Regional Group: Northeast

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Northeast Funding Opportunities

Finding money for kids’ gardening work can be half the work! There are many national/regional places to start looking for grants in the Community Funding Library, but there is so much more funding out there to specifically support Northeast projects, programs, and organizations.

This is an open space for folks to collaborate and share funding opportunities as they come across them. If you find a grant that might be useful to other kids’ gardening programs, add it here!

NORTHEAST FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

(Note: Use the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet to navigate between states.)

Grant Writing Tips

Writing a grant can feel daunting, and the process can be exhausting… but let’s try to make it a bit easier!

AI can be a helpful tool, but it shouldn’t be where you start. Foundations are increasingly seeing applications that lose the voice, personality, and purpose of the organization when AI does too much of the writing.

  • What is your organization doing that is different or needed in your community?

  • What makes your project unique?

  • What measurable outcomes can you show?

  • What will you actually do with the money?

  • Who will benefit, and how will you know?

Be human. Be clear. Tell the story of your project.

A few places to start:

  • Connect with your state’s university Extension program. Extension educators can be a rich source of research, data, and general knowledge to support your proposal.

  • Collect your own data. Gather both quantitative data (participants served, gardens created, pounds of food grown, etc.) and qualitative data (stories, testimonials, observations, community feedback).

  • Connect the funding request to a real need. Clearly explain what you want to do, why it matters, and what the funding will make possible.

  • Be realistic. Make sure you can actually follow through on what you are proposing. A smaller, achievable project is better than an ambitious project you cannot sustain.

  • Keep your voice. Grant reviewers want to understand the people, communities, and programs behind the application—not read something that sounds like it was generated by a machine.

  • Keep a copy of your application responses. Many applications ask similar questions. Keep a document of questions and responses to copy and tweak for other applications so you're not starting from scratch each time. 

More Grant Writing Resources

NIH: General Grant Writing Tips

KidsGardening: Grant Writing Questions Guides, Tips, & Worksheets