Organic Valley

CROPP's Farmers Advocating for Organics

Proposal

Full proposals should include detailed explanations of all information on project ideas/objectives provided. Please complete the FAFO Cover Letter and attach with your proposal when submitting your application. There is no required format for proposals, though they should be 2-8 pages and should include, but are not limited to, the following components:

  1. Applicant information including business, organization, location, and contact information, as well as the name, address, e-mail address, fax and telephone number of the principle contact person.
  2. Organizations involved in the project.
  3. Full presentation on why you feel your project is important and beneficial to the organic industry.
  4. Well-defined Project Goals and Purposes. Provide us with your major goals and/or expected outcomes. This section should clearly articulate the overall project and capture the essence of its importance. There are no restrictions on how you choose to present your project although we encourage you to clearly translate your enthusiasm for your project to the FAFO committee at this time.
  5. Planned project outreach.
  6. Detailed timeline.
  7. Detailed budget and explicit FAFO request.
      Budget Building Guidelines:
    • a. Matching Grants: The FAFO Committee strives to leverage FAFO dollars whenever possible, including matching in-kind contributions and financial grants. We strongly encourage applicants to seek matching grants, and ask that applicants report if other organizations are making contributions toward their project. FAFO will require letters of intent when funding matching gifts for funds not yet received. Please detail in your proposal how FAFO funds may be leveraged to achieve greater success.
    • b. Start-up Funding: FAFO also recognizes the importance of providing seed money to new projects and programs, so applicants without secured matching funds should not be discouraged from submitting proposals.
  8. Proposed reporting schedule.

Proposal Deadlines: Full Grant proposals are currently being accepted for the Spring 2010 grant cycle. Proposals are due by midnight on February 1, 2010. Funding decisions will be announced by May 1, 2010.

Small grant requests (under $5,000) may be submitted at any time and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Letter(s) of Reference: We do not require applicants to submit a letter of reference with a proposal, although the FAFO committee may require a letter following initial review.

Submitting Your Proposal

To submit your proposal, please attach one copy (MS Word or PDF format) with your cover letter to farmerfund(at)organicvalley.coop. Please note that additional supporting documents submitted with your proposal may not be submitted to the FAFO committee.

If you are unable to submit your proposal and cover letter electronically, please send one copy to:
Farmers Advocating for Organics
c/o Kate Shillin
One Organic Way
La Farge, WI 54639