Citizen Help Center / Grant Help
Grant Help
Find federal opportunities, see where else to look, and study complete sample applications built around Grants.gov’s official funding categories.
We help you find federal opportunities and show you what strong applications look like. Applications are submitted on Grants.gov, not here. Always follow the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) you are applying to.
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Try keywords like community policing, after-school, or rural health — then open matching notices on Grants.gov to apply.
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Start here for Missouri state agency grants, RFPs, and Office of Administration procurement notices that never appear on Grants.gov.
Kansas Governor's Grants Program
Kansas state and federal pass-through grants administered through the Governor’s Grants Program — especially justice, victim services, and public safety.
USAspending.gov
See which agencies and grantees actually received awards in your field, so you can benchmark budgets and find past winners to study.
Candid / Foundation Directory
The primary directory for private foundation funding when federal and state sources do not fit your project.
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Local community-foundation grants for nonprofits serving the Kansas City metro — often faster and more accessible than federal programs.
Sample applications
One complete six-section example per official Grants.gov funding category. Copy, replace the bracketed facts with your data, and adapt to the NOFO.
Anatomy of a winning application
Lead with the problem, the solution, the ask, and who you are — in one page a reviewer can skim in sixty seconds.
Use local, quantified data and cite sources; never rely on national statistics alone.
Describe activities, partners, timeline, and who does what — vague verbs lose points.
Write SMART objectives with baselines, targets, and a measurement method for each.
Every dollar line should map to a narrative activity and a reasonable unit cost.
Prove you can deliver and that you will know — and report — whether it worked.
Scenario — Agriculture
A regional food hub nonprofit seeking $180,000 to expand cold-storage and small-farm aggregation serving 40 producers
Sample Agriculture Grant Application — Regional Food Hub Cold-Storage Expansion
Executive Summary
Heartland Aggregation Cooperative requests $180,000 over 24 months to expand refrigerated storage and small-farm aggregation capacity serving 40 produce growers within a 75-mile radius of [CITY, STATE]. The project will add [X] pallet positions of cold storage, a scheduled aggregation route covering [N] pickup sites, and food-safety training so farms can sell into institutional buyers that currently source outside the region. Total project cost is $240,000, including $60,000 match from [LOCAL FOUNDATION / COUNTY ARPA REMAINING / COOPERATIVE EQUITY]. Year-1 milestones include commissioning cold storage by Month 6, onboarding 25 farms by Month 9, and executing at least two institutional supply agreements by Month 12. Year-2 focuses on reaching 40 active producers, documenting case-level sales lifts, and publishing an open playbook for peer hubs. Need is concrete: growers report [X%] post-harvest loss without reliable cold chain, and school food-service directors cite inability to buy local at volume. Our approach pairs infrastructure with aggregation logistics and GAPs/food-safety coaching—not equipment alone. Governance rests with a Project Director reporting to the cooperative board, with a producer advisory committee meeting quarterly. Activities, SMART outcomes, and budget lines below are aligned line-for-line.
Statement of Need
Small fruit and vegetable farms in [COUNTY/REGION] are constrained less by production ability than by post-harvest infrastructure and market access. According to [INSERT LOCAL EXTENSION OR USDA NASS FIGURE], the region has approximately [N] farms under 50 acres producing fresh market crops, yet only [N] participate in wholesale channels. Producer listening sessions (N=[X] farms, [SEASON/YEAR]) identified three barriers: lack of nearby cold storage, irregular buyer pickup, and food-safety documentation required by schools and hospitals. Post-harvest loss estimates from participating growers average [X%] of marketable product in peak summer months when ambient temperatures exceed [X°F]. Meanwhile, institutional buyers in [CITY] purchase an estimated $[X] of produce annually, of which less than [X%] is sourced within [N] miles (source: [FOOD POLICY COUNCIL / BUY-LOCAL ASSESSMENT]). Without aggregation capacity, individual farms cannot meet volume, consistency, or delivery windows. Comparable Midwestern food hubs that added cold storage and scheduled routes report [X–Y%] increases in farm-gate revenue within two seasons (cite [EXTENSION CASE STUDY]). Our service area underperforms peer regions on local food procurement metrics tracked by [STATE DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE]. This project sizes infrastructure and routing to a realistic 40-farm cohort using objective criteria: current [GAP] status, acreage in specialty crops, and distance to the hub.
Project Narrative & Approach
Goal: Within 24 months, operate a reliable aggregation and cold-chain service that enables 40 small farms to sell wholesale volumes to at least three institutional or grocery buyers while meeting documented food-safety standards. Phase 1 (Months 1–3): Finalize equipment specifications and competitive procurement for refrigeration; hire a 0.75 FTE Aggregation Coordinator; execute MOUs with [EXTENSION OFFICE], [SCHOOL NUTRITION CO-OP], and [HOSPITAL FOOD SERVICE]; complete baseline farm survey (sales channels, volume, loss rates). Phase 2 (Months 4–18): Install and commission cold storage; launch weekly aggregation routes; deliver GAPs coaching cohorts (two cohorts/year, [N] seats each); pilot institutional deliveries with temperature logging. Phase 3 (Months 19–24): Stabilize routes at 40 farms; renegotiate multi-year buyer agreements; publish operations playbook; transition coordinator compensation toward fee-for-service recovery. Who does what: Heartland Aggregation Cooperative is fiscal lead and equipment owner. Extension provides training curriculum. Buyer partners commit minimum purchase trials in writing. Farms enroll through a transparent application scored on readiness and need—not political preference. Equity practices include Spanish-language materials, evening trainings, and sliding-scale aggregation fees for the smallest farms. Risks (equipment lead times, crop shortfalls) are mitigated with alternate vendors and flexible SKU planning.
Goals & Measurable Outcomes
Objective 1 — Infrastructure: By Month 6, commission cold-storage capacity of at least [X] pallet positions meeting [SPEC], verified by vendor commissioning report. Baseline: [CURRENT CAPACITY]. Owner: Project Director. Objective 2 — Farm participation: By Month 12, onboard 25 unduplicated farms into aggregation; by Month 24, reach 40 farms with at least one wholesale shipment each. Baseline: [N] farms currently aggregating. Source: hub enrollment database. Owner: Aggregation Coordinator. Objective 3 — Sales outcome: By Month 24, participating farms will increase wholesale sales through the hub by a median of [X%] versus each farm’s Year-0 baseline, documented via settlement statements. Owner: Fiscal Officer + Evaluator. Objective 4 — Food safety: By Month 18, at least [X%] of enrolled farms will complete GAPs training and maintain required logs for institutional sales. Source: training roster + audit checklist. Objective 5 — Buyer commitments: Execute at least three written supply agreements totaling ≥$[X]/year by Month 20. Objective 6 — Sustainability: By Month 22, aggregation fee revenue covers ≥[X%] of coordinator + utilities costs. Quarterly dashboards will flag any objective more than 10% off pace for corrective action.
Budget Justification
Total project cost: $240,000. Federal request: $180,000. Match: $60,000 cash from [SOURCE], documented in commitment letter. Personnel ($72,000 federal): 0.75 FTE Aggregation Coordinator ($[SALARY] × 75% × 24 months prorated in annual budget), 0.2 FTE Project Director for compliance and procurement oversight, fringe at [X%] organizational rate. Caseload target: ≤40 farms per coordinator with route assistance from seasonal drivers. Equipment ($78,000): Walk-in cooler / condensing unit / racking per attached quotes; temperature monitoring system; used box-truck refrigeration unit refurbishment if cost-effective versus lease. Procurement follows 2 CFR 200 and cooperative purchasing policies; Buy America clauses applied if the NOFO requires. Supplies ($8,000): Crates, labels, sanitation supplies, first-year software for inventory. Contractual ($12,000): Food-safety trainer and part-time evaluator. Travel ($3,000): In-region mileage for farm onboarding at [RATE]/mile. Other ($4,000): Utilities startup, insurance rider for stored product, outreach printing. Indirect ($[X]): [10% de minimis or NICRA]. Unit costs were benchmarked against vendor quotes dated [DATE] and peer hub budgets from [NETWORK]. No entertainment or unallowable lobbying costs are included.
Organizational Capacity & Evaluation Plan
Heartland Aggregation Cooperative is a [STATE]-registered cooperative / 501(c)(3) affiliate founded in [YEAR], with FY[YEAR] revenue of approximately $[X] and unmodified financial statements for the past [N] years. We currently operate a farmers market wholesale stall and a 10-farm pilot aggregation route, demonstrating operational familiarity before scaling cold storage. Key personnel: [NAME], Project Director ([CREDENTIAL], [N] years food-systems work), will devote 20% time; [NAME], Aggregation Coordinator (to be hired against posted qualifications including CDL preferred and food-safety experience); [NAME], Fiscal Officer experienced with federal drawdowns on [PRIOR USDA/AMS OR RURAL DEVELOPMENT AWARD]. Letters of commitment from Extension and two institutional buyers are attached. Evaluation: Pre/post farm sales and loss surveys; temperature-log compliance rates; buyer purchase volumes. Mid-term memo at Month 12; final report at Month 24 covering fidelity to route schedules, cost per dollar of farm sales facilitated, and lessons for replication. Monthly operations huddles review KPIs. Public dissemination includes an open playbook and a presentation to the [REGIONAL FOOD POLICY COUNCIL], advancing the agriculture funding category’s market-access goals beyond a single grantee.