Boost your farm or food business: Online grant writing course now available

Kelly McClelland<mccle100@msu.edu> and Wendy Wieland<wieland5@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension -

This free course is self-paced and available online to provide food and farm business owners with a better understanding of the grant writing process.

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Michigan food and farm business owners can now learn more about grant writing by completing the free Grant Writing for Farm and Food Entrepreneurs online course offered by Michigan State University Extension. This course, developed by the MSU Extension Community Food Systems team and the MSU Product Center, aims to provide food and farm business owners a better understanding of the grant writing process, as well as information about grant funding opportunities for their businesses.

Course participants will determine if grant writing is the best option for their business needs and identify relevant grants. The course will cover the common components of grant proposals and participants will write a complete grant proposal outline during the course. This grant proposal outline is a great starting point for a food or farm entrepreneur new to grant writing and can be easily adapted to apply for real-world grant funding opportunities.

Learn More About the Course

There are many current and upcoming grant opportunities for farmers and food businesses in Michigan. Grants available to support Michigan food businesses can be found in the Funding Sources for Food-Related Businesses resource from the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems. Participation in this online course is also recommended for food entrepreneurs who are preparing for upcoming funding opportunities from the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center.

Participation in this grant writing course is free and takes place on MSU's Desire 2 Learn (D2L) online platform. Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate of completion. Those interested can learn more at the Grant Writing for Farm and Food Entrepreneurs registration page.

MSU Product Center

Course participants may wish to become an MSU Product Center client to receive further business counseling services. Food and farm businesses can receive 1:1 business counseling from the MSU Product Center by visiting canr.msu.edu/productcenter, and select the "Become a Client" button. There is a one-time, non-refundable $100 fee to access these services.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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