Financing resources for cooperative businesses include grants, loans, guaranteed loans, revolving loan funds, equity capital, and crowd sourcing. Funding can come from Federal agencies, private-public partnerships, lending institutions, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), foundations, and other organizations. If your funding opportunity is not represented here, please contact us at CoopInfo@usda.gov.
CHS Foundation
The CHS Foundation provides grants for cooperative education and university funding.
Cooperative Development Foundation
The Cooperative Development Foundation supports cooperative education, development, research and technical assistance, and disaster recovery. CDF also offers grant opportunities.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) - Community Development Block Grant
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program provides annual grants on a formula basis to states, cities, and counties to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service - Acer Access and Development Program
The Acer Access and Development Program (Acer) offers grants to support the efforts of States, tribal governments, and research institutions to promote the domestic maple syrup industry. Supported activities include: promotion of research and education related to maple syrup production; promotion of natural resource sustainability in the maple syrup industry; market promotion for maple syrup and maple-sap products; encouragement of owners and operators of privately held land containing species of trees in the genus Acer to initiate or expand maple-sugaring activities on the land; or to voluntarily make the land available, including by lease or other means, for access by the public for maple-sugaring activities.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service - Dairy Business Innovation
The Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives support dairy businesses in the development, production, marketing and distribution of dairy products. DBI Initiatives provide direct technical assistance and grants to dairy businesses, including niche dairy products, such as specialty cheese, or dairy products derived from the milk of a dairy animal, including cow, sheep and goat milk.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service - Local Food Promotion Program
The Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) funds projects that develop, coordinate and expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. Grants can be used for the planning stages of establishing or expanding a local and regional food business enterprise or to improve or expand a food business that supports locally and regionally produced agricultural products and food system infrastructure by performing feasibility studies, market research, training and technical assistance for the business enterprise and/or for producers working with the business enterprise. A 25% match is required. Eligible entities may apply if they support local and regional food business enterprises that process, distribute, aggregate, or store locally or regionally produced food products.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service - Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant
The Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant (MPIRG) Program assists currently operational meat and poultry slaughter and processing facilities in obtaining a Federal Grant of Inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) or the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA); or to operate as a State-inspected facility that is compliant with FMIA or PPIA under a respective Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) program.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service - Regional Food System Partnerships
The Regional Food System Partnerships Program (RFSP) supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. The program focuses on strengthening the viability and resilience of regional food economies through collaboration and coordination. RFSP supports public-private partnerships that plan and develop relationships between local and regional producers, processors, intermediaries, and institutional markets or institutional food service operations through local and regional producers and local and regional food systems. RFSP offers three types of projects: 24-month Planning and Design, 3-year Implementation and Expansion Projects, and Farm to Institution. The funding for each project ranges from $100,000 to $1,000,000.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service - Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety
The Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety (SPRS) Block Grant Program provides grants to eligible state agencies and territories to support seafood processors, including at-sea processing vessels, to respond to coronavirus, including for measures to protect workers against COVID-19. Eligible entities include the State agencies, commissions, or departments in eligible States that are responsible for agriculture, fisheries, wildlife, seafood, commercial processing, or related commerce activities within the State. AMS will make only one award per State or territory; agencies within the State must coordinate if more than one agency wishes to implement this program.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service - Sheep Production & Marketing Grant
The Sheep Production & Marketing Grant Program seeks to develop solutions for practical problems on a national basis and address the needs of the entire sheep industry, while focusing on the measurable benefits for sheep producers, encouraging partnerships among other sheep industry organizations, and reducing duplication of effort among participating organizations.