Northeast SARE Professional Development Grant Program

The Northeast SARE Professional Development Grant Program funds train-the-trainer projects that develop the knowledge, awareness, skills and attitudes among the full range of service providers who work with farmers, including agricultural professionals who teach, advise and assist farmers about sustainable agriculture practices and strategies as well as non-agricultural service providers (e.g., attorneys, lenders, etc.) that work with farmers. These service providers then use the knowledge, awareness, skills and attitudes they gain in their work with farmers.

Professional Development Grants are open to agricultural service providers, including personnel at colleges and universities, Cooperative Extension, agricultural and community nonprofit organizations, municipalities, state departments of agriculture, federal agencies like NRCS, for-profit entities (such as private consultants, veterinary practices and other businesses that serve the farming community), and others who work with service providers.

Northeast SARE encourages projects submitted from or in collaboration with Minority Serving Institutions (including 1890s and other historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions and tribal colleges and universities) and other organizations in the Northeast region that work with socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.

Your organization must have the legal structure and financial capacity in place to receive and execute a Northeast SARE contract, including expending funds needed for the project prior to receiving reimbursements from Northeast SARE; advance payments are not possible.

Projects must take place within the Northeast region, which includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.

Northeast SARE will not fund proposals that appear to duplicate work that has been approved for funding by another grant program (within or external to SARE).

Outcome Funding

This grant program uses an outcome funding approach that directly connects project activities to measurable goals. If you are not familiar with how outcome funding works, we urge you to read Northeast SARE’s Guide to Outcome Funding.

Central to this approach is the performance target, a statement that describes the changes in behavior or conditions among project beneficiaries (in this case, service providers) that are expected as a result from the proposed project.

Preproposals Required

Preproposals are required for the Professional Development Grant Program. The preproposal is a preliminary concept document that allows SARE reviewers to select the most promising projects to be invited to submit full proposals. Proposals are only invited if they have strong, data-based justification, a clear and measurable performance target, and effective approaches to achieving the target. Projects must seek wider adoption of sustainable practices through education. Practices may be related to production, marketing, finances, or social/quality of life issues.

Only invited preproposal applicants are eligible to submit a full proposal.

In previous years, about one-third of preproposals have been invited to submit full proposals, and about one-third of full proposal submissions have been awarded. Three to six awards are made each year, depending on available funding.

• Call for Preproposals

• Guide to Outcome Funding

• Tips and Tools for Project Verification

• Northeast SARE's Definition of a Farm