Grant Program 2014

Thanks to a recent $7,500 award from the Mass Society for Promoting Agriculture to the Mass Association of Agricultural Commissions (MAAC), we invite applications for year 2014 grants of up to $500 each for specific local Agricultural Commission projects. The grants are intended to help Agricultural Commissions play an active role in their communities, promote local farming, and carry out projects that help further their long-range plans.

To apply for a grant, your Agricultural Commission should complete the information in this form and submit to MAAC, c/o Pete Westover, westover03@comcast.net, or PO Box 67, Whately, MA 01093 post-marked by Thursday, July 31, 2014. Grant awards will be announced by August 30, 2014, and projects should be completed and a one-page summary report submitted to MAAC post-marked by April 30, 2015. Funds will be disbursed directly to the applicant town.

Documents developed for public distribution (including but not limited to maps, brochures, training manuals and the like) will include a statement crediting the Mass Society for Promoting Agriculture and MAAC for assisting with funding. MAAC reserves the right to reproduce and/or distribute documents funded by these grants. The AgCom developing these documents will be credited.

Examples of eligible projects are as follows:

• Establishing a website or webpage on town website
• Training workshops or town-wide agricultural forums
• Right-to-Farm road signs
• Creating and printing farm brochures & maps to promote local produce
• Projects and activities with local schools
• Surveys and inventories of farms and town land
• Starting or supporting community gardens or farmers markets
• Community education
• Town match for regional planning agency services
• Other projects that support local farming and raise the profile of the Ag Commission.