Women's Business Development Council Ignite Grant Applications due

The Connecticut Milk Promotion Board (CTMPB), administered by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, is pleased to announce up to $700,000 available in funding opportunities for programming in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. These opportunities align with their core focus which includes the vision of increasing purchases and expanding the access of milk and dairy products to consumers, retailers, institutions, and other applicable outlets. The funding is intended to support the CTMPB’s mission to develop, coordinate, and implement promotional, research, and other programs designed to promote Connecticut dairy farms and the consumption of milk and dairy products.

CTMPB has designated up to $700,000 available for two years of programming and expects to award contracts up to $275,000 each for consumer nutrition education and multi-media marketing, and $150,000 for farmer engagement programs.  The media marketing RFQ was released earlier this year to vendors on the state marketing list and responses are currently being reviewed. The funding opportunities currently open are listed below:

• Consumer Nutrition Education: Partnerships with various types of retail, educational, and professional organizations that will lead to increased dairy consumption.
• Farmer Engagement: Programs to educate and engage dairy farmers on the utilization of their checkoff dollars.

Eligible applicants can apply for any combination of the above program areas and are not limited to applying for only one.  Qualified entities include businesses, extension agencies, agricultural and non-profit organizations, universities, community colleges, educational institutions, agricultural science schools, research organizations, and contract media vendors. Interested applicants should review each funding guidance document to confirm their eligibility.

Funding is provided through dairy checkoff dollars, established through the national dairy checkoff order.  CGS Sec. 22-authorizes the CTMPB to award grant funds from Connecticut’s portion of checkoff dollars.  All projects should be conducted in accordance with the national dairy checkoff order, which can be found at: httpst//www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/research-promotion/dairy.

Additional details on the dairy grant funding opportunities can be found on www.CTGrown.gov. For more information on Connecticut Milk Promotion Board and Connecticut Dairy, visit CTDairy.org.