Farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools, and other stakeholders in urban and suburban areas can start or grow their operations with the help of competitive grants from the Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production (UAIP) program. Food access, education, business and startup costs for new farmers, and the creation of policies related to zoning and other needs of urban production are all possible areas to focus on in projects.
https://www.usda.gov/topics/urban/grants
Contain
The mission of Contain, Inc. is to help indoor growers of all kinds get approved for lease financing. They are useful for any greenhouse or plant factory, from the simplest hoop house to the largest container farms, warehouse farms, and high-tech greenhouses. They collaborate with businesses at all stages of development, from those just starting out to those that have been around for decades and are considering a nationwide rollout. Their low end for leases is around $75,000, and they don’t go any higher than that. Just fill out their short application, and they’ll get to work finding you funding.
Equipped
Equipped, a long-time player in the indoor farming industry is a project of fintech startup Contain, Inc. The team at Contain assists indoor farmers in securing suitable leases for their cultivation operations. It has partnerships with over 70 suppliers of machinery and 30 financial institutions. In response to requests from both equipment suppliers and farmers, the team at Contain developed Equipped as a marketplace for the exchange of used agricultural machinery. Using their platform’s artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive pricing tools, sellers can advertise their used or refurbished products. Vendors have the freedom to set their own prices and consider or reject any offers they receive. Interested parties can either “buy now” or submit an offer to the seller of a given listing.
Opportunity is Waiting
Investment in areas such as infrastructure, technology, equipment, and operational costs is necessary to launch and grow a vertical farming business. In order to make your dreams of vertical farming a successful reality, you will need to secure sufficient funding. Several options exist for locating sources of grant money for urban farms. Some common references are as follows:
Government Grants
The USDA has been awarding millions of dollars to farms in rural areas for decades. The government has just recently begun providing more funding for urban farms. It is anticipated that, as populations increase, more and more resources will be allocated to urban farms housed in climate-controlled structures such as greenhouses and warehouses.
The USDA provides funding for a number of grant programs, including the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) and the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP). State agricultural, environmental, and economic development agencies may offer research grants. If you’re looking for financial aid, the best place to start is with your city or county government.
Nonprofit Organizations
Sustainable agriculture, food security, and community development are common areas in which community foundations make grants. Be sure to investigate local foundations and their grant programs that cover areas outside of food production, as your project may fit into more than one of these categories.
Urban farming projects that aim to promote sustainability and biodiversity often receive funding from organizations that focus on environmental and conservation efforts. Find out about food justice, community building, and environmental sustainability-focused foundation grants. Urban farming and community-based food systems are the focus of grant programs at some charitable organizations. Corporate social responsibility programs help fund grassroots organizations like urban farms.
Crowdfunding
The nonprofit Around the Bends Farm obtained some of its initial funding through crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and GoFundMe. Create an engaging campaign that emphasizes your initiative’s positive outcomes.
Grant Databases
GrantWatch and Grants.gov, for example, feature extensive databases of available grants across a variety of fields, such as agriculture and community development. They’re paywalls, but they’ll make it easier to search for opportunities in specific geographies.
Community Programs
Find out if there are any neighborhood revitalization grants, such as those for urban agriculture, available from your city or a community development organization. Community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs in your area may be willing to provide grants or other resources to local growers in exchange for a partnership. There are lots of people who get funding for their businesses by registering as CSAs. The local community, farmers’ groups, and agricultural extension offices are all potential resources worth tapping into for networking and collaboration. They could provide information on additional grants or help with the application process.
Presentation
Before submitting a grant application, make sure you meet all of the criteria. Make sure your proposals are tailored to the funding source’s unique needs. You should be ready to provide evidence of the positive social, environmental, and economic effects of your urban farming project.
For more extensive projects, you may wish to highlight the contributions your enterprise will make to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals set forth by the United Nations. To name just a few examples, a vertical farm in a community can help with food security, health and well-being, responsible consumption and production, and water sustainability.