Minnesota SARE Mini Grants
Minnesota SARE offers Mini Grants to agricultural professionals (Extension, NRCS, state and tribal agencies, NGOs, etc) and farmers for programming in sustainable agriculture with priority given to those that relate to Minnesota SARE Initiatives (these include adapting to a changing climate and other food system disruptions, building resilient local food systems, and supporting emerging farmers). Mini Grants provide support for organized programs such as field days, farm tours, workshops, etc. Mini Grants may also be used to help fund on-farm research trials or demonstration plots as long as there is an associated outreach component.
Mini Grants of up to $2000 can be awarded. Mini grant funds can be used for expenses related to guest speakers, facilities, or other logistics related to the conducting of an educational program. Mini Grant funds may be used for meals or refreshments if these expenses contribute to the continuity of the event.
If a significant proportion of your project audience will be educators, then the project will satisfy the professional development requirement. If your primary audience will be farmers, then the project must include a plan for sharing the results with colleagues beyond individual operations (via a field day, newsletter, farmer to farmer networks as examples) in order to satisfy the professional development requirement. Recipients are asked to list NCR-SARE as a program sponsor on the agenda or publicity materials and include the NCR SARE logo where appropriate on such materials. To receive payment, Mini Grant recipients are required to complete a short summary report of the activity that includes: number of participants and the outcomes as a result of the activities (i.e., how will participants increase sustainability based upon what they learned?).
Your application form will be reviewed by the Minnesota Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Advisory Committee. You may be contacted by the SARE coordinator for more information or clarification before a final decision is made on funding. The following criteria will be used in the review:
- Does the project promote sustainable agriculture?
- Will the project result in new knowledge or skills for educators?
- Does the project have a strong outreach and education component?
- Will the project measure its impact?
- Does it relate to the current MN SARE initiatives?
- Adapting to a changing climate and other food system disruptions
- Building resilient local food systems
- Supporting emerging farmers
Mini Grant Timeline
Applications Accepted:
- January 1-31
- May 1-31
- October 1-31
Applicants Informed:
- February 15
- June 15
- November 15
Forms