MAC Mini-Grant Guidelines

The mission of Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc. (MAC) is to foster an awareness of and learning about the food and agriculture industries and the economic and social importance of agriculture to the state, nation, and world. Founded in 1984, MAC has helped more than 13,000 teachers and educators bring agriculture to life for their students by making connections between everyday foods, fibers, and other agricultural products and their agricultural roots. We also assist educators in finding creative ways to tie agriculture-related lessons to the MA Curriculum Standards.

Each year MAC funds a number of agriculture-related project proposals from teachers, schools, and farms working with schools. Because we are a small, nonprofit organization, those projects that most closely fit our mission receive priority in the decision-making process. Grants are awarded three times a year. Deadlines are April 1, September 1 and November 1. Most awards are between $300 and $500. The maximum possible award is $1500. Since 1994, MAC has given more than $195,000 to 253 projects planned and carried out by educators across the state. These have included reading programs focused on agricultural themes, projects that explore new technologies, writing and video projects, school-wide agricultural days trips to farms, purchase of books and classroom materials such as incubators to support agricultural lessons, and more.

---

Goals of the Mini-Grant Program:

The mini-grant program aims to fund agriculture-related education projects that:

• --- • Connect students to the local and sustainable food movement.
• --- • Provide students with hands-on experience of good agricultural practices.
• --- • Develop instructional materials and methods for teaching science through the lens of agriculture.
• --- • Enable students to see connections between agricultural practices and human health, nutrition, environment, community, and sustainability.
• --- • Integrate sustainable agricultural literacy into science, math, social studies, language and literature, and arts curricula.
• --- • Promote an understanding of the challenges faced by present-day farmers.
• --- • Introduce ideas in creative ways that promote agricultural literacy both inside the classroom and beyond it.
• --- • Increase knowledge and understanding of the contributions of agriculture in Massachusetts to the people of the state, the nation, and the world.

---

Criteria for Application and Procedure

Applications must include the following:

A) A title page that includes the title of the project, name of project leader, name of school/organization and an abstract that summarizes the project in 150 words or less.

B) A detailed description of the project in narrative form, two pages maximum, that includes the following information:

• --- • Title of project
• --- • Person responsible for the project and grant money
• --- • Name of school/organization that will receive the funds
• --- • Contact information including; name of project leader (if different from the applicant’s name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, amount requested in proposal, and total cost of project
• --- • Objective of the project
• --- • What/whom the project will benefit
• --- • Number of students and age level that will be reached by the project
• --- • Start and end date of the project
• --- • A project time line
• --- • Co-sponsors and/or project partners
• --- • How the project will be sustained over the long-term
• --- • The applicant’s qualifications for success with this project
• --- • Explanations regarding how:
• -------- a) The project addresses the goals of MAC and the goals of the mini-grant program
• -------- b) The project promotes a better understanding of agriculture, farming and the role of farmers in the 21 st century
• -------- c)The Massachusetts curriculum frameworks are integrated into the project (Provide examples.)

C) A one-page, Itemized budget statement which includes:

• ----- 1) Amount requested from MAC
• ----- 2) Anticipated total cost of the project
• ----- 3) Matching funds, if any, obtained from other sources

Please note: Mini-grants may not be used to fund salaries or honorariums, computer equipment, or expenses normally incurred by an organization. Projects that involve cost-sharing and/or collaborative ventures are strongly encouraged. Please do not send photos or DVDs. Proposals must be submitted by email to massaginclassroom @ earthlink . netwith the subject heading “Mini-Grant.”

---

Deadline for submission of proposals:

April 1, September 1 and November 1.

---

Mini-Grant Review Process

To be considered, a proposal must be received by the deadline for the cycle for which the application is being submitted. Every item on the list of application criteria must be clearly addressed in the proposal. All projects must be completed in the 12-month period subsequent to receipt of the grant.

The Mini-Grant Committee will review all grants, make funding decisions, and notify applicants within eight weeks from the date the mini-grant is submitted. Upon acceptance of a proposed project, grant recipients will receive 60% of the grant award. The balance of the grant award (40%) will be sent to the recipient when the Mini-Grant Committee has received the final report for the project.

Each mini-grant award-winner will be assigned a MAC board member liaison who will provide assistance as needed for the duration of the project.

---

Post Project

Upon completion of the project each grant recipient must:

• --- • Submit a written evaluation that includes a descriptive summary of the project.--- • Tse the MAC logo on all publicity about the project.
• --- • Include the statement "Program funded in cooperation with Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc." on all project documents.
• --- • Furnish copies of curriculum designed (or used), if applicable.
• --- • Provide photographs or other audio/visual materials, if applicable.

 

Please e-mail all correspondence to massaginclassroom @ earthlink . net.