Dairy Business Builder Grant Program

The Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA) is currently accepting applications for the Dairy Business Builder Grant. Donor Name: Center for Dairy Research State: Selected States County: All Counties Type of Grant: Grant | Reimbursement Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 10/23/2024 Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: Funding Information Reimbursement grants of up to $100,000 each (for eligible expenses) will be awarded. Eligibility Criteria  The following criteria must be satisfied to be deemed eligible for Dairy Business Builder grants: Applicants represent a new or existing dairy farm or dairy manufacturing or processing facility in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The goal of the DBIA grant program is to promote the dairy industry within the 11-state region. To that end, businesses must have a business address and manufacturing locations in one or more of the eligible states and be a for-profit entity. The final decision on a company’s eligibility is at the discretion of the DBIA leadership team. Applicants must have an EIN and be in good standing with the IRS at the time of the award announcement. Applicants must have no immediate family members working for the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) or the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) or serving on the grant review committee. Milk used in proposed grant projects to produce a beverage fluid milk product must meet Grade A requirements. All projects must meet all relevant state and federal requirements. Applicants who have previously received grant funding from the DBIA must demonstrate that this proposed grant project represents a different project or a different phase, sales stream, etc. Previous DBIA awardees’ grant status may be taken into consideration during the review process. Previous awardees with active DBIA grants applicants that are less than 50% reimbursed are not eligible for this grant cycle. Applicants must have a proposal that strives to meet at least one of the stated DBIA goals, which are: Dairy farm diversification through dairy product development, specialization, packaging and/or marketing strategies; Creation of value-added dairy products (use milk to manufacture cheese, yogurt, beverages, etc.); Enhancement of the value of a dairy commodity or by-product through product development or alternate use (e.g., converting liquid whey permeate for animal feed into a product for human consumption); Creation or expansion of a program for exporting dairy products. (In the Fall 2024 grant cycle, all applications related to Exports will be consider under the Dairy Industry Impact grant application. A company may submit an application to both the Dairy Industry Impact grant and the Dairy Business Builder grant in the same grant cycle for 2 different projects.) For more information, visit DBIA.