Applying for Education & Outreach Grants

Posted April 12, 2010

Special call for proposals on organic seed quality and crop breeding

OFRF is pleased to announce that funding is available for the fall 2010 grantmaking cycle thanks to a new partnership with the Clif Bar Family Foundation. Funding is available only for research or education/outreach projects in the categories of organic seed quality or crop breeding.

OFRF is now acccepting electronic applications
To streamline the application process, OFRF will now accept proposals via electronic submission. Follow the guidelines below and submit proposals by Wednesday, June 2, 2010:

Send electonic submissions to: jane@ofrf.org

Send mail submissions to: P.O. Box 440, Santa Cruz, CA 95061;

Express delivery submissions: 303 Potrero St. #203, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

Please call Jane Sooby, Grants Program Director, with any questions at 831-426-6606, or email jane@ofrf.org

Proposals submitted electronically or otherwise delivered after 12 AM Pacific Time Thursday, June 3, 2010, will not be considered for funding unless previously arranged with the Grants Program Director.

Funding opportunities from other sources may be available to you if you are a farmer, beginning farmer, landowner, extension educator/specialist, or researcher working on other topics. Please refer to the publication “Building Sustainable Farms, Ranches and Communities” online at http://attra.ncat.org/guide/, or contact Jane Sooby at jane@ofrf.org.

Applicant eligibility and proposal deadlines
The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) grants program is open to all applicants residing in Canada, Mexico and the United States. OFRF does not fund projects outside of North America. OFRF particularly encourages farmers, ranchers, researchers, and extension personnel to consider applying for funding.

The deadline for the next granting cycle is Wednesday, June 2, 2010.

Overview of the Education and Outreach Grants Program
OFRF will fund the development of educational opportunities and materials that are:

Pertinent to organic agricultural production or marketing; and
Aimed at organic producers and/or those considering making the transition to organic certification.

OFRF will also accept proposals to fund activities that promote information sharing among organic agricultural researchers and organic farmers and ranchers.

Topics
This request for proposals is restricted to education/outreach projects related to organic seed quality, organic seed production issues, or crop breeding in organic systems.

Fundable topics include but are not limited to: developing educational
materials on maintaining seed quality during processing and handling;
developing educational materials or opportunities for organic and
transitional farmers on small-scale seed harvesting, drying, and
processing methods.

OFRF will consider proposals to:

Funding levels
OFRF requests proposals which have objectives that are realistically achievable with a modest level of funding. OFRF will not fund a project for more than $15,000 per year. Matching funds from other sources and/or in-kind contributions from cooperators are encouraged but not required.

Proposal requirements
In order to fairly evaluate an increasing volume of grant proposals, OFRF is implementing the following policies:

OFRF now accepts electronic proposal submissions. To apply, send proposal as an attachment to an email in .wpd, .pdf, or .txt formats. OFRF will not accept proposals submitted in the body of an email.

All proposals must not exceed a maximum of 9 pages in length. Bibliographic references, investigators’ curricula vitae, and letters of support may be included as appendices to the proposal. CVs are limited to two pages each.

Proposals that surpass the page limit or otherwise do not meet these requirements will not be considered for funding.

The primary audience for your proposal is a hardworking group of volunteer board members who bring a wide range of expertise to the evaluation process. They review at least 30 proposals per cycle and appreciate proposals that are brief and to the point.

Number the pages of your proposal. Limit the proposal to no more than 9 pages. OFRF requires that 12-point font be used for all text in the proposal.

Begin your proposal with a ½-page abstract of the project and then address each of the 11 points outlined below under Proposal Content Guidelines.

The successful application will provide a clear rationale for the project and demonstrate that there is a significant need for the research project proposed. It is important that the objectives for your project be clear, well-structured, and succinct. Demonstrate why your project is necessary, present measurable outcomes, and explain what, specifically, you hope to accomplish.

Appendices (in addition to the 9-page maximum) may be used only for literature citations, a one- to two-page maximum curricula vitae for major participants, and letters of support for the project.

General budget information
OFRF funds can only be used for expenses directly relating to your original research project; general overhead and operational costs may not be included in your budget proposal.

Ordinarily, OFRF will not provide funding for:

faculty salaries;
labor or expenses not directly related to outreach/education activities;
permanent equipment;
international travel;
travel to professional meetings or publication in scientific journals.

Proposal content guidelines
Provide a ½-page summary of the project and its objectives, then address each of these points in order:

List the name, phone number, address, and electronic contact information for everyone involved in the project, including farmer/rancher collaborators. Make sure to identify the primary investigator for the project and the project title. State total amount of funding requested from OFRF. (Provide full budget with details later in proposal. See question 11.)

What are the specific objectives of this project? For each objective, present a measurable outcome that will indicate successful achievement of it. Describe how the project will foster the improvement and/or widespread adoption of organic farming practices.
Describe what kind of educational project you are requesting funds to develop. Is it a manual, training program, etc.? What high priority organic farming issues does it address? What steps have you taken to determine that the project you're planning has not already been done? OFRF requires that you conduct a review of the literature and existing educational resources on the subject matter and demonstrate how your project builds on existing work.
Who is your target audience? Please estimate the size of your audience. Please describe how your project meets the educational needs of your audience. Please describe why you are choosing this type of project to accomplish your objectives.
Describe the organic farming issues being addressed by this project. What organic farmers and/or ranchers have you consulted on the topic? Detail how organic farmers and/or ranchers have been involved in determining the objectives of the project and its planning.
How will you gather the information for this project? How will you involve farmer/rancher collaborators in developing the content? Please present a plan for peer review to assure the quality of your project.
How will you create the project? Please describe the specific steps you will take to organize production of the document, meeting, or other project.
How will you ensure that the project reaches organic farmers/ranchers or other end users? Please present a distribution plan targeting the end users or audience. Projects developed with OFRF funds must be available for free or for a minimal cost to cover production expenses. If a fee is charged for the final product, OFRF reserves the right to request that a certain number of free copies of it be provided to key information centers in order to make it broadly accessible to organic producers.
Provide a timeline or calendar of important milestones in completing the project. If the project will take more than one year to complete, please provide a year-by-year breakdown of the project timeline. State what the date of completion will be.
What are your qualifications to do this work? What previous experience do you have in preparing the type of project you are proposing to do? Include the qualifications of the researchers or producers with whom you are collaborating.
What is your project budget? Document other sources of support for the project, all matching and in-kind resources, and list other funding sought. Your budget should detail labor, materials, travel, and outreach costs, with justification for each. If applying for a multi-year project, please provide a breakdown of your budget by year.

Submission requirements
Make sure to supply the name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number for the principal investigator for the project.

Email your proposal as an attachment in either .wpd, .pdf, or .txt format to jane@ofrf.org. Please call or email if you need to make other arrangements for electronic delivery.

Paper option:
via U.S. Postal Service, mail to:
Grants Program
Organic Farming Research Foundation
P.O. Box 440
Santa Cruz, CA 95061

via express shipping, delivery address is:
303 Potrero St., Ste. 29-203, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

Telephone 831-426-6606

Proposals must be received in the OFRF office by midnight on the deadline. The upcoming deadline is Wednesday, June 2, 2010.

Proposals submitted electronically or otherwise delivered after 12 AM Pacific Time Thursday, June 3, 2010, will not be considered for funding unless previously arranged with Grants Program Director.
12-point font must be used for all text in the proposal.
Number the pages of your proposal and limit it to 9 pages.
Proposals that do not address organic farming issues or follow these guidelines will not be considered for funding.

The following criteria will be used to evaluate education and outreach proposals:

Presents clear learning or outreach objectives demonstrating that the project will foster the improvement and/or widespread adoption of organic farming practices. Specifies measurable outcomes that will indicate successful achievement of the objectives. Demonstrates how accomplishment of the objectives will be measured and evaluated. (15 points)
Proposes to create an education or outreach product or event that addresses a high priority organic farming issue, including production, social, or economic problems. Documents its uniqueness by presenting a review of similar resources and demonstrating how it builds on the existing body of work. (10 points)
Targets a high priority audience, defined as organic producers and/or those considering making the transition to organic certification; researchers; policymakers; and/or agricultural information providers. (10 points)
Clearly demonstrates that applicant is meeting the target audience’s educational needs and is developing materials or activities that will accomplish project objectives. (10 points)
Demonstrates meaningful producer involvement in identifying the problem addressed by the project and in carrying out the project, and provides compensation for producer participation. A peer review plan for quality control of the final project must also be included. (15 points)
Presents a well-organized plan for carrying out each element of the project. (10 points)
Presents a viable distribution plan for the educational product or proceedings of the event, making it/them available to organic farmers/ranchers or other clearly identified end users. (10 points)
Proposal is well-written and clear; follows the requirements in the Request for Proposals including page limits and font size; and presents a realistic time table for each of the project's activities. (10 points)
Describes the qualifications and skills of the applicants and all cooperators demonstrating that they are qualified to ensure the success of the project. (5 points)
Presents a well-justified and detailed budget appropriate to carrying out the project's objectives, showing any matching funds applied for or already secured. (5 points)

If your project is funded
OFRF requires that successful applicants sign a grant contract before initial payment of the grant award. OFRF will retain 10% of the total grant award until completion of the project, timely submission of a final report by the grantee, and a satisfactory evaluation of the project by OFRF staff. Evaluation involves analyzing whether or not the original project objectives were met, not the success or failure of a project.

If you have additional questions, contact Jane Sooby, OFRF's Grants Program Director, at 831-426-6606 or by email at jane@ofrf.org

Revised April 2010