RAFI-USA is now accepting applications for the 2023 Farmers of Color Network Infrastructure Grant cycle! Applicants may request up to $10,000 in assistance for farm infrastructure projects that increase farm viability and do one or more of the following: support community food sovereignty efforts, preserve traditional and cultural farming practices, or support farmers’ local food economies.
To be eligible for this grant, farmers must:
- Earn a significant amount of their personal income from their farm operation.
- Identify as a farmer of color.
- Have at least three years of farming experience* and have worked two years in their current farming operation and location.
- Be located in the Southeast region of the U.S.: this includes AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA.
- Complete and submit an application by the deadline. Farmers may only submit one application (as an individual or a collective).
Funding priority will be given to proposals with:
- High expected impact,
- Strong project feasibility and planning,
- Demonstrated individual financial need, or location in an economically disadvantaged area, and
- From farmers who have not previously received an infrastructure grant from RAFI-USA.
The application period is open from Monday, January 30, 2023, until Monday, Feb 27, 2023. Funding announcements will be made in late March, with funds expected to be available in mid-April.
For more information, and to apply for the grant, follow the links below.
Please contact Mary Bulan, Senior Program Manager for FOCN, with any questions: mary@rafiusa.org, 919.444.5253
*Beginning Farmers with less than three years of experience will be eligible for our new Beginning Farmer Stipend opportunity, opening in Mid-Feb.