Ready to take the guesswork out of grant writing?

Join Stepwell Strategies for an interactive webinar designed specifically for farmers and agricultural producers seeking federal funding opportunities. Using the USDA Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) as a real-world example, we’ll walk you through the essential components of a competitive grant application and share the proven strategies our team uses to develop successful proposals.

This session will demystify federal grant terminology, help you understand what reviewers are looking for, and provide practical tools you can immediately apply to your own funding opportunities

During the workshop, we’ll take a deep dive into:

• Craft a compelling narrative that clearly communicates your project’s goals, needs, and impact.
• Develop a strong work plan with realistic timelines, project activities, partner roles, and measurable outcomes.
• Build a budget that works by aligning funding requests with project objectives and implementation plans.
• Identify meaningful metrics and outcomes by establishing baseline data, selecting appropriate indicators, and creating an evaluation plan that demonstrates project impact and supports grant reporting requirements

Whether you’re new to grants or looking to strengthen your proposal development skills, you’ll leave with a clear framework for building stronger applications.

More Grant Writing Resources

A complementary self-paced grant writing course to enhance what you learn: https://www.stepwellstrategies.com/learn-as-you-go/intro

Presenters:

Stepwell Strategies: Founded on the belief that food, agricultural, and conservation organizations are at their best when they are connected to the resources they need and alignment around goals, Stepwell designs programs and projects that scale environmental impact through creative engagement, finance and funding approaches, and project design support.

Emily Hennessee, Director of Programs: Emily Hennessee, MPH, is a seasoned food systems leader and public health professional with over a decade of experience advancing local, sustainable food systems. She brings deep expertise in coalition-building, program design, and policy advocacy, with a commitment to improving health and economic outcomes through equitable food systems. She has extensive experience supporting Common Market, Global Growers Network, Georgia Organics, and The Good Food Institute.

Caroline Selle, Senior Specialist: Caroline is a farmer, development professional, and agricultural educator whose interests lie at the intersection of climate change, equity, and the land. Caroline works for the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network and is a certified nutrient management consultant. Her grant writing and development experience includes awards won at the federal, state, and local and municipal levels. She is especially proud of Future Harvest’s “Pick Your Own Consultant” program!

This training will be presented virtually via Zoom. A link will be provided upon registration.

Funding Acknowledgement:

Funding for this workshop was made possible by a grant/cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA

Cost Statement:

There is no cost to attend. Workshops are sponsored by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.