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All materials are provided as Microsoft Word documents.
Guidelines for a 2009 grant (shown at right)
MAERDAF 2009 Application. Use this Word document to complete your application and mail it in. This includes the formats to use for submitting budget projections
Read the brochure about the RMC's 2008 grant programs Helping Rural Maryland Grow and Thrive. (January 2008)
For information about the MAERDAF Program.
2009 MAERDAF Grants Announced
Applications must be received by July 7, 2008(April 21, 2008) - The Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development
Assistance Fund (MAERDAF), administered by the Rural Maryland Council, is now
accepting grant applications from rural-serving nonprofit organizations.
Established in 2000, MAERDAF provides grants to rural-serving nonprofit
organizations that undertake statewide and regional planning, economic and community
development, and agricultural and forestry education projects. MAERDAF also provides
grants to community colleges that support small and agricultural
businesses through enhanced training and technical assistance. Many
rural-serving organizations have been able to establish or continue programs and
projects that have had a significant and positive impact on Rural Maryland because
of the MAERDAF program.
- Eligible applicants must be a 501(c)(3) IRS tax designation or similar and serve a regional or statewide rural constituency. Trade associations are not eligible. The applicant does not have to be located in a rural area or in the area it serves.
- Eligible projects must serve more than one rural county and be completed between September 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009.
- Rural counties are: Allegany, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Kent, Queen Anne's, St. Mary's, Somerset, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico and Worcester.
- The maximum allowable grant is $50,000; however, most grants are between $5,000 and $25,000. The average grant is about $18,000.
- Priority is given to applicants that have secured matching funds from non-state sources; however matching funds are not required. Federal funds are considered matching funds.
- Only very minor changes in scope are allowed after a grant has been awarded. For instance, if a grant was awarded to purchase an item, a change in the brand or supplier may be approved.
- Unused grant funds must be returned to the Rural Maryland Council no later than June 30, 2009.
- Past and current grantees are eligible for a 2009 grant if they have met all the requirements of their previous grant agreements, including reporting deadlines.
- The MAERDAF Grant Review Board is comprised of representatives appointed by six state agencies. Its decisions are final. Those agencies are: the Rural Maryland Council, the Maryland Department of Agriculture, the Department of Business & Economic Development, Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Department of Housing & Community Development, and Department of Natural Resources.
- The MAERDAF Program is administered by the Rural Maryland Council; however, individual grants are administered by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Business and Economic Development, and the Department of Housing and Community Development.
- All applicants will be notified about the status of their application by late August 2008
- A complete MAERDAF Application Packet includes:
- A completed MAERDAF Application Form
- A project narrative no more than 5 pages long; and
- Appendix Attachments, A-E.
- Do NOT place your application materials in any kind of notebook, binder, folder, plastic sleeve, presentation portfolio, etc. Use a paper clip or binder clip to hold them together. Applications that come bound in something else are disassembled and sent to the Review Board, as is. (And they don't look very good that way.)
- Eight copies of the application packet must be received by close of business on July 7, 2008. Mail to: the Rural Maryland Council, c/o MAERDAF, 50 Harry Truman Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21114. Phone: 410-841-5772.
- UPS and FedEx deliveries, as well as hand delivered applications, are accepted during business hours only (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday)
- Don't let your application be declared ineligible on a technicality:
- Emailed applications are not acceptable and will be deemed ineligible.
- Handwritten applications are not acceptable and will be deemed ineligible.
- Applications received after the deadline are not acceptable and will be deemed ineligible. NOTE: The deadline is the day that applications must be received, not postmarked.
- Incomplete or illegible applications will be deemed ineligible. Double check your materials to ensure all attachments are included, all information is clearly written, all budget numbers add up; and all printing/photocopying is dark and legible.
- Applications without appropriate signatures may be deemed ineligible. Applications must be signed and dated by someone authorized by the organization to do so.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Vanessa Orlando at orlandVA@mda.state.md.us or
Sandi Fleischer at FleiscSL@mda.state.md.us
at the Rural Maryland Council, 410-841-5772.
Rural Maryland Council :: 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway :: Annapolis, MD 21401 :: 410-841-5772