Thank you for your interest in the 2011 request for applications from the Wallace Healthy Urban Food Enterprise Development (HUFED) Center. To apply for a grant from the Wallace HUFED Center, please download and review the Guidelines for the 2011 Request for Applications (RFA), and submit your Letter of Interest (LOI) no later than Friday, January 14, 2011, 4pm Eastern. Please ensure that you download the correct LOI template for the grant type you wish to apply for.

Materials to download

• Guidelines for the 2011 Request for Applications (PDF)
• Letter of Interest Templates:
  • Feasibility Study Template (Word)
  • Small Enterprise Template (Word)
  • Large Enterprise Template (Word)

We also held a special outreach webinar on Wednesday, January 5, 2011. Applicants were invited to attend a webinar where Wallace HUFED Center staff provided an overview of the RFA, walk through the submission process, and answer many questions our audience had. Click here to watch the archive of the webinar and download the presentation slides.

For more information

• Read about Year 1 Wallace HUFED Center Grantees
• If you additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact the Center. We may be reached via email (HUFED@winrock.org), or by telephone via our help line: (703) 531-8810. When calling the help line, please make sure to clearly state your name, question, and telephone number where we may best reach you.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

GRANT TYPES

What’s the difference between small and large enterprise grants?

Small enterprise grants address specific bottlenecks and are smaller in scope compared to large enterprise grants. For example, small enterprise grants may address a specific bottleneck such as the lack of staple crop processing in a region. Small enterprise grants are also more suited for support for infrastructure costs (such as equipment for processing, refrigeration, and cooling) or minor capital improvements. If you have a retail business, food service operation, or similar, the small enterprise grant is probably most applicable to you as you can request funds for ways to carry fresh foods into your stores or operations.

Large enterprise grants tend to be more suited for addressing multiple objectives and working regionally, thus requiring more coordinator among multiple players in activities such as aggregation and distribution of healthy and fresh foods.

For large enterprise grants, is that $60,000 per year, or $60,000 total for all two years?

Large enterprise grants may be awarded a maximum of $60,000 over the length of the entire project. Any applications that request more than $60,000 will be considered as not compliant with the Grant Guidelines and will be not be forwarded for a review.

What is a feasibility study, and why are they done?

A feasibility study is conducted to provide further answers on whether or not a project idea should move forward. While feasibility studies are typically conducted before business planning, the Wallace HUFED Center opportunity allows the feasibility to include aspects of business planning and market research to aid enterprises in making the decision on whether or not to move forward. For more information, Iowa State University has created a great resource on feasibility studies, which can be found here: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/html/c5-65.html

BUDGET

Are indirect costs allowed?

Yes, indirect costs are allowed. Please note that the total cost of the award (i.e., direct and indirect costs) must not exceed $25,000 for small enterprise grants and feasibility studies, and $60,000 for large enterprise grants.

Can I include additional information on leveraging outside matching funds in my LOI?

Yes. We encourage applicants to match or leverage funds, but it is not required.

ELIGIBILITY

Is HUFED only looking to fund projects located in urban areas?

No, interested applicants with projects located in rural areas are also encouraged to apply. Eligible applicants must be located in the United States in either urban or rural locations.

Are multiple submissions from the same organization allowed in the same year?

No, multiple submissions from the same applicant organization are not allowed.

In addition to 501(c)(3) organizations, are 501(c)(5) for labor, agricultural or horticultural organizations also eligible to apply?

Yes.

Can K-12 schools apply?

Yes.

What if my application has a same collaborating agency as another application?

We encourage synergies among organizations working in the same region. It is ok that some agencies collaborate with multiple applicants; however, we request that each application be distinct in project area (i.e., two organizations may not submit the same project idea to have greater chances of receiving funding.)

SUBMISSION

Can I start filling out the online form and come back to it later to upload my narrative?

Unfortunately, the online form does not have the proper support for applicants to save their work and come back to it later. As such, we recommend that you first familiarize yourself with the form and come back to the form when you are ready to submit.

OTHER

What types of Technical Assistance (TA) will be offered?

The Wallace HUFED Center will be proactive with grantees, working with them to identify and assess their specific TA needs. Grantees may use an existing TA provider that the grantee has a working relationship with. For grantees who do not know of a specific provider, the Wallace HUFED Center can assist with the selection of a provider through our vast network of contacts, including those from the National Good Food Network, as well as providers suggested by our Council.