FACT’s 2018 Fund-a-Farmer Grants
Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) provides grants of up to $2,500 to individual farmers ($5,000 for joint applications) for projects that improve the welfare of their farm animals or build capacity of their operations. This year FACT will offer three types of grants:
Does your project help you meet a specific standard for Animal Welfare Approved, Certified Humane or Global Animal Partnership (steps 4-5) certification?
Are you already certified by AWA, CH or GAP but need funding to build your farm's capacity or marketing of your animal welfare-certified products?
> Apply for a Capacity-Building Grant (funding for individual and joint projects)
Does your project help you transition to a pasture-based system, improve the quality of your pasture, and/or expand your animals’ access to well-managed pasture?
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Before you apply, please review the eligibility requirements on each page above. You may also wish to join our Grant Info Session Webinar on October 24.
To apply, complete an online application with information about your farm, proposed project, and project budget. If you are applying for Certification or Pasture Grant, you will also be asked to upload three color photographs that accurately depict the current state of your operation, including at least one of the animals the proposed project will benefit. If you are applying for a Capacity Building Grant on behalf of multiple farms, each partner farm must complete a Capacity Building Grant Collaborator Form. Applications must be submitted online by 11:59pm CST on November 28, 2018.
Only one application per farm will be accepted. This means that farmers should choose one grant category and may only submit one application total. Grants will be awarded in January or February 2019. Please contact Larissa McKenna, FACT’s Humane Farming Program Director, at grants@foodanimalconcerns.org or at (773) 525-4952 with questions after reviewing the guidelines. Funding for FACT’s Animal Welfare Certification and Capacity-Building Grants has been made possible by generous support from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
HOW WILL GRANT DECISIONS BE MADE?
FACT relies on a panel of expert humane livestock farmers to review eligible applications. All personal and contact information is redacted from the application to ensure that the final review process is anonymous.
Eligible applications will be scored on the following factors:
-
How well the proposed project would help the farm improve animal welfare;
-
How well the proposed project is designed and if it would help the farm reach the intended goal (increasing access to or improving pasture, achieving certification, building capacity);
-
If there is sufficient expertise to complete the project;
-
If the timeline and proposed steps are achievable; and
-
If the budget is reasonable and related to the project.
In general, while the number of animals that will benefit from a proposed project is not a stand-alone factor, it may be taken into consideration when scoring comparable projects.
If you have additional questions regarding the grant requirements or application, please contact us at grants@foodanimalconcerns.org. We look forward to receiving your application!
