CDFA ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE BEGINNING FARMER AND FARMWORKER TRAINING AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM

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SACRAMENTO, June 1, 2022 - The Beginning Farmer and Farmworker Training and Workforce Development Program (BFFTP) is a new grant program, funded through the 2021 California general fund budget. This program will provide support to organizations to enhance or expand beginning farmer and farmworker training/apprenticeship programs. The overall goal of the program is to ensure that resources are dedicated to strengthening support for socially disadvantaged and/or beginning farmers and ranchers in the first ten years of business, and farmworkers who need job skills training to provide job sustainability. A secondary goal of the program is to build and grow regional networks to ensure organizations can provide adequate support and training opportunities for those most underserved in the agriculture industry.

Applicants may apply for two types of awards in this program: program planning and curriculum development grants of up to $100,000; or program implementation grants up to $1,000,000 for beginning farmer training and farmworker training and workforce development programs.

Applications will be accepted through August 1, 2022, at 5pm PST.

Grant Application Opens    June 1, 2022
Grant Application Closes    August 1, 2022 @ 5 PM PST
Review Process                  August/Sept 2022
Award Announcement        September 2022
Grant Term Begins             November 1, 2022
Grant Term Ends                1-Year Projects: October 30, 2023
                                                   2-Year Projects: October 30, 2024

The following entities are eligible to apply for this program: Non-profit organizations, Tribal governments, and community colleges. Community colleges are eligible as co-applicants with local partner organizations. Entities applying must have demonstrated expertise in assisting socially disadvantaged, small-scale farmers, farmworkers and in workforce development programs.

The 2022 BFFTP request for applications (RFA) can be found on the program website www.cdfa.ca.gov/BFFTP.

The grant application can be found here: 2022 BFFTP Grant Program Application

Applications will be accepted via Amplifund. All applicants will need to register for an Amplifund account. To register, please follow the Amplifund prompt for new users in the 2022 BFFTP Grant Program Application link above. Additional training videos and materials can be found on the BFFTP website: Amplifund Portal Resources.

Amplifund will host an Applicant Portal Training session via Zoom on how to register for an account and answer questions on the platform. Please follow the link below to attend this session. This session will be recorded and uploaded to the BFFTP Program website.

Amplifund Applicant Training Session 1: Monday, June 13th 1pm-2:30pm.  To attend this session, click on this link.

CDFA’s Farm Equity Office will hold two informational sessions on the grant program during the application period. These sessions will be offered via Zoom. CDFA staff will review the components of the application and answer questions about the application or the process during this time. Sessions will be recorded and available on the BFFTP website after the session.

Session 1: Wednesday June 15th 1pm-2:30pm. To register for this session, click here.
Session 2: Wednesday June 29th 1pm-2:30pm. To register for this session, click here.

CDFA will be seeking external reviewers for the 2022 BFFTP Grant Program Technical Review Committee. Information on the guidelines and how to apply to the 2022 BFFTP reviewing committee will be made public via the BFFTP program website and a press release on June 15th, 2022.

For more information on the 2022 BFFTP Grant Program, please contact: carmen.carrasco@cdfa.ca.gov

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