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Eligible applicants include:

• Nonprofit organizations
• Producer organizations
• Government agencies
• Public and private institutions of higher education
• Private businesses and researchers

It should be noted that projects submitted by individual producers, for-profit businesses, or commercial entities are not eligible for a SCBG if the grant funds will be used for projects that will start or expand a business; solely benefit a particular commercial product; provide a profit to a single organization, institution, or individual; or result in unfair competition with private companies that provide equivalent products or services. Applications from such applicants must benefit a segment of a Minnesota specialty crop industry and not just the applicant organization. They also must provide knowledge that is transferable to other entities and incorporate a clear plan or disseminating the results of their research, production methods, etc., to provide value to the specialty crop industry at large.

Though most grants under this program are awarded to universities and nonprofits, the evaluation criteria treat all entities equally, as long as they are capable of performing the proposed work.

All applications will be reviewed and scored on the extent of external support from specialty crop growers, grower-level groups, processors, and distributors (stakeholders), and how the project may affect and produce measurable outcomes for the specialty crop industry segment and/or the public. These evaluation criteria are often more difficult for for-profit entities to demonstrate. Your proposal may be strengthened by including a plan to share results with a wide audience of beneficiaries, collaborate or partner with a nonprofit or academic organization to broaden your external support from stakeholders, or conduct outreach to collect data on project outcomes.

Producer-owned cooperatives, for-profit entities, and food hubs have been awarded SCBG funding, as seen in the list of past grantees. The program encourages projects from any applicant type that are provide broad industry benefit to Minnesota specialty crops.

We do accept applications from organizations outside of Minnesota, if the proposed project aligns with the grant program’s goals of improving the competitiveness of Minnesota’s specialty crops. For example, we’ve previously funded projects with North Dakota State University involving research on potatoes grown in Minnesota because Minnesota potato producers benefited from the project.

Yes, you may submit a proposal—it can be related to the current grant, but that is not a requirement. It is relatively common for us to fund projects that build upon previously funded work. SCBG will not fund duplicative projects.

Projects that stem from a previous grant need to describe how the projects should become self-sustaining or justify funding an ongoing project. Applicants requesting fund for a previously funded SCBG should indicate how the project complements and further advances the competitiveness of the specialty crop market sector and does not duplicate previous work. Ongoing projects must also list the specialty crop stakeholders, other than those involved in the project, who support the continuation of the project.

The application includes a section of questions for proposals that are related to previously funded efforts. These questions ask about how the proposed project differs from the previous project, the outcomes of the previous project, any lessons learned from the project, and how the lessons learned will be incorporated into the next project.