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Rural Maryland Council Announces FY17 Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF) Grant Recipients

PRESS RELEASE

Contact:  Charlotte Davis, Executive Director, (410) 841-5774

 

RURAL MARYLAND COUNCIL ANNOUNCES FY 2017 MARYLAND AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FUND (MAERDAF) GRANT RECIPIENTS

The Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF) was established in 2000 to offer financial assistance to rural nonprofits organizations that promote statewide and regional planning, economic and community development, and agricultural and forestry education.  In addition, MAERDAF offers grants to community colleges that support small and agricultural businesses with enhanced training and technical assistance.

Between 2001 and 2016, the MAERDAF program has awarded more than $3 million in grants to 79 rural-serving nonprofit organizations. During Fiscal Year 2017, a total of 95 applications were submitted with a total of $2,026,212.82 requested.  A total of 42 grants totaling $555,917.00 were distributed to 42 organizations:

  • Allegany College of Maryland, $7,185.00
  • Allegany Health Right, $9,580.00
  • Asian American Center of Frederick, $13,297.04
  • Bay Area Center for Independent Living, $6,227.00
  • Chesapeake College Foundation, $8,526.20
  • Chesterwye Center, Inc. $15,807.00
  • Compass Hospice Regional, $16,286.00
  • Cove Point Heritage Trust, $22,513.00
  • Crossroads Community, Inc. $3,682.70
  • Delmarva Community Services, $14,370.00
  • Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center, $21,555.00
  • Evergreen Heritage Center, $11,304.40
  • Farming 4 Hunger, $14,370.00
  • For All Seasons, Inc., $21,788.75
  • Frederick CTC FFA Alumni, $14,370.00
  • Garrett County Community Action Committee, Inc., $19,160.00
  • Harry R. Hughes Center for AgroEcology, $8,143.00
  • Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, $12,794.09
  • Historic St. Mary’s City, $14,370.00
  • LEAD Maryland Foundation, $19,160.00
  • Lifestyles of MD Foundation, $9,368.28
  • Lower Shore Land Trust, $9,262.90
  • Maintaining Active Citizens, Inc., $5,786.32
  • Maryland Business Incubation Association, $11,496.00
  • Maryland Farmers Market Association, $16,932.65
  • Maryland Forest Association, $5,460.60
  • Maryland Forestry Foundation, $18,297.80
  • Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts, $4,790.00
  • MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, $23,950.00
  • Preservation Maryland, $19,160.00
  • Queen Anne’s County/Allegany County Library System, $4,138.56
  • SHORE UP!, $15,628.62
  • Southern Maryland Resource Conservation and Development, $22,034.00
  • Spring Dell Center, Inc., $14,370.00
  • Tri-County Council Foundation, $7,185.00
  • Tri-County Council of Southern Maryland, $13,507.80
  • True Oyster Restoration Initiative, Inc., $20,686.09
  • Tuckahoe Habitat for Humanity, Inc., $13,412.00
  • Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, $14,370.00
  • Western Maryland Resource Conservation and Development, $19,160.00
  • Women Supporting Women, $7,033.83
  • Wor-Wic Community College, $5,397.37

Founded in 1994, the Rural Maryland Council operates under the direction of a 40-member executive board in a nonpartisan and nondiscriminatory manner. It serves as the state’s federally designated rural development council and functions as a voice for rural Maryland, advocating for and helping rural communities and businesses across the state to flourish and to gain equity to its suburban and urban counterparts. The vision for RMC is the ultimate realization that citizens living in rural communities are achieving success in education and employment, have access to affordable, quality health care and other vital public services, and live in an environment where natural and cultural resources are being sustained for future generations.

For more information, visit the RMC website: www.rural.maryland.gov.

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