Grant Opportunities

The Governor’s Fiscal Year 2024 Operating Budget includes funding of the Rural Maryland Council and their grant programs, Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF), and the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund (RMPIF) in the amount of $9,000,000. The Council sincerely thanks Governor Wes Moore for the inclusion of these important funds. 

Fiscal Year 2024 RMC Grant Programs Opening in April 2023

Important Dates- Check back in early April for these dates. 

FY2023 Grant Learning Opportunities

Grant Learning Materials 

FY2023 MAERDAF – Grant Guidelines and Criteria

FY2023 RMPIF – Rural Health Care Grant Guidelines and Criteria

FY2023 RMPIF – Regional Infrastructure Grant Guidelines and Criteria 

FY2023 RMPIF – Rural Entrepreneurship Grant Guidelines and Criteria

FY2023 RMPIF – Regional Councils Grant Guidelines and Criteria

FY2023 MAERDAF/RMPIF Grant Information Session Recording

FY2023 MAERDAF/RMPIF Grant Information Session Presentation Slides

RMC Grant Writing Workshop April 30, 2021- PPT Slides

RMC Grant Writing Workshop – Recording 

Grant Opportunities

The Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF) grant funding provides capacity-building funds to rural nonprofit service providers. The cap for this grant program is $40,000 and while a match is not required, it is highly recommended. The Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund (RMPIF) supports the Rural Maryland Council’s operations and activities, and it also supports the states’ five Regional Councils, rural entrepreneurship development rural health care organizations, and regional infrastructure projects. A match is required for RMPIF Funding and is set at 25% match for entrepreneurship, 50% match for health care, and 75% match for infrastructure.

Both MAERDAF and RMPIF have a two-phase online application process. Phase 1 consists of a Letter of Intent (LOI) format. A Grant Review Board will review these LOIs and determine whether an applicant may move forward into Phase 2. Phase 2 is invitation only. Grant awardees will be announced in August. It is important to review the Guidelines and Criteria for the grant program you are applying for before you start Phase 1. The FY2022 Guidelines and Criteria will be posted soon.

To start the Phase 1-Letter of Intent of the grant process, you will need to ensure you have an account in the RMC Grantee Portal. An applicant can access the portal by clicking above on the RMC logo, which states “Click Here To Access Grant Portal”. Please have the following information on hand to create your organization’s account.

• An email address that will act as your username
• Your contact information
• Your organization’s or fiscal sponsor’s information, including the EIN/Tax ID number
• Your organization’s website URL
• Your organization’s Executive Officer’s contact information

Please retain a record of your login information as you will need it in the future to access your in‐progress applications and your online application history. If at any time you forget your password, simply click ‘Forgot Password’ and you can easily generate a new one.

New Tool Added to Grant Portal- ‘Collaborator’ Feature: The Collaborator feature allows applicants to work together on a single request. Once an applicant has started the grant process, they will see the Collaborate button at the top of the page. This can be used to invite other people to work on this request. Please see the tutorial in the online platform once the user creates an account.

If you are unable to access or set up your account or have any technical problems, please contact Megan D’Arcy at megan.darcy@maryland.gov or by phone at 667-458-9101.