Business Enhancement Grants

Grant Overview 

Below is the most up to date information about the upcoming round in fall 2024 (the fiscal year 2025 round). The specific applicant and project eligibility and application questions are subject to change up to the application opening date on October 18.

• Award amounts $10,000 - $50,000
• Up to $575,000 is available to award
• Project types:
  • Market development – professionalizing a marketing and/or branding approach to new or expanded markets; hiring a professional marketing/branding contractor to develop strategy and/or content; implementing the strategy and/or content developed by the contractor (e.g., branding, website, or social media development)  
  • Research and development – testing new systems or technology  
  • Infrastructure development – project-specific planning, permitting, engineering or architectural plans; building and equipment costs, including for labor
  • Workforce training and development – technical skill training for staff, business management training, and/or business succession planning, including hiring a consultant to support any of these processes 
• Purchase of land or animals are NOT eligible. Farmworker housing projects are NOT eligible.
• WLEB will NOT fund water quality or soil health equipment and infrastructure projects that are eligible for funding under existing state programs. For more information on Water Quality focused funding opportunities, see the Water Quality Assistance Programs Overview. 
• Starting in FY 2025 (the fall 2024 grant round), there is no longer a match requirement for this grant. If you apply for a project that costs more than the grant amount you are applying for, you must demonstrate that you can pay for the parts of project that grant funds won't cover. 
• Applicants should expect to include business financial statements in their application, including a profit & loss statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. Details about the timeline each statement should cover, along with sample statements will be outlined in the application.
• Applicants are not required to submit a business plan, but applicants that have a business plan are welcome to submit it.

Eligibility

• Land-based farms of any size and sector may apply EXCEPT for hydroponic, indoor mushroom, indoor marijuana, or aquaculture farms.  
• Maple sap and sugarmaking operations, logging businesses, and sawmills are all eligible.
• Value-added food and fiber businesses that source at least 50% of raw ingredients grown in Vermont OR are applying for a Working Lands grant to significantly increase use of ingredients grown in Vermont are eligible. This means that businesses that sell “unique food products” are not eligible unless the business will use grant funds to increase production of raw ingredients in Vermont. Unique food products are defined as processed food made from ingredients that are not regularly produced in Vermont or are not available in sufficient quantities to meet production requirements. Please make your sourcing clear within the application.
• Secondary forestry businesses are eligible if at least 50% of the wood they use is grown in the Northeast OR the Working Lands grant project will significantly increase use of wood sourced from the Northeast. Please make your sourcing clear within the application. 
• Applicant organizations/businesses must be based in Vermont. Businesses or organizations headquartered outside of VT may be eligible if the project or service being proposed is 100% focused on Vermont’s working landscape and businesses. Please contact Clare.Salerno@vermont.gov to discuss eligibility for out-of-state applicants.
• All structures are eligible (e.g., Partnerships, Limited Liability Corporations, Sole Proprietorships, Cooperatives, Corporations, S Corporations, L3Cs, B Corporations, and/or non-profits that are involved in the support of production of agriculture and/or forest products).
• All legally incorporated enterprises must be registered with the VT Secretary of State. Sole proprietors using a business name other than their own name must have their assumed business name (formerly known as a trade name) registered with the Secretary of State. 
• Previous Working Lands Standard Business and COVID-19 Response Business Development grantees are eligible to re-apply for funding during Fiscal Year 2025. Previous Working Lands Supply Chain Impact, Market Level Infrastructure Impact, ARPA Primary Producer, or Meat Slaughter and Processing Development Grants are eligible to apply for further Working Lands funding after three years, meaning that Fiscal Year 2022 and earlier grantees are eligible to apply this year.

How to Apply

1. Review the full Request for Applications (FY 2024 linked as a sample - all the information in this sample is subject to change) for the complete details on eligible projects/applicants and the full application process.

2. Register in WebGrants (may take up to two business days).
3. Visit the Working Lands application frequently asked questions for resources and to get support on your application. 
4. Complete your application in WebGrants using our Application Guide.

Key Dates and Deadlines

• October 18, 2024: Request for Applications (RFA) released and application opens for submission
• Mid-October 2024: Applicant webinar with Q&A. View the slides and recording.
• December 12, 2024: Application deadline
• Late February 2025: Applicants notified of funding decisions
• March 2025: Grantee documentation due
• April 2025: Estimated project start date