Grant Process
The GEAPS Foundation grants awards annually. Full grant award policy available for review here. A grantee agreement draft example can be viewed here.
Who is eligible?
Grant funding is available to any organization, institution or individual who can demonstrate competence and capacity for developing and delivery of eligible projects responsive to the Foundation’s mission.
Eligible Projects:
To be eligible for funding, projects must be complimentary to GEAPS’ professional development program with respect to one or more of these GEAPS core competencies:
GRAIN QUALITY involving: Quality definition and determination; Quality preservation; Quality assurance and control; Grain preparation
FACILITY MAINTENANCE & DESIGN involving: Equipment operation and performance ; Equipment and facility maintenance; Sanitation and pest control; Energy systems; Automation, process control and information technology; Facilities planning & design; Project analysis, planning & management
GENERAL INDUSTRY OPERATIONS involving: Grain & ingredient receiving, handling, processing and shipping management; Transportation and logistics; Energy & utilities management; Material [non-grain] handling equipment/systems; Grain production & processing [Strategic Environment]; Financial management ; Marketing & customer relations; Merchandising/origination & Procurement/purchasing; Community/public relations/communications; Business ethics & trade practice law; Enterprise resource planning; Warehouse Control Systems; Warehouse Management System; Equipment types, specifications, sizing and installation; Process flow, system analysis and optimization; Particle size reduction and segregation; Product packaging and load out
RISK MANAGEMENT involving: Risk/hazard analysis/evaluation; Risk/hazard abatement/control; Security & security systems; Emergency preparedness/action/response; Regulatory compliance; Insurance & bonding; Product/food safety and Traceability
HUMAN RESOURCES involving: Employee recruitment, hiring and retention; Leadership, supervision and performance evaluation; Motivation, incentives, promotion and advancement; Compensation administration; Training & professional development; Psychology & sociology, and team building; Labor law & regulatory compliance; Benefits and compensation
English is to be the primary language of all components of the work product funded in whole or in part by the Foundation.
The target end-users of grant-supported projects are GEAPS members and prospective members and by extension, their employers. The highest priority is filling any identified gap in needed and currently-available educational and training resources. Conversely, projects that would be considered redundant to or directly competitive with existing available resources would be considered ineligible for grant awards.
Proposed programs/projects must be accessible to GEAPS members and non-members through GEAPS.
For 2025, priority consideration will be given to projects that focus on:
Grain inventory management
Identify the importance of managing grain inventories
How to conduct a risk assessment on potential threats to the inventory
Identify methods to reduce or eliminate those threats
Elements of supervision for grain handling and processing facilities
Including, but not limited to, soft skills development in conflict resolution, performance management, time management, problem-solving skills, change management, implementing new technologies, etc.
Including, but not limited to, task management of things like accounting, insurance, capital projects, budgeting, preventive maintenance planning, etc.
Eligible project expenses/use of grant funds
Direct expenses only, excluding “ineligible expenses,” to include:
Retaining project-specific subject-matter experts for content development
Retaining project-specific creative-service experts for program design and production
Applicants must submit an itemized budget detailing content development costs. The Foundation will evaluate each line-item expense to determine eligibility. Applicants are advised that the feasibility of their proposals depends on the Foundation’s interpretation of eligible expenses as defined in this policy.
Ineligible project expense/use of grant funds
Grant funds may not be used for general operational expenses beyond those explicitly permitted in the proposal. This includes expenses unrelated to the project outlined in the application.
Funds may be allocated to compensate permanent employees directly involved in content development for the approved project. However, the submitted budget must specify the number of hours worked and the net present hourly rate at the time of submission. Grant funds cannot be used to cover an individual’s full salary.
In general, ineligible expenses include:
The direct or indirect costs of hiring or retaining management or administrative support staff or services
Except as otherwise defined in the first paragraph of this section, the cost of hiring or retaining other staff or services
Compensation or awards which would be provided without regard to the outcome of this grant application, such as fellowship awards for tuition
Equipment and facilities, including the acquisition, lease/rental, cost-allocation, or asset depreciation]
Distribution of grant funds
In general, the Foundation distributes grant funds as progress payments tied to milestones identified and agreed upon between the Foundation and the grantee. The Foundation requires that 20% of the award amount be withheld until the grantee has verified completion of work to the satisfaction of the grant agreement. The Foundation is not obligated to distribute the total grant-award upon approval of the grant and signature of the grantee agreement but may elect to do so if the grantee provides a compelling justification for a lump-sum payment in its application.
The Foundation will determine the timing of the grant-award distributions taking into consideration the scope of work, work plan, project budget, and other sources of project funding, if any.
For multiple progress-payment grant-award distributions, the Foundation may require substantiation of progress performance to date prior to any subsequent distribution.
The Foundation may require a grantee to refund all or part of any grant-award distribution if, in the judgement of the Foundation, the grantee proposed or implemented the project in bad faith or otherwise failed to complete its work as defined in the terms of the grantee agreement.
Funds are considered cost-reimbursable, and the Foundation may require a grantee to return unexpended grant-award funds received at end or termination of the grant-award period.
How to Apply:
This is a three-stage process.
Stage One – Applicant and Project Prequalification: [due June 6, 2025]
Applicant and proposal pre-qualification submission.
Applications will be reviewed, and applicants notified of the board’s decision.
Stage Two – Detailed Project Description: [due October 6, 2025]
Step one prequalification approval is required prior to further consideration in step two.
Complete grant application submission.
Applications will be reviewed, and applicants notified of the board’s decision.
Stage Three - Grantee Agreement finalized within 60-days of receipt from Foundation.
Contact Erica Venancio for more information: erica@geapsfoundation.org.