Varies, based on proposal.
Deadline: Rolling.
USDA and Microsoft debut “Innovation Challenge
Purpose: software developers create apps that help United States’ food systems achieve sustainability in the midst of a changing climate. USDA has placed 100 years of climate-related data on Microsoft Azure cloud to allow access on remote laptops, tablets, or mobile phones.
Eligibility: Please see link.
Funding: $60,000 in prizes.
Deadline: November 20, 2015.
USDA Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP)
Purpose: Provides loans and grants to Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDO’s) to provide microloans, training, and technical assistance to microloan borrowers and micro entrepreneurs.
Eligibility: rural nonprofits, federally-recognized Tribes, institutions of higher learning, or businesses (ultimate recipients) with 10 or fewer full time employees in rural areas with populations less than 50,000 (Please see requirements).
Funding: Grants to qualifying recipients up to $205,000 annually (with 15% matching); loans up to $50,000-$500,000 for MDOs; loans up to $50,000 to ultimate recipients.
Deadline:Rolling (applications will be considered for next Federal fiscal quarter). Must apply no later than 4:30 p.m. (local time) on last day of fiscal quarter for consideration for next quarter. Click here for more information.
Purpose: Every year, the National Dairy Council, National Football League, and the USDA provide grants up to $4,000 to K-12 schools with programs that encourage youth to eat healthy (low-fat and fat-free dairy, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) and exercise for at least 60 minutes daily. One of this year’s Healthy Eating Plays focuses on Farm to School.
Eligibility: K-12 schools that follow one Healthy Eating Play and Physical Activity Play.
Funding: Up to $4,000 per year per school.
Deadline: November 4, 2015.
New Awards: Rural Health Care Coordination Network Partnership Program
Sep 4, 2015 -- The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy announces awards for the Rural Health Care Coordination Network Partnership Program (Care Coordination Program) which began on September 1, 2015. The program provides funds to establish a network of rural health providers and organizations that focus on care coordination activities for diabetes, congestive heart failure, and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Source: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Program for Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages
Grants for the development of Indian and Alaska Native communities, including new housing construction; housing rehabilitation; land acquisition to support new housing; green energy projects; mold remediation; homeownership assistance; public service facilities such as healthcare entities, child care facilities, and employment-related agencies; economic development; and microenterprise programs.
Geographic coverage: Nationwide
Application Deadline: Oct 22, 2015
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Service Area Competition Funding for Health Center Program (Areas Served with a Project Period Start Date of April 1, 2016)
Funding to provide comprehensive primary health care services to an underserved area or population.
Geographic coverage: Nationwide
Application Deadline: Nov 2, 2015
Sponsor: Bureau of Primary Health Care
EVENTS:
Farmer Grant Writing Workshop, by University of Illinois Extension, invites farmers to attend a workshop on the basics of grant writing and information on the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Farmer Rancher Grant Program. The event will take place September 28, 2015, in Springfield, IL.
Season Extension Workshop, hosted by The Land Connection, is a 3-day workshop series on effectively extending the growing season. The workshops will cover indoor production, heat and wind management, and unique marketing strategies. The event will take place October 12-14, 2015, in Champaign, IL. Register at the website before October 7.
Food Sovereignty Summit. The Oneida Nation, First Nations Development Institute, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation invite Native farmers, ranchers, gardeners, businesses, policymakers, and related to their third annual summit. Training tracks offered include: Applied Agriculture, Community Outreach, and Products to Market, with optional training sessions on farming, marketing, canning, and ecological rescue at the various Oneida facilities and sites. The event, which will also provide opportunities to network between tribes and showcase traditional foods, will be from October 26-29, 2015, in Green Bay, WI.
Newsletters and email from which we gather this information include:
v Foundation Center RFP Service - To subscribe visit: http://foundationcenter.org/newsletters/
v To subscribe to the RAC Health Listserv - click here to go to the subscription form.
v Electronic newsletter of the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, Rural Entrepreneurship News. To subscribe, http://team.energizingentrepreneurs.org/news2/public_html/lists/?p=subscribe
v Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City newsletter: http://www.kansascityfed.org/alert/’
v Blue Avocado Nonprofit Magazine - They have a newsletter on boards and nonprofit management, down-to-earth and useful. http://www.blueavocado.org/
v Rural LISC e-newsletter - http://www.lisc.org/rural
v National Association for Development Organizations (NADO) – www.nado.org
v ERS - A notification service is provided by USDA's Economic Research Service for Charts of Note and other research to keep you informed of the latest and most relevant research on the topics that interest you. You can subscribe at http://www.ers.usda.gov/Updates/
v Orton Family Foundation – email sign-up - http://www.orton.org/sign_up
