Southern SARE Education Grants

Education Grants allow applicants to conduct education and outreach activities for the benefit of the greater sustainable ag community, and promote efforts in farmer innovations, community resilience, business success, ag diversification, and best management practices. Education Grants were born out of Southern SARE's Research and Education Grants program, when there was recognized a need for many organizations, such as non-profits, to conduct sustainable agriculture work that was not grounded in research. Education Grants strictly fund education and outreach activities related to sustainable agriculture whose outcomes are intended to benefit farmers/ranchers and the communities they serve; there is no research involved in these grant projects.

Non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, researchers from public and private institutions (land-grants and others), and government agencies are invited to apply. Project outcomes must focus on developing sustainable agriculture systems or moving existing systems toward sustainable agriculture. The project must clearly articulate what is being taught, to whom and how the project will accomplish those goals. For farmers involved in the project, the primary occupation is farming/ranching or part-time farming, and producers have at least $1,000 of documented annual income from the operation, as defined by USDA.

Education Grant project maximums are $50,000, limited to two (2) years. USDA-NIFA will allow recovery of indirect costs. Education Grant funds are paid by reimbursement of allowable project expenses; advance payments are not possible.

Calls for Proposals open in May each year, with proposal submission deadlines in August, and funding decisions made in February of the following year. Applications are submitted through the SARE Grant Management System (not grants.gov).