Get Farming Mini Grants

Are you a farmer in the Kansas City Metro area who is looking to increase your capacity for production and distribution of food? Are you a business that exists to help growers become more productive? Cultivate Kansas City, in collaboration with the Health Forward Foundation and Hall Family Foundation, offers Get Farming Mini Grants of up to $3,500 to support the growth of urban farmers.

Purpose

The purpose of the mini grants is to help existing farms expand their capacity to produce food within the Kansas City metropolitan area including: Kansas City, MO (including portions of Clay and Platte counties), Jackson, Cass, and Lafayette counties in Missouri and Wyandotte and Johnson counties in Kansas. Priority is given to farms who produce food for residents with limited access to fresh, locally grown food and to growers who are Black, Indigenous, New Americans, or People of Color.

Grants are available to:

  • Farmers selling produce with at least one year of documented sales
  • 501(c)3 organizations or a project that has fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)3
  • Entrepreneurs looking to increase services for urban farmers

If you do not currently have sponsorship of a 501(c)3, please email Ami Freeberg or call 913-713-9264, and we may be able to work with you to find a sponsor.

Mini Grant Applications are now CLOSED.

Application Timeline

Deadline for Application
December 19, 2022

Applicants notified of acceptance
January 27, 2023

Contract processing
February 10, 2023

Checks issued (target date)
End of February 2023

Grant details

The maximum grant size is $3,500, with the expectation that actual grant awards may range between $500 and $3,500, depending on the project. The award cap has been increased to help cover inflation in the cost of materials and labor.

Funds may be requested for:

  • Expansion costs: equipment that will allow you to increase production, one-time costs associated with bringing new land into production, or adding a new production system.
  • Infrastructure: Constructing a packing shed, building a greenhouse, installing a permanent irrigation system, cold storage, etc. For grant requests for structures such as small greenhouses to be considered, the grower must show that the structure will comply with applicable building codes.
  • Projects that will increase farmer services such as: community greenhouses, equipment rentals, and farmer co-ops will also be eligible.
  • We may suggest a modification of your project budget based on reviewer feedback. Projects that include funding from other sources are welcome

Grant restrictions:

  • Funds may be used only for projects/farms that raise food (vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat or other edible farm product) in the Kansas City metro area (defined above).
  • Funds will not be awarded to farmers who have received a Get Farming Mini Grant in the past two years. If you received an award prior to that, you are eligible to apply again.
  • Funds are available for projects that are not eligible for other urban agriculture grants or matching programs. If you are unsure of your best option, please contact Ami at ami@cultivatekc.org to help you determine the best source of funding for your project.

Review process

Applications will be reviewed and awarded by a five-member peer review committee that may include growers (farmer, community, or home gardener), Extension agents, organizers in grassroots communities, and one Cultivate Kansas City staff member.

We encourage working with the Cultivate KC team in advance of submitting your proposal. Their role in the grant making process is to help you develop the best possible project and application, and then to let the review committee objectively evaluate.

Please keep in mind that if a grant review committee member has worked with you on your proposal or project, they will recuse themselves from discussion of your application. Please email Ami Freeberg or call 913-713-9264 for technical assistance. Please give us as much advance notice as possible.

If a grant is awarded, you will need to:

  1. Immediately upon notification of award, sign a grant agreement stating that you will use the grant funds as presented in the budget. Funds must be spent within 12 months of the grant agreement signing.
  2. Between 4 and 6 months of the grant being awarded, meet with a member of Cultivate KC at your farm/project.We encourage that you use Metro Farms and Food Systems Program Manager, Ami Freeberg, for additional technical assistance and support during your implementation of the funded project.
  3. Submit a final report and pictures of the results of the grants.The final report is due within 14 months of the grant agreement signing. The final report will consist of a short narrative or video recording answering a few questions about the impact of your project, as well as photo documentation of the completed project.