Completed applications and additional required documents must be submitted electronically to rfsi@mdac.ms.gov.
Grant applications will open January 8, 2024 and will close March 15, 2024 at 5pm CST. Applications will be reviewed and scored by an independent panel.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to properly fill out the PDF forms. Please download for your system from Download Adobe Acrobat Reader: Free PDF viewer.
To function properly, the RFSI Equipment Grant Application (PDF) and RFSI Infrastructure Grant Application (PDF) must be saved then opened from your computer. For tutorial, please follow the instructions in this video (YouTube).
Also available is the RFSI Listening Session Webinar from February 2, 2024
Equipment Grant
Simplified Equipment-Only Grants will range in value from a minimum award of $10,000 and a maximum award of $100,000 and do not require cost sharing or matching. The Simplified Equipment-Only Grant is a fixed price grant, meaning it will fund only equipment purchases (and not associated facility upgrades, staffing, or other costs), and the amount awarded will be equal to the cost of the equipment up to $100,000. Funds will be awarded no earlier than July 1, 2024, and projects must be completed no later than January 30, 2026.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to properly fill out the PDF forms. Please download for your system from Download Adobe Acrobat Reader: Free PDF viewer.
RFSI Equipment Grant Application (PDF)
Infrastructure Grant
Infrastructure Grants will range in value from a minimum award of $100,000 and a maximum award of $3,000,000. Funds will be awarded no earlier than July 1, 2024, and projects must be completed by May 31, 2027. Costs must be consistently charged as either indirect or direct costs but may not be double charged or inconsistently charged as both.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to properly fill out the PDF forms. Please download for your system from Download Adobe Acrobat Reader: Free PDF viewer.
RFSI Infrastructure Grant Application (PDF)
Verification of Match
Infrastructure Grant recipients are required to contribute 50% of the total proposed project cost as a match to federal funding. This applies to all applicants except those who qualify for the reduced match. For historically underserved farmers and ranchers (USDA), or for other businesses that qualify under Small Business Administration (SBA) categories of small, disadvantaged business, women-owned small business, or veteran-owned small business, the required match funding contribution or cost share is reduced to 25% of the project cost. MDAC will require that applicants self-certify in their Infrastructure Grant applications to be eligible for this reduced match.
Evidence of Critical Infrastructure
Evidence of Critical Infrastructure is required if critical resources and/or infrastructure are necessary for the completion of the proposed grant project. Applicants must submit evidence that critical resources and infrastructure necessary to support the initiation and completion of a project are in place. Critical resources and infrastructure can be facilities, land, structure, use of city street/parks, shared-used kitchen, and/or other resources that are essential for the proposed project activities. Land, structures, and other critical resources must be in place and in working condition at the time of application submission. Applicants are required to submit a letter indicating the critical resources that are necessary for initiation and completion of the project and certify that they are in place and committed prior to the start date of the project using the following letter template. The letter must be submitted with your application.
