Historically Underserved Farming Communities Question and Answer Sessions

Yes, several flower operation projects have received Northeast SARE grants.

This grant does not favor any particular applicants. As long as you are collaborating with or impacting historically underserved communities or farming communities, you are welcome to submit your proposal.

"There are no restrictions. All kinds of farming, including urban and hydroponic, are encouraged, as long as you can attest that the operation meets USDA's definition of a farm. Your farm or the farms that you work with should have produced at least $1,000 of saleable product in the previous calendar year; it is not necessary to have sold the product. Northeast SARE will not check your sales records or ask for receipts demonstrating sales or donations.

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Any type of organization (for-profit, non-profit, etc.) can apply as long as they have the capacity to host the project.

Yes.

Yes, if you have an exisiting fiscal sponsor relationship with an organization, we can work with that. Either you can apply as the applicant / project leader, or someone from Rutgers could apply. Northeast SARE is capped at providing 10% indirect rates on our grants, so we recommend talking with your fiscal sponsor to make sure the rate they charge for fiscal sponsorship will work for your project needs. 

Yes. We recommend providing an explanation in your grant application about why your farming community and project team is dispersed across the state. 

Yes, a collective of farms could apply. You will need to chose one person to be the Project Leader.  Depending on your legal structure, the project leader will apply for the grant as an employee/owner of either their farm or the collective. The organization they choose (either the farm or collective) will be responsible for contracting the grant and needs to have financial capacity to pay for expenses up front and then be reimbursed. Depending on the expenses paid to each farmer, the individual farmers could be paid as consultants and/or participants, but if they will have more than one person per farm working on the project, then a subaward makes the most sense. 

Yes, so long as the projects are different, you may apply to multiple Northeast SARE grants and receive funding from multiple grants. You cannot receive funding twice to cover the same expenses. 

Yes,  you can apply if you meet the definition of a farm (producing at least $1,000 of saleable product in the prior calendar year) and so long as you can make the case that you are working with a community of historically underserved farmers in your project. Also, remember that this grant is reimbursement-based. 

Yes, you are eligible to apply. When you are drafting your budget, remember that your fiscal sponsor will likely request a percentage of funds and Northeast SARE allowable indirect is capped at 10% of total direct costs. 

Yes, you can have multiple grant awards, so long as the awards are not funding the same work twice. 

The grant doesn't need to go through an organization, but the individual who applies must be able to perform the contract. Reviewers will not consider the demographic attributes of an individual applicant when making funding decisions. 

No, you do not have to own a farm to apply. The primary beneficiaries of your research and/or education project must be farmers that meet the definition of historically underserved. 

A partnership is not a requirement of this program. Applicant demographics will not be considered for funding decisions. Applicants are not required to be historically underserved. 

As long as they otherwise meet the eligibility requirements of the grant program, and as long as the project is focused on sustainable agriculture research and/or education - yes!

Individuals, for profits, small non-profits, large non-profits - ALL are eligible to apply!

Yes. reviewers will be looking to see that the farming community is playing a leadership role and that their needs are authentically being met in the project.

Collaborations are encouraged, though not required. 

Northeast SARE grants allow overhead costs up to 10% of total direct costs. Current programs are eligible, if they meet the intent of the grant program and the review criteria as published in the call for proposals.

Yes, Northeast SARE holds a broad understanding of this category. Please refer to the USDA definition: "Northeast SARE understands Historically Underserved Farmers to align with the USDA definition of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers as those belonging to groups that have been subject to racial or ethnic prejudice, including but not limited to farmers who are Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic or Latino, and Asian or Pacific Islander." More information at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/getting-assistance/underserved-farmers-ranchers

Possibly, depending on the context of the proposal. Northeast SARE's legislated audience is farmers, so if there is some way that development of value-added products is worked into a project that benefits farmers or the farming community, then this could be a fundable project activity. 

Recipients of training/outreach could be aspiring farmers.

USDA funds typically cannot be used for capital infrastructure. Fundable expenses must support research or education.

Current programs are eligible, if they meet the intent of the grant program and the review criteria as published in the call.

"Possibly. Whether a project is a good fit for this program depends on whether you would be able to show how you're pulling in historically underserved farmers and communities into what you're doing; what story will you tell and what collaborations are involved? It may be that other grant programs at Northeast SARE (e.g. Research and Education, Novel Approaches) are a better fit. For further guidance, contact Leons Kabongo at lkabongo@sare.org.
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Consider research and education opportunities within your community, and think about how the grant could impact your community. Try searching "American Indians" in our funded projects database: https://projects.sare.org/search-projects/

Yes, almost all soil and plant testing is an allowable expense, so long as it is contributing to the project and results will benefit the farming community. 

You can apply to different grants to fund different parts of your work. You cannot receive funding twice to pay for the same expense. 

Yes, while we can’t fund the purchase of land, if you have access to land (including rented land), you are welcome to use it during the project. Owning land is not a requirement for farmer or project eligibility. 

Northeast SARE funds research and education projects. You must demonstrate one or both of those elements in your project, which should serve and fulfill needs of the farming community. If your organization is already doing work in these areas, you could turn that work into a compelling application. 

You can look up example projects at projects.sare.org. For example, we have funded mental health resource networks and trainings on workplace safety. 

Northeast SARE cannot provide general operating expenses. We fund projects that fit our review criteria. So, if your organization does work that can be presented as a research or education project, you can create a proposal around that work.

Northeast SARE funds research and education projects. This grant is focused on serving historically underserved farmers, as defined by the USDA: LINK. We recommend crafting a proposal idea around these requirements. Then focus on answering the questions in the call for proposals with the review criteria in mind. 

Partnerships are not a requirement of this grant, but they are encouraged. Your partnership can be exisiting or new. We recommend looking at the affirmation of approach section of the CFP for requirements around submitting a letter of support and/or having your collaborator confirm their support online. 

Northeast SARE funds different types of things than the LFPA grant. If you can pitch your work as education or research (or both) this could potentially be a fundable project, but it does have to be one or both of those types of things.

Northeast SARE funds both research AND education projects.

This could definitely be pitched as research (how to expand the market) or education (working with farmers to expand the market). This grant is intended to do the following: "The historically underserved farmer/farming communities grant program is designed to address systemic/structural barriers to access that disproportionately limit the ability of historically underserved farmer/farming communities to fully participate in SARE programs. This grant program funds projects that create farming and food system opportunities for historically underserved farmers/farming communities and prioritizes work that engages, and is led by, people with experience from those communities. The program seeks projects that will address the needs and serve the interests of groups that have been met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles to full participation in the agricultural system of the Northeast."

Reviewers will be considering whether each proposal contributes to Northeast SARE outcome statement, the intent of the program (found in the Call for Proposals - CFP), and meets the review criteria published in the CFP. This could be an eligible idea, if it does those 3 things.

Yes!

Yes, labor force development is an eligible project type, so long as the project meets all of the other requirements of this grant program. 

Northeast SARE considers a farmer to be someone who has produced $1,000 of sellable product in the previous calendar year. A farming community is a group of farmers and those they work with (customers, service providers, neighbors, etc.). You can define your farming community in whatever way makes sense to you, ensuring that the main participants or beneficiaries of your project are involved in the production of agricultural products. 

There is no defined minimum for the number of people within your farming community. You should consider the size of your potential community or audience as well as balance the size of your project and the budget request that you make. 

There is no registry of historically underserved farmers. Instead, please review the USDA definition of socially disadvantaged: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/getting-assistance/underserved-farmers-ranchers and consider if the farmers you intend to partner with meet that definition. 

The program funds partnerships with any historically underserved community. If your work with an extension office will allow you to partner with and reach Historically underserved communities, you are welcome to work with extension. 

Northeast SARE is using the broadest definition we can, the USDA definition, which includes socially disadvantaged, veteran, beginning, and limited resource farmers. 

Yes, beginning farmers are considered historically underserved farmers. 

You must clearly explain that your project will work with historically underserved farmers. Review the affirmation of approach section of the call for proposals. You will submit letters of support and/or have community members verify that they approve of your application. 

Yes!

The definition is set by the USDA, not Northeast SARE: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/getting-assistance/underserved-farmers-ranchers

SARE is providing technical assistance for this grant for those who need it, but it is not required to use it. 

See https://northeast.sare.org/TAPRequest or contact Technical Assistance Program Coordinator Leons Kabongo at lkabongo@sare.org.
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First, reach out to our technical assistance program: https://northeast.sare.org/TAPRequest. Also, make sure that you meet our definition of a farm: northeastsare.org/farmdefinition. Then, craft a compelling proposal that demonstrates how your project will empower a historically underserved farming community. Remember that our grants are reimbursement based, so you will need to be able to pay for expenses in advance and then get reimbursed. 

If you are having any issues communicating with your TA, please reach out to Leons Kabongo, leons.kabongo@uvm.edu.

Request assistance from a technical assistant using this form.

Yes, that is one of the main things our technical assistants are able to provide assistance with. 

Request assistance from a technical assistant using this form.

Approximately 15 to 20 awards will be made in this cycle.

Please contact ne-huf@sare.org.

While USDA requirements and restrictions apply to this as well as other SARE programs, this grant and the technical assistance program seek to address barriers and make SARE grants available to a broader population. 

Northeast SARE uses the USDA definition of underserved, which you can find here: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/getting-assistance/underserved-farmers-ranchers. While this definition does not explicitly include individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, such individuals may qualify under the other four included groups. 

Yes. The main participants or beneficiaries of your project should be farmers, but others involved in agriculture can also be part of your project. 

Both of these approaches are equally eligible for Northeast SARE funding, assuming they meet the review criteria and requirements of the HUF program. We suggest requesting technical assistance to help consider how you want to craft your proposal. Consider what will be the most compelling to reviewers. As long as you focus on research and/or education and how you will impact historically underserved farmers, either option is acceptable.

Grantees will be required to submit annual reports and a final report at the end of the project. Otherwise, you only need to reach out to Northeast SARE if anything major changes while conducting your project. You also will need to submit invoices regularly in order to get reimbursed. It is up to your organization to decide if you think you need funding for a grant manager. 

The current funds for this program have already been contracted and allocated to Northeast SARE and are considered "in hand". However, as has always been the case, future funding for Northeast SARE could change. 

Reviewers will want to understand how you will make decisions about your project. You should write about who is "at the table" or involved when you will make decisions.

While this is a personal decision, we would encourage you to still apply. Our reviewers will not consider demographic information of applicants when making grant awards. If you are awarded funds, grant administrators are able to exercise some flexibility if your circumstances change in a way that would prevent you from completing the project. Please note that your name and project reports will be made public, and basic contact  information and the information necessary to setup a contract with Northeast SARE will be made available to our host institution the University of Vermont, and to our funder, NIFA, which is part of the USDA. 

Yes, we recognize that the high funding amount may be a barrier. We do offer other grants, including our Farmer and Partnership grants, which each fund requests of $30,000 or less. 

 Northeast SARE's Outcome Statement
: Northeast agricultural communities honor the holistic connection among land, water, air, and all living beings. Agriculture in the Northeast is accessible, sustainable, and just, addressing historic and current inequities so all farmers and farm employees can steward resources to ensure sustainability, resilience, economic viability, and a high quality of life.

The tribal farm could be a partner of the tribe. Additionally, partnerships are not required for this grant program, they are simply encouraged. 

The start date may end up being 5/1/25, but we recommend planning for 6/1 just in case.

The money for this round of grants is currently awarded and should not, under normal mechanisms, be taken away. Northeast SARE's future funding is allocated annually, so is not guaranteed, but this round of funding is fairly secure.

All projects must be completed by November 30, 2027. You should write a reasonable, feasible, realistic timeline for the amount of work that is planned. 

The deadline to request technical assitance is this Friday Dec 13th. The application deadline is January 7th at 5pm. Review of applications will happen in January and February. The slate of fundable proposals will be reviewed and approved by our administrative council at their spring meeting. We will make the funding announcement in May 2025, and projects can start in June of 2025. 

We expect contracts to have a start date of June 1, 2025, though we may be able to do them as early as May 1, 2025. We don't know exactly when yet, and we do apologize for that! Your safest bet is to plan to start your project June 1, 2025. 

Yes! Please explore our definition of a farm: https://www.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/Northeast-SAREs-Definition-of-a-Farm.pdf

Grant reviewers will not consider race or other demographic information when reviewing grants. Grant reviewers will use the review criteria published in the call for proposals to score your application. 

This is an eligible expense, and Northeast SARE has funded similar things in the past. Reviewers do tend to apply more scrutiny to applications that include budgets that are mostly salary to ensure that the proposal meets our requirements: that it is funding research or education objectives, that the proposal includes all the expenses necessary to support project success, and that the proposal has the necessary project team to be successful as well. That is the only disadvantage for proposals that require hiring - the reviewers do not know the entire project team at the time of review and cannot guarantee that the organization has the team needed to be successful. And, as said previously, we have funded similar situations in the past. 

No, whether or not you use a technical advisor will not be considered in the review process. 

No, and Northeast SARE funds can be used as match for other grants that your organization may be bringing in.

Awards may range from a minimum of $150,000 to approximately $250,000 depending upon the project's needs, complexity and duration. 

This grant cannot fund the cost used to start or expand farming operations, for example, regular farm equipment, land or structures.

"USDA funds typically cannot be used for capital infrastructure like barns. Depending on the context of the proposal, it's possible that we could fund plants or animals if they were varieties to be trialed and their purchase represented a risk, not a normal business expense.
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The farm is eligible as long as you can attest that it meets USDA's definition of a farm. Your farm or the farms that you work with should have produced at least $1000 of saleable product in the previous calendar year; it is not necessary to have sold the product. Northeast SARE will not check your sales records or ask for receipts demonstrating sales or donations.

Yes. Northeast SARE, like many USDA grants, is a reimbursement based grant. It is something that we are seeking to change in the future, but it is the case right now. We recognize that reimbursement is hard. There are some ways that small organizations have made our reimbursement grants work for them:
We do invite people to invoice as frequently as monthly. So if you have the ability to fund labor the first month and then get that invoice reimbursed, that gives you some money for the following month. You do not need to spend the entirety of the grant and then get reimbursed.
There are organizations that offer bridge loans. Please contact us for further guidance.
Northeast SARE funds can be used as match for other grants that your organization may be bringing in.

"You can bill SARE monthly for reimbursement.
For example, let's say you had a June 1st start date on your project. You would be able to submit your first invoice June 30th. Our host organization, the University of Vermont, then has a net 30 days so you should have that payment in hand by the end of July.
And then from then on out you can keep billing monthly."

We definitely don't expect you to throw it away when the project is done!
We cannot fund normal business expenses, including general equipment, for any for-profit organizations, including farms, but if you're testing something that you don't know at the beginning of the grant whether it's going to work or not, and you find out after we fund it that it works fabulously, that's fine. You're sharing that information with your community so that everybody knows that that equipment works well, and then you can keep using it after the end of the grant.
If it is a nonprofit organization that this reimbursement is going to, we can fully fund it since there's an understanding that the equipment will be used for either education or research in perpetuity. 
There are some instances where we might have to prorate equipment for the life of the grant to a for-profit business, but that's typically not the case for any kind of nonprofit. For further guidance, please email ne-huf@sare.org.

Yes, labor expenses are eligible and encouraged, so long as the salary is specific to the work of the project. 

Yes, labor is an eligible expense, as are participant support costs to support farmers participating in your project. 

This may be an eligible expense, however you must be able to show how your project will contribute to research and/or education that benefits farmers. 

Yes, you can pay for the portion of their time that is dedicated to the grant research. 

Northeast SARE funds research and education that benefits farmers and farming communities. You would need to make a clear case that this expense is important to your research or education project. 

Appendix C https://northeast.sare.org/HUFGrantAppendixC is the full listing of allowable and unallowable expenses. To determine if any expense you are considering is eligible, consult this appendix. 

If a farmer applies and has extension as a partner, Northeast SARE will write two contracts: one with the farmer and one with extension. If a nonprofit applies and has extension as a partner, Northeast SARE would write one contract with the nonprofit, who would have to manage funds for both the nonprofit and Extension. 

It depends. It can't be used to build buildings, greenhouses, or other capital expenses. It can be used for specific research or education expenses. 

Indirect costs (also known as overhead) are capped at 10% of your direct costs. Full details can be found in the budget appendix of the call for proposals (Appendix C). 

We can reimburse as frequently as monthly. It often takes 1-2 months to get a contract in place. Once that contract is in place, you can submit your first invoice, and you will be paid net 30. 

Travel and mileage are allowable expenses. Gas to run a piece of equipment your are teaching about or researching would also be eligible. Gas expenses that are not related to the project activities would not be eligible. Insurance generally is not an eligible expense. 

Generally, utility expenses would be part of indirect costs. For-profit organizations cannot request indirect so they could include direct utility costs for the project in the budget, following the 10% cap on indirect costs.

No, it is a direct cost.

Yes, you will need to make a clear and compelling case that the expense is necessary for the project. Depending on the expense and your organization type, it may need to be prorated. 

We do not provide guidance on salaries to applicants or reviewers. We trust applicants to know what an equitable and  fair wage is for their region and the amount of time someone will spend on the grant. 

It depends on how you craft your proposal. You would need to demonstrate that the garage will be used for research and education. If you are a for profit, we would likely need to prorate the expenses. If you are a nonprofit, we likely could  fund the full expense.

The best way to tell if your proposed expenses are eligible is to consult Appendix C of the call for proposals.

Any for profit business (including most farms) cannot request indirect in their budget. Instead for profit businesses can fund overhead costs by including them as direct costs. For example, a for profit business could request a portion of utilities for the percentage of time that their office space will be used for the project. The total overhead costs for for profit businesses within the budget still cannot exceed 10% of the total request.  Any non profit, college, tribal organization, or other not for-profit organization can request a 10% indirect rate.

The budget you submit should only include costs that will be paid by Northeast SARE. There's no need to show income on your submitted budget. However, within your written proposal, you can definitely include in your proposal that you intend to continue work after the project timeline and that you intend to become profitable. 

 We can fund labor expenses for your farm, including part time or hourly work. We can also fund consultants and other service providers and provide funds for farmers to participate in a project. 

We do not require matching funds, and we do not require you to show that you have the full amount of the grant available. However, this is reimbursement based grant. You must be able to pay at least your first month's of expenses up front, because we reimburse invoices on a net-30 basis. 

There are no match requirements for our grants, including in-kind matches. Reviewers will not review your proposal based on the inclusion of matching funds. We are reimbursement based, so after your first month of the grant, you will submit an invoice and be paid on a net 30 basis. 

Yes, it is possible for farmer to partner with fiscal sponsors or agents. Northeast SARE does not have the capacity to assist in forming these relationships, but we encourage applicants to pursue this option when feasible.

No, we cannot fund the purchase of land. 

Agritourism may be an eligible expense if it educational. However, the project beneficiaries must mostly be farmers or aspiring farmers. 

These are all allowable expenses. Subaward vs. consulting is primarily determined by: are multiple employees of the organization being paid? Are they receiving multiple different kinds of expenses? That would likely be a subaward. If there is a single expense or individual - that is more likely a consultant. Guest speaker fees are an allowable expense

You can use a prorated salary and budget for 3 months (1/4 of a full year's salary). You can also budget for an hourly rate and the appropriate number of hours of work. 

For salary, you simply send in an invoice for the expense. You should maintain records in the rare care you are ever audited. All expenses that you purchase, you must submit receipts for.

Renting land, greenhouse space, and equipment are all eligible expenses, so long as the land or item will be used specifically for the project. Purchasing equipment can occasionally be fundable, but it will depend on the organization type, the use of the equipment within the project, and the usefulness of the equipment outside of the project. 

Non-profits assign a blanket 10% indirect costs to their budget - 10% is the NIFA imposed cap on SARE grants. Each invoice will include 10% indirect of the total direct costs on that invoice.

No, you can rent from any person or entity.