Browse Ambrook’s collection of grants, loans, discounts, cost shares, easements, and insurance that have applications closing soon

You can apply online, by phone, by email, by mail, or in person at your local Community Action Agency (CAA). Find your local CAA in the table below.
- Apply online: Submit your CEAP application through the online portal. (Online applications are automatically digitally signed when you submit them.)
- Apply by phone: Call your local CAA and request assistance applying for CEAP over the phone (see Phone Number below).
- Apply by email: Download and complete the CEAP Application (English or Spanish). Email the completed and signed application, along with all required documents, to your local CAA (see Email Address below). Unsigned applications will be returned as invalid.
- Apply by mail: Download and complete the CEAP Application (English or Spanish). Mail the completed and signed application, along with all required documents, to your local CAA (see Mailing Address below). Unsigned applications will be returned as invalid.
- Apply in person: Call your local CAA to schedule an appointment or walk in (no appointment needed, if available).
Important: All mailed, emailed, or in-person applications must be signed. Unsigned applications will be considered invalid and returned to the applicant. (Online applications are automatically digitally signed when you submit them)

The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) helps residents pay for&#x2004;their home heating costs. Applications typically take 30-45 minutes to complete.

- **Benefit amounts:** $295-$645 for the 2025-2026 season, based on household size, income, and heating source.

- **Payment process:** Benefits are usually paid directly to your utility company or fuel vendor.

- **Extra Help:** Households using deliverable fuels (oil, kerosene, propane) may be eligible for additional fuel deliveries. CEAP recipients may also qualify for payment matching plans, shut-off protection, and heating equipment repairs or replacement.

CEAP is an annual benefit, so you must apply each year to receive assistance.

- **Online applications:** Open Monday, September 1, 2025, through the CEAP online portal.

- **In-person applications:** Due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday, September 1, 2025, in-person applications will begin on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.

- **Deadline:** The last day to apply for benefits is May 29, 2026. Applications sent by mail must be postmarked by this date.

Deliverable fuel heated households that apply after the authorization deadline may still submit paid invoices for fuel purchase between November 1 and April 1 for review under program eligibility.


_Administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services in partnership with local Community Action Agencies_




The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) helps residents pay for their home heating costs. Applications typically take 30-45 minutes to complete.
- Benefit amounts: $295-$645 for the 2025-2026 season, based on household size, income, and heating source.
- Payment process: Benefits are usually paid directly to your utility company or fuel vendor.
- Extra Help: Households using deliverable fuels (oil, kerosene, propane) may be eligible for additional fuel deliveries. CEAP recipients may also qualify for payment matching plans, shut-off protection, and heating equipment repairs or replacement.
CEAP is an annual benefit, so you must apply each year to receive assistance.
- Online applications: Open Monday, September 1, 2025, through the CEAP online portal.
- In-person applications: Due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday, September 1, 2025, in-person applications will begin on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
- Deadline: The last day to apply for benefits is May 29, 2026. Applications sent by mail must be postmarked by this date.
Deliverable fuel heated households that apply after the authorization deadline may still submit paid invoices for fuel purchase between November 1 and April 1 for review under program eligibility.

Administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services in partnership with local Community Action Agencies


Your household may be eligible for CEAP if you can answer YES to the following questions:
 
- Are you a Connecticut resident?
- Do you meet one of the following income guidelines?
    - You receive food stamps (SNAP), SSI, TANF, or other benefits from the Department of Social Services
    - Your annual household income falls at or below the income levels in the table below (i.e. 60% of the state’s median income)
Annual income limit by household size
- 1: $47,764
- 2: $62,460
- 3: $77,157
- 4: $91,854
- 5: $106,550
- 6: $121,247
- 7: $124,002
- 8: $126,758

Do you have a Social Security Number? Almost every applicant is required to provide a Social Security Number for each member of their household. To check if you meet one of the exceptions, click here.


A lump sum of money for a specific purpose that does not need to be paid back.

Grant

You will either need a copy of your most recent heating bill (if applying for Heating Assistance), electric bill (if applying for Heating Assistance), or a copy or photo of your rental lease showing that your utilities are included in your rent

- If everyone in your household currently receives SNAP or cash assistance, you automatically meet income requirements and do not need to provide income documents.
- If your income comes from Social Security, you must provide your Social Security award letter or other proof of benefits, as DSS cannot verify this information directly.
- If not, you must provide proof of income:
    - Employed household members: Income for all members from either the last 30 days or any 4 consecutive weeks within the last 3 months before the application date. You may also choose to provide income from the 12 months prior to the application if that better reflects annual income.
    - Self-employed household members: Complete Self-Employment Worksheet (English) or (Spanish) and your most recent IRS Form 1040 with all schedules.
    - Household members with additional income: Award letters or signed statements. [Click here to learn more.]


1. Contact the grant administrator to find out if your project is eligible.
2. Complete and submit the Dairy Business Planning Grant Application (PDF) or apply online. [Application Guide]
3. The application asks for the following information:
    a. Farm summary
    b. Goal of business plan
    c. Professional services you will be using to develop business plan.
    d. Budget of project
4. An MDA review committee will look over your project and decide if it should be funded.

Courtney VanderMey

Grants cover 50 percent of the cost to hire a qualified, independent third party to create a business plan for a dairy operation and/or test for stray voltage. Dairy producers have used these grants to evaluate the feasibility of expanding a dairy, plan environmental upgrades, and create strategies to transfer the operation to a family member or other new owner.



Existing and beginning Minnesota dairy farmers are eligible for this grant.

The cost of services that are not directly related to the improvement and continuance of the dairy farm are ineligible for this grant, such as:
- Nutrition consulting
- Retirement and investment planning
- Tax planning and tax return preparation
- Intergenerational transfer planning that discontinues the dairy enterprise
- Loan origination or documentation fees
- Chattel real estate appraisal
- Crop consulting
- Nutrient management planning – except as required in the business plan
- Veterinary/herd health consulting
- The cost to complete a dairy business planning grant application

Dairy

Butter

Cheese

Milk

Yogurt

Cow Milk

Goat Milk

- Dairy Business Planning Grant Application (PDF)
- Livestock Expansion Loan Program
- Livestock Equipment Loan Program

Legal & Finance

The grant pays 50 percent of the cost to develop a business plan, up to $5,000. Applicant must pay the other 50 percent.

Apply for this grant online on grants.gov.
Search for Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-D113A-32483

To apply for grants on grants.gov you must be registered which is a process that can take multiple weeks, so we recommend you begin the process as soon as possible. You can register at grants.gov here.

Grants.gov Customer support

Mathieu Ngouajio

The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) seeks to solve critical organic agriculture issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research, education, and extension activities. The purpose of this program is to fund projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products. Priority concerns&#x2004;include biological, physical, and social sciences, including economics. The OREI is particularly interested in projects that emphasize research, education and outreach that assist farmers and ranchers with whole farm planning by delivering practical research-based information. Projects should plan to deliver applied production information to producers. Fieldwork must be done on certified organic land or on land in transition to organic certification, as appropriate to project goals and objectives. Refer to the [USDA National Organic Program](http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop) for organic production standards. 



The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) seeks to solve critical organic agriculture issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research, education, and extension activities. The purpose of this program is to fund projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products. Priority concerns include biological, physical, and social sciences, including economics. The OREI is particularly interested in projects that emphasize research, education and outreach that assist farmers and ranchers with whole farm planning by delivering practical research-based information. Projects should plan to deliver applied production information to producers. Fieldwork must be done on certified organic land or on land in transition to organic certification, as appropriate to project goals and objectives. Refer to the USDA National Organic Program for organic production standards. 

Applications may only be submitted by the following entities:
1. State agricultural experiment stations;
2. Colleges and universities; 
3. University research foundations; 
4. Other research institutions and organizations; 
5. Federal agencies; 
6. National laboratories; 
7. Private organizations, foundations, or corporations; 
8. Individuals who are United States citizens or nationals; or 
9. A group consisting of two or more of the entities above

Trials

Certified Organic

Certification

Marketing

Conservation

Research

Compliance

If an OREI program grant provides a particular benefit to a specific agricultural commodity, the grant recipient is required to match the USDA funds awarded on a dollar-for-dollar basis from non-Federal sources with cash and/or in-kind contributions. 
NIFA may waive the matching funds requirement for a grant if NIFA determines that: (1) the results of the project, while of particular benefit to a specific agricultural commodity, are likely to be applicable to agricultural commodities generally; or (2) the project involves a minor commodity, the project deals with scientifically important research, and the grant recipient is unable to satisfy the matching funds requirement.

Applicants must apply to this NOFO electronically; no other method or response is accepted. The electronic application for this NOFO and additional resources are available on Grants.gov and Grants 101. Table 2 provides instructions on how to obtain an electronic application. Part III of the NIFA Grants Application Guide contains detailed information regarding the Grants.gov registration process. The NIFA Grants Application Guide is contained in the specific funding opportunity package or a sample of the guide can be found here. When applying for a NIFA award, it is important to reference the version of the guide that is included in the specific funding opportunity application package. 

Pre Application:
The NIFA Grants Application Guide is part of the corresponding application package for this NOFO. The NOFO overrides the NIFA Grants Application Guide if there is a discrepancy between the two documents. NIFA will accept subsequent submissions to an application until the application deadline. However, applicants that do not meet the application requirements, to include partial applications, risk being excluded from NIFA’s review. NIFA will assign a 16 proposal number to all applications that meet the requirements of this NOFO. Applicants must refer to the proposal number when corresponding with NIFA. 

Thomas (Tom) Bewick

The purpose of the SCRI program is to address the critical needs of the specialty crops industries (as defined in Appendix III) by awarding grants to support research&#x2004;and extension that address key challenges of national, regional, and multi-state importance in sustaining all components of food and agriculture, including conventional and organic food production systems. The program recognizes that for some specialty crops that are grown in a limited number of states, the multi-state nature of projects can be difficult to address. Except for Research and Extension Planning Projects, the SCRI program only considers projects that integrate research and extension activities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose a unique approach to solving problems facing the specialty crop industry using a systems approach.


SCRI addresses USDA Research and Development Priority 1: Increasing Profitability of Farmers and Ranchers by creating a special emphasis on the development of automation, artificial intelligence, mechanization, and sensors (AAIMS) to reduce the amount of labor needed to propagate, plant, grow, and harvest specialty crops. NIFA intends to award no less than $20 million to projects that work directly with specialty crop growers, shippers, and processors to address these areas.



The purpose of the SCRI program is to address the critical needs of the specialty crops industries (as defined in Appendix III) by awarding grants to support research and extension that address key challenges of national, regional, and multi-state importance in sustaining all components of food and agriculture, including conventional and organic food production systems. The program recognizes that for some specialty crops that are grown in a limited number of states, the multi-state nature of projects can be difficult to address. Except for Research and Extension Planning Projects, the SCRI program only considers projects that integrate research and extension activities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose a unique approach to solving problems facing the specialty crop industry using a systems approach.

SCRI addresses USDA Research and Development Priority 1: Increasing Profitability of Farmers and Ranchers by creating a special emphasis on the development of automation, artificial intelligence, mechanization, and sensors (AAIMS) to reduce the amount of labor needed to propagate, plant, grow, and harvest specialty crops. NIFA intends to award no less than $20 million to projects that work directly with specialty crop growers, shippers, and processors to address these areas.

Eligible Applicants Pre-applications may only be submitted by federal agencies, national laboratories, colleges and universities, research institutions and organizations, private organizations or corporations, State Agricultural Experiment Stations, individuals, or groups consisting of two or more of these entities. For those new to federal financial assistance, a grants overview page is available on the NIFA website. This page includes information about free Grants 101 Training and other resources that are highly recommended for those seeking an understanding of federal awards. 

Cost Sharing or Matching Match Required: Applicants must provide matching contributions on a dollar-for-dollar basis for all Federal funds awarded under this program. 

Specialty Crops

Aloe Leaves

Blackberries

Fruits

Honey

Horticulture

Mamey Sapote

Maple Syrup

Mustard Greens

Parsnips

Passion Fruit

Pineapples

Plantains

Pummelos

Raspberries

Rutabagas

Tree Nuts

Vegetables

Abiu

Achachairu

Antidesma

Apples

Apricots

Bananas

Barbados Cherry

Blueberries

Breadfruit

Cacao

Caimito

Calabaza Melon

Canary Melon

Canary Seed

Caneberries

Canistel

Cantaloupes

Casaba Melon

Cherries

Chinese Bitter Melon

Chokeberry

Citron

Citron Melon

Coconuts

Cranberries

Crenshaw Melon

Custard Apple

Dates

Dragon Fruit

Durian

Elderberries

Figs

Genip

Goji

Gooseberries

Grapefruit

Grapes

Guava

Guavaberry

Honeyberries

Honeydew

Huckleberries

Israel Melons

Jack Fruit

Jujube

Juneberries

Kiwiberry

Kiwifruit

Korean Golden Melon

Kumquats

Langsat

Lemons

Limequats

Limes

Longan

Loquats

Lychee

Mangos

Mangosteen

Mayhaw Berries

Mesple

Mulberries

Nectarines

Oranges

Papaya

Passion Fruits

Pawpaw

Peaches

Pears

Pineapple

Plantain

Plumcots

Plums

Pomegranates

Prunes

Pummelo

Raisins

Rambutan

Sapodilla

Sapote

Schizandra Berries

Soursop

Sprite Melon

Star Fruit

Star Gooseberry

Strawberries

Sugar Apple

Tangelos

Tangerines

Tangors

Wampee

Watermelon

Wax Jamboo Fruit

Winter Melon

Apiary

Anise

Basil

Cassava

Chia

Cinnamon

Ground Cherry

Wine

Cilantro

Boston Lettuce

Green Leaf Lettuce

Iceberg Lettuce

Lolla Rossa Lettuce

Oak Leaf Lettuce

Red Leaf Lettuce

Romaine Lettuce

Dry Onions

Green Onions

Bell Peppers

Potato Seeds

Processing Potatoes

Russet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Zucchini

Turnip Top

- Specialty Crop Research Initiative Call for Funding
- Crop Protection and Pest Management Program
- Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI)

List of Agricultural Funding with Applications Closing Soon