Instructions for Completing the Seed Grant for Urban Farming Application Step one: Check out the Online Form (administrative information and required documents) to see what type of information is required. Note: You must enter all of the information at the same time as you submit the application. You cannot save your answers as you go. We suggest that you work offline on the answers and then type them in when you submit all of the required documents. Step two: Download the word document Seed Grant Application Parts 2 to 5. Save it, and answer the questions, have your organization s executive director sign it, and upload it along with the required documents. Step three: Download the excel document Seed Grant Budget Template. Save it, and answer the questions, and upload it along with the required documents. Step four: Upload required documents and complete required information in the online form. Document Checklist Required Documents: Completed Seed Grant Application Parts 2 to 5 (PDF preferred) Completed Seed Grant Budget (Excel format required) Copy of Federal Exempt Status Certificate 501(c)(3) (PDF preferred) Current Organizational Chart -- highlight staff involved in grant (PDF preferred) Resumes and job descriptions of staff involved in grant -- combine into one document (PDF preferred) Current Organizational Budget (PDF preferred) Optional Documents: Financial Audit, if available (PDF preferred) Upload up to three additional supporting documents, such as Audit, Letters of support or agreement regarding land use, partnerships, consultancy services etc.
Guidelines for Completing the Seed Grant for Urban Farming Application Part 1: Online Form - Administrative Information and Uploading Required Documents Provide the contact information for the grant contact person. This contact person should be the staff member responsible for this project throughout the entire grant period. Also include the Executive Director s (ED) contact information. Tell us if you operate an emergency food program. Provide basic information about the grant: total dollar amount requested, location, size, description of who owns the land. In the proposal summary provide grant reviewers with a brief snapshot of the project. Ex. ABC Agency will start a farm in the backyard behind our agency headquarters. We will recruit xx community members from the food pantry and our other programs to join our Gardening Team. Staff member Lisa Jones will be responsible for the Gardening Team and all aspects of this project. We will use grant money to hire XYZ Urban Farming Consultant to provide trainings to the Gardening Team and guide us through the process of starting a farm. Vegetables from the farm will be distributed in the food pantry and to the Gardening Team. Part 2: Organizational Alignment A. Full description of your organization. This section will help us get to know your organization. Please include the organization s mission statement, target populations served, and program services provided. Community & Target Population Profile Please describe in detail the community demographics and target population that the urban farm project will assist. Include age, gender, education level, and ethnicity. B. Alignment with Organizational Mission & Services This section is important as it helps the grant review committee understand how this funding fits within your organization s scope of work and how it will benefit the target population. The Seed Grant for urban farming aims to provide organizations with the ability to develop or improve upon current nutrition education, wellness programs, and other outreach services. The project must fit within your organization s mission to your target population and function as an extension to the blanket of services currently provided to the community. This section asks you to describe in detail how an urban farm will help improve your organization s services in the context of your organization s mission.
Part 3: Project Plan Overview Grant reviewers like well-defined and planned out projects. They want to know whether or not applicants have thought out all of the necessary steps to meet the goals, whether the applicant has the organizational capacity to meet the goals and sustain the project after the grant period ends. Please describe your plan thoroughly (from identifying the land location/plot size, to designating an urban farm consultant, to determining how many people will be involved in the project, to planning how the produce will be grown and distributed, etc.). D. Urban Farm Creation/Expansion Describe your plan for starting an urban farm or expanding an existing one. How will you go about doing this? Will you enlist the services of experts or organizations to provide fee based consultancy services, such as trainings and step-by step technical assistance? How will you engage community members? Who will be involved/trained to perform the day-to-day farming activities? How will you recruit them? How will you distribute/use the farm grown produce? Please explain. E. Project Sustainability This is a one-year grant designed to help you start a farm or expand an existing one. Please provide a detailed description of how you plan to sustain the farm in year two and beyond. Describe the role staff members and others (such as, community members, volunteers, and interns) will play in long-term project maintenance. Describe other funding sources available for this project. Part 4: Project Plan Details This section provides a worksheet that should be used to outline your proposed project in detail. Column 1: Need/Problem This is specific to the target population / community described in Part 2-B. What needs will the urban farm address? What gaps will it fill? Need / Problem 1: Target population with inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables. Need / Problem 2: Target population lacks basic nutrition knowledge and preparation skills related to fresh produce. Column 2: Goal(s) Project goals should identify how the urban farm will address each need/problem. These goals should be simple, measurable, and meaningful to your project. Please note that multiple goals are not necessary to have a successful project. One to two goals are sufficient. Goal 1. Improve the nutritional intake of the hungry in the community by providing farm-fresh produce to community members. Goal 2. Improve farm to table literacy to promote healthier food choices among community members.
Column 3: Deliverables These are steps, tasks or activities your project will take to accomplish your goal(s). Each goal may have more than one deliverable. Deliverables must be specific and measurable. Please keep all deliverables for the same goal in one box. You may use additional sheets if necessary. Goal 1 Deliverables. o Prepare soil of two lots. o Plant, cultivate, and harvest produce. o Urban farm consultant will host 24 training sessions (2 per week over 3 months) for 16 community members/volunteers about operating the farm. o Consultant will provide How-To training manual for the trained staff/community members to use when training new volunteers. Goal 2 Deliverables. o Nutrition consultant will conduct 4 Farm to Table training workshops to educate individuals about how to prepare the produce grown on the urban farm in accordance with national dietary guidelines. Column 4: Outcome Measures To know if your program has reached its goals and thus fulfilled the stated needs, you need to be able to measure the project s outcomes. For example, if the goal of the urban farm was to improve the nutrition education level of food pantry participants, how would you know if it did? What would you do to find out? This is an important step because it provides measurable feedback about your program s success and areas in need of work. Goal 1 Outcome Measure. o Measure pounds of produce harvested and distributed to community members. Goal 2 Outcome Measure. o Measure knowledge, attitude and behavior of community members participating in the training workshops through pre and post surveys. Column 5: Timeline for Deliverables This is the timeframe for each deliverable (i.e., when each deliverable is planned to take place). Timeline deliverables help keep your project on track and also let you know when things are ahead of schedule or falling behind. Goal 1 Deliverables timeline: o 1. May 1 st through May 30 th (Prepare soil of two lots) o 2. June 1 st through October 15 th (Plant, cultivate and harvest produce) o 3. June 1 st through September 1 st (Training sessions/how-to Document) Goal 2 Deliverable Timeline: o 1. January 2014 through December 2014 Column 6: Person Responsible
Each deliverable needs to have a person responsible for completing it. These individuals are the only ones able to receive funding and should match the names provided in your personnel budget and organizational chart. Goal 1 Deliverables Person Responsible: o 1. First Name, Last Name o 2. First Name, Last Name Goal 2 Deliverable Person Responsible: o 1. First Name, Last Name Part 5: Application Agreement in the Seed Grant Application Review the checklist and ensure that all required documents have been uploaded. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. The Executive Director must sign and date the application agreement at the end of the Seed Grant application. Electronic signatures are okay! Seed Grant Budget Download the Seed Grant Budget excel document and follow the instructions in the document. Complete the worksheets and itemize estimated expenses for each category. The Seed Grant excel document must be uploaded to the online application. Budget Requirements No more than one-third of the budget may cover salaries for agency staff and remuneration for non staff personnel. Personnel Staff + Personnel Non Staff may not exceed one-third of the total grant budget. Staff members funded in the grant must be responsible for carrying out deliverables listed in Part 4. Please include the position title, person s name, hourly rate, number of hours per week as well as the number of weeks the person will work on the project deliverables. See example in excel worksheet. The grant should only fund wages earned while working on the deliverables. Fringe benefits will not be covered. The hourly remuneration for non staff members cannot exceed the New York State minimum wage of $7.25/hour. Supervisory positions, including Executive Directors, will not be funded. Seed Grants are intended to fund direct project costs. Items over $200 in the Other category must be preapproved by UWNYC-HPNAP prior to fund distribution. Budget Details & Justification Provide details as requested in each question. Expenses for each item must be related to the urban farm project. Receipts and invoices for items purchased with Seed Grant funds (including fuel, car rental, and documentation of miles) will be required as part of both the interim and final report, along with justifications for each item. Time sheets and/or payroll copies for each consultants and non staff personnel will be required as part of the final report. Consultant hires must be justified. Note that a consultant can be an organization, such as the Horticultural Society of New York, or an individual with demonstrated urban farming expertise.