County Fairs Capital Improvement Grants

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development offers this grant opportunity to county fairs. This program will assist in the promotion of building improvements or other capital improvements on county fairgrounds within the state. Total funding available for this grant program is $480,000 for fiscal year 2026.

Capital improvements are costs related to making changes to improve capital assets, increase their useful life, or add to the value of these assets. Capital improvements may be structural improvements or other renovations to a building or enhance usefulness or productivity.

Building improvements are costs related to making changes to improve buildings which are used for fair purposes and are owned by the fair association or political subdivision. These improvements will extend the useful life of the building.

Eligibility requirements (FY 2026 guidelines):

• Fairs incorporated under Act 80 of 1855 – Local Agricultural or Horticultural Society.

• County-owned and operated fairs operating under Act 11 of 1929.

• County fairs that have submitted all required year-end reports for the prior three years.

• Fair Associations leasing their grounds must have a minimum of a five-year lease for the use of the grounds to hold the annual fair and other non-fair events.

• Fairs that did not receive a competitive capital improvement grant in the previous grant cycle.

• Cost reimbursement grant; must have a 50% cash match. In-kind services cannot be used to meet the match. MDARD's worked example: if the total cost of the capital improvement project is $45,000, the fair can apply for a grant of $30,000 and the match required for the fair would be $15,000.

• Grants will be awarded a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $100,000.

• Limit of one project and proposal per fair association.

• Project/program duration: May 2026 through August 31, 2027. Interim reports due September 15, 2026; final reports due September 15, 2027.

• Performance metric: a report on the financial impact resulting from the capital improvement project on both fair and non-fair events held on the fairgrounds is due three years after completion of the capital improvement.

• Scoring (70 points): Project Purpose 15, Expected Measurable Outcomes 15, Budget 15, Potential Impact 10, Work Plan 10, Sustainability 5.

Complete the application form and use the prescribed format to complete a grant request. All grant proposals shall be submitted electronically to MDARD via the MiAgGrants grant management system. Applications require a MiLogin Citizen Account (an individual using State of Michigan online services for their own personal transaction) or Business Account (an individual acting on behalf of a business, organization, or corporation); MiLogin requires multifactor authentication.

The 2026 grant cycle request opened October 15, 2025 and grant proposals were due March 18, 2026 at 5:00 PM. Recipients are announced in early May 2026.

Questions: Zane Stanton, Financial Specialist, Executive Office, StantonZ@michigan.gov, 517-855-0041.

• FY 2026 County Fairs Capital Improvement Grant Guidelines (PDF)

• MiAgGrants help page

• MDARD grant recipients dashboard

• MDARD county fairs

• Sign up for email updates about Michigan agriculture grants