Northeast SARE Professional Development Grant Program

Northeast SARE Professional Development Grant Program is a program from the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program that funds projects helping agricultural service providers improve the way they work with farmers through research-based education.

The program uses an outcome funding approach, requiring projects to produce measurable changes in behavior or practice among service providers—such as extension educators, consultants, agency personnel, and nonprofit staff—that support sustainable agriculture innovation. Awards typically range from $30,000 to $150,000 for projects of two to three years, with about five to six projects funded annually.

Eligible applicants are agricultural professionals and nonprofits serving Northeast farmers, including organizations in New Hampshire and throughout New England. The 2026 Call for Proposals cycle is now closed.

Professional Development Grant Program - SARE Northeast NE Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Innovations–Northeast SARE’s Newsletter Farming Community Grant Program Partnership Grant Program Research and Education Grant Program Professional Development Grant Program Graduate Student Research Grant Program Research for Novel Approaches in Sustainable Agriculture Grant Program SARE Outreach Publications Home » Grants » Get a Grant » Professional Development Grant Program Professional Development Grant Program The Professional Development Grant program funds projects that help service providers improve the way they work with farmers through research-based education.

These projects result in a change in practice or behavior by service providers that supports farmers in sustainable agriculture innovation. Northeast SARE’s definition of a service provider is a professional who assists farmers as part of their work. Typical audiences include extension educators, consultants, agency personnel, and not-for-profit organization staff.

Project audiences may include realtors, bankers, attorneys, or farmers who help other farmers. This grant program uses an outcome funding approach that directly connects project activities to measurable goals. If you are not familiar with how outcome funding works, we urge you to read Northeast SARE's Guide to Outcome Funding .

Central to this approach is the performance target , a statement that describes the changes in behavior or conditions among project beneficiaries (in this case, service providers) that are expected as a result from the proposed project.

Question and Answer Sessions Northeast SARE staff concluded their Q&A sessions on the four large grant programs: Farming Community, Professional Development, Research & Education, and Research for Novel Approaches. Here is a copy of the presentation shared. You can view the session recordings at the links below: We've compiled questions from all rooms into a running FAQ document.

This FAQ is a live resource that includes information from the introductory session and each breakout discussion. You can use Ctrl+F to search by keyword and browse tagged topics. For additional questions, please reach out to the Grant Administrator to the program you are interested in applying to, or northeast-large-grant@sare.

org if you are still unsure. Please do your best having reviewed the CFP and Appendices in their entirety before reaching out with questions, many things are answered there! Grant Administrators are seeing a high volume of inquiries, so please be patient with a response time as it may take several days.

Awards typically range from $30,000 to $150,000 and about 5-6 projects are funded annually. Typical project length is 2 to 3 years. The maximum project length allowed is 3.

5 years. Professional Development Grant Program Application Materials The Call for Proposals is now open. A completed budget using this template is part of the application process.

Budget Template will auto-download when clicked. A completed Grant Commitment Form is required as part of the application process. Form will auto-download when clicked Rubric for Professional Development Grant Program Proposals Professional Development Grant Call Closed The Call for 2026 Professional Development Program Proposals is closed.

Join our mailing list to stay up-to-date on future calls Which grant program is the best fit for my project? to take a quick side-by-side look at our grant programs.

Resource for Writing Citations An Educator's Guide to Best Practices for Adult Learning Information on how to prepare and submit a proposal Expectations for funded proposals Explanation of Budget Categories Organizational Definitions All Northeast SARE grants must fit within one or more of SARE's Legislative Priorities that encourage research to increase knowledge concerning agricultural production.

These priorities include: ● maintaining and enhancing the quality and productivity of the soil; ● conserving soil, water, energy, natural resources, and fish and wildlife habitat; ● maintaining and enhancing the quality of surface and ground water; ● protecting the health and safety of persons involved in the food and farm system; ● promoting the well-being of animals; and ● Increasing employment opportunities in agriculture.

Projects having a significant impact/impression on farmer's and farming communities is also critical. Impact can be economic, social, environmental etc. For example: How does the research support farmer/farming community livelihoods? How does the research build strong economies through local and/or regional trade?

How does the research improve crop production? For impact, replicability is important. Replicability is the ability of another farmer or farming community to obtain similar results when applying the same method (s).

In other words, another farmer can utilize the results of the research to benefit their farming practices of behavior. "Northeast agricultural communities honor the holistic connection among land, water, air, and all living beings. Agriculture in the Northeast is sustainable so that all farmers and farm employees can steward resources to ensure sustainability, resilience, economic viability, and a high quality of life."

Innovation is defined as the development or adoption of new concepts or ideas and the successful exploration of new ideas. Ideation is the basis of creativity. The process of creative ideation develops new concepts; Innovation applies them.

Creativity can only emerge when an innovator takes the idea and puts it into practice. Innovation can also be social and develop and implement novel and effective solutions to meet social and environmental challenges. The results should improve the welfare and well being of individual farmers and farming communities and reproducible.

Within the scope of Northeast SARE, examples can include, but are not limited to: ● The introduction of a new behavior/practice, one with which farmers are not yet familiar ● The introduction of an improved or better agricultural behavior/practice, which may not be new, but is an improvement upon what occurred before. ● The opening of a new market that has not been entered previously, whether this market has existed previously.

● A new source of supply of materials or goods, again irrespective of whether this source already exists or whether it has first to be created. ● Improved organizational structure and/or capacity.

Northeast SARE encourages innovative solutions to challenges in farming and food systems in the Northeast USA, including but not limited to the areas of: Economic and social sustainability Projects related to climate and/or bioenergy work that provide direct or indirect benefits to farmers and ranchers Northeast SARE does not support: Educational programs for the general public General public awareness campaigns about agriculture and nutrition Community or school gardening initiatives Please contact Northeast SARE PDP grant administrators, Katie Campbell-Nelson and Nevin Dawson, at Northeast-pdp@sare.

org . or call 413-834-1090. SARE Projects Application and Reporting 140 Kennedy Drive, Suite 202 South Burlington, VT 05403 US Department of Agriculture This work is supported by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program under a cooperative agreement with the University of Maryland , project award no. 2024-38640-42986, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture .

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy. Northeast SARE is hosted by the University of Vermont . © 2026 Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education