PRESQUE ISLE – Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community recently awarded a $400 collaborative marketing mini-grant to 4M (Maine Made Milk & Meats) Foods to develop a joint website to market their natural and organic beef, chicken, milk, eggs and blueberries.
The grant recipient group 4M Foods includes three southern Aroostook agricultural businesses. Sunnyside Farm in Linneus is owned by Clare and Joseph Desrosiers and sells all-natural chicken and eggs year-round, as well as pesticide-free, high-bush U-pick blueberries during the summer. Duff Farms in Hodgdon is owned by Katie and Joel Duff and produces natural, chemical-free beef. Oliver Farms, also in Hodgdon, is a member of the new MOOMilk (Maine’s Own Organic Milk) Co. and is owned by Lee-Rae and Matthew Oliver.
“These family farms are doing great things for Aroostook County – producing quality products, boosting our local economy, and marketing the Aroostook way of life,” said Erica Quin-Easter, Aroostook microenterprise coordinator for Women, Work, and Community. “This small grant will have a big impact on their ability to expand their markets and benefit from collaboration.”
Two more mini-grant cycles will be available in 2010. Women, Work, and Community will offer a workshop on “Grantwriting for Creative Entrepreneurs” in three locations in March to coincide with the next marketing mini-grant deadline. The workshop will be held in Presque Isle Friday, March 5 from 10 a.m.-noon; in Fort Kent Friday, March 5 from 3-5 p.m.; and in Houlton Monday, March 8 from 10 a.m.-noon. Pre-registration is required, and there is no cost for the workshop.
Participants will learn how to set goals, objectives, action steps, and evaluation measures for their business project and communicate plans clearly and effectively to potential funders. The workshop will use Women, Work, and Community’s grant application and other examples available to individual artists and entrepreneurs to help them learn how to read grant guidelines and put their best foot forward in any proposal.
The next deadlines for applications for the marketing mini-grant program are March 15 and June 1. Applications are welcomed from individual entrepreneurs, as well as business collaborations, and successful proposals will focus on marketing, branding, and access to markets for Aroostook County microenterprises. The marketing mini-grants program at Women, Work, and Community is funded by the Maine Women’s Fund and the Aroostook County Fund of the Maine Community Foundation.
For more information, to register for the grantwriting workshop, or to request a grant application, contact Women, Work, and Community at 764-0050 or e-mail erica.quineaster@ maine.edu.