GrowBoston Funding Opportunities
These are all of our past, current, and future funding opportunities. Take a look, see what we've offered, and let us know if you are curious about any opportunities specifically!
Are you working in urban agriculture and wondering what resources GrowBoston may have available to support your work? You have come to the right place! Read here about our past, current, and future funding opportunities. Take a look, see what we've offered, and let us know if you are curious about any specific opportunities.
As of spring 2024, funding opportunities that are subject to Chapter 30B regulations will be issued via Requests for Proposals. Funding opportunities that are exempt from Chapter 30B regulations will be issued via grant applications. Grant applications have more flexible advertising requirements and often have simpler applications. For more information on 30B, please visit this website.
This website will be updated regularly.
Current Funding Opportunities
Current Opportunities- Type: Grant
- Date Open: October 4, 2024
- Applicant Conference: Register for the October 16, 2024, at 11 a.m. on Zoom
- Deadline: October 25, 2024, at 4 p.m.
Description: GrowBoston is offering up to $176,000 to provide low-income gardeners with education and other resources to grow their own food sustainably. These grants are being made available from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and City of Boston operating funds. The purpose of this grant program is to expand food production by providing low-income and food-insecure residents with the necessary education to accompany the garden beds received through a separate ARPA-funded program. Organizations will be paired with raised bed recipients, along with one public facility to provide garden workshops to the public.
Recipients must be a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit or a community group with a nonprofit fiscal sponsor.
Future Funding Opportunties
Future OpportunitiesType: Grant
Date Open: Fall 2024
Description: GrowBoston will offer funds to assist food-producing organizations in strengthening their infrastructure and growing more food in the City of Boston.
Past Funding Opportunities
Past OpportunitiesType: Grant
Date Open: June 21, 2024
Deadline: July 31, 2024
Description: GrowBoston is offering grants of up to $100,000 to build raised garden beds for Boston residents. The purpose of this grant is to expand food production by providing low-income and food-insecure residents with access to garden beds at or near their home. Organizations will propose a number of raised beds they have the capacity to build between August 2024 and October 2026. More information and the application can be found below.
Type: Grant
Date Open: April 26, 2024
Date Closed: May 29, 2024
Description: GrowBoston is interested in exploring possible models for supporting Boston residents with the care and maintenance of fruit trees on their land. This mini-grant program is intended to provide funds for micro-pilots of such programs in the hopes that GrowBoston can learn from organizations with experience in this area and move towards a more robust investment in this work in the future. More information and the application can be found online.
Type: Grant
Date Open: April 30, 2024
Date Closed: May 24, 2024
Description: GrowBoston offered a total of $20,000 for community gardens and food forests to purchase tools, equipment, seeds, seedlings, compost, and other garden supplies for communal use. These supplies must be stored and maintained by the garden organization and made available to all gardeners. The purpose of this grant program is to invest in Boston’s community gardens and food forests and assist residents to grow their own food.
Type: Grant
Date Open: April 30, 2024
Date Closed: May 24, 2024
Description: GrowBoston offered a total of $15,000 for nonprofit organizations to support outreach and community-building events related to urban agriculture. These events must be open to the public and focused on engaging Boston residents in gardening, farming, food forest stewardship, beekeeping, henkeeping, consumption of locally-produced food, or other aspects of urban food production. Events should be planned for spring or summer 2024.
Type: Grant
Date Open: November 20, 2023 - May 1, 2024
Date Closed: Monthly reviews of submissions, with a final deadline of May 1, 2024.
Description: GrowBoston made up to $9,999 available to fund conceptual designs, renderings, community design processes, etc., for open spaces that include food production.
Type: Grant
Date Open: February 2024 - March 18, 2024, at 4:00 p.m.
Description: GrowBoston offered a total of $100,000, with individual grants up to $30,000 available for nonprofit organizations that will provide educational programming related to urban agriculture of all kinds.
Type of Funding: RFP
Date Open: January 8, 2024 - March 11, 2024
Description: The Grassroots Open Space Program FY24 Funding RFP is offering capital funding for the development and improvement of community based gardens, urban farms, and other open spaces. GrowBoston anticipates making awards of up to $150,000 to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations for projects which increase access for low- and moderate-income residents to local food growing opportunities and green space through capital improvements to community gardens and other open spaces which directly serve neighborhood residents.
The FY25 RFP will be available in early 2025
Type: Grant
Date Open: May 11, 2023 - June 2, 2023
Description: GrowBoston offered a total of $50,000 for nonprofit organizations to support outreach and community-building events related to urban agriculture. Organizations could apply for a maximum of $5,000 per event.
Type: Grant
Date Open: May 8, 2023 - June 2, 2023
Description: GrowBoston offered a total of $20,000 for community gardens and food forests to purchase tools, equipment, seeds, seedlings, compost, and other garden supplies for communal use. Organizations could apply for a maximum of $1,000 per garden site or food forest. The maximum grant amount for a single organization was $9,999.
Type: RFP
Date Open: April 3, 2023 - May 5, 2023
Description: GrowBoston offered two funding opportunities, one for raised bed gardens (up to $180,000 available) and one for gardening education (up to $30,000 available). Recipients of raised beds are low-income Boston residents who have experienced food insecurity within the past year. This funding opportunity is made possible through a partnership with the Office of Food Justice.
Type: RFP
Date Open: March 27, 2023 - April 27, 2023
Description: GrowBoston offered grants of up to $100,000 to support innovation in Boston-based food production. Eligible projects included, but were not limited to: hydroponics, aeroponics, vertical growing, and indoor growing.
A new innovative food production opportunity is planned for early 2024.
Type of Funding: RFP
Date Open: January 9, 2023 - February 24, 2023
Description: GrowBoston made up to $250,000 available through grants of up to $30,000 to organizations producing food in Boston. These awards were intended to assist food-producing organizations in strengthening their infrastructure and growing more food in the City of Boston.
These funds will be offered as a grant application in the future.