Farm Aid Information

A message from Farm Aid and RAFI-USA

Farm Aid funded Mini-Grant Applications

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As the impacts of COVID-19 continue to unfold day-to-day, we recognize that farmers across the country are facing extreme difficulties. To help lessen the financial toll of this outbreak, Farm Aid has launched the Farm Aid COVID-19 Farmer Resilience Initiative for emergency relief grants in the amount of $500 for farmers in Virginia**, South Carolina, Florida, and US Virgin Islands who have seen drastic impacts to their business and household as a result of COVID-19. At this time we are only able to offer this funding to farmers in these states or territories.

To see if you would be a good candidate for this funding and access the application, please read the following information:

 

Purpose of Funds: The mini-grant funding is $500 and is meant to lessen the immediate financial needs of farmers and their households. This means funds could cover expenses like food, medical bills, utility bills, etc. The funds are NOT meant to cover farm production expenses.

Eligibility: Currently we are only able to award funding to farmers in Virginia**, South Carolina, Florida, or US Virgin Islands.

**Note The following Virginia counties are NOT eligible for this grant: Alleghany, Bath, Bland, Botetourt, Buchanan, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Henry, Highland, Lee, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, Rockbridge, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe. 

Priority Applicants: Because available funds are limited, we will prioritize farmers who 1) are severely impacted by COVID-19 to the degree that they are struggling to cover ordinary expenses, 2) are not able to access other federally-funded emergency relief funds (i.e. PPP, EIDL), and 3) earn a substantial portion of their household income from farming. Because our funds are limited, we ask that farmers carefully consider whether this emergency relief grant applies to their situation.

Review Process: All applications will be reviewed by a third-party review committee. Applications will be ranked from highest to lowest financial need and funds will be distributed to those in the highest need first. We do not expect to be able to fund all applications submitted.

Application and Payment Process: The application for emergency relief funds is now live! There is an online survey (link below) or a word document version you can download, fill out, and email back to Jarred White at jarred@rafiusa.org. Applications are due June 15th, 2020 at 6pm. We expect to start distributing grant awards by early July.

*****Complete the Online Application Here****

****Or Apply with the Word Document Version Here & Attached ****

Questions?

If you have questions about the application or are having difficulty accessing the application, contact Jarred White at jarred@rafiusa.org.

Sincerely,

Tyler Whitley, MPH

Contract Ag. Program Manager
Rural Advancement Foundation International - USA
Tel: 919-621-0534
Email: tyler@rafiusa.org