On November 15, Western Colorado Alliance hosted a grant-writing workshop for farmers and ranchers. The event was the first of its kind for our Alliance and was intended to assist local farmers in accessing grants, many of which have come about as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The event, held from 4 until 7 pm at CMUTech, was emceed by Alliance member Sabra O’Crotty. Illene Roggensack of Third Sector Innovations and Jennie Auburt, Development Coordinator for Holy Family Catholic School, were on hand to offer instruction on how to determine if a grant is appropriate for specific farming projects. They recounted some important questions farmers should try to answer regarding the funding source, and examples of the types of questions a farmer should ask were provided.

There was also a panel of speakers including Daniel Read, Research Analyst at LOR Foundation; Ashley Garrison, Regional Water Plan Grant Manager for the Colorado River; and William Brownlee, Resource Team Lead for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resource Conservation Service in Grand Junction and Delta.

Colorado alone will be receiving tens of millions of federal investment dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act for USDA programs.

The event was a huge success with over 50 attendees showing up to learn! Dinner was provided. Here are some photos of the event, taken by Jessica Plance, Creative Content Producer for the Western Organization of Resource Council (WORC), our Alliance’s parent organization.

You can download a free resource document here. This document will:

• provide questions you can ask to determine if a grant is a good match for your farm
• offer suggestions for where to find grants
• present some basic truths about grant-writing
• relay information you’ll want to include in your grant-writing