by Katie Navarra
Time is running out for farms and agricultural enterprises to submit an application through New York State’s Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process. In 2013, Governor Cuomo has made $760 million in grants and tax credits available through 30 programs across 13 state agencies.
The CFA process is a streamlined approach for the submission of funding requests and provides a single portal for individuals, businesses and organizations to access state funding.
“This is a one-stop shop for grant monies and tax credits,” Joe Martins, Commissioner of the DEC said at a workshop held at SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury, NY on July 15.
Get to know your Regional Economic Development Council
The 10 Regional Economic Development Councils across New York state define each region’s “priorities” or projects that take precedence and earn additional points during the review and scoring process.
The Capital Region Economic Development Council (CREDC) has named agribusiness one of seven key focuses in 2013, Martins said. “Unlike last year, there are no specific agriculture grants available this year; however, there are many grants that farms could be eligible for,” said Alison Walsh, with the New York State Executive Chamber.
Each Regional Economic Development Council includes representatives from diverse industries spanning education to building trades the arts, agriculture, economic development and more. Within each Regional Economic Development Council are workgroups formed based on specific interests.
For example, one of the CREDC’s workgroups is devoted to agribusiness and is led by Todd Earling, Executive Director, Hudson Valley Agribusiness Development Corporation. “Anyone can join a workgroup,” Martins said, “(workgroups are) 100 percent open meetings.”
Since 2011, the Capital Region Economic Development Council (CREDC) defined as Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Albany, Greene and Columbia have received $113 million in New York State grants that have funded 172 different projects.
Find it online
All application documentation and submission will take place online this year.
Each application and all required attachments should be submitted at https://apps.cio.ny.gov/apps/cfa/. Completed applications, including any required attachments must be submitted by 4 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2013 to be considered.
To get started, first select a project category and project type to determine if your proposal will match the parameters of the grants available.
Then choose the program(s) you would like to apply for and answer threshold questions to determine your eligibility for each program.  Finally, identify your project location.
Following these first few steps, will establish your project on the statewide system. Additional screens will follow. Detailed instructions on how to use the CFA portal can be found here: http://regionalcouncils.ny.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2013/CFA_Application_Manual_2013.pdf
The application deadline is 4 p.m. on Aug. 12. “The submission button has to be pressed by 4 p.m. on Aug. 12,” Omar Usmani, Capital Region Reprsentative to the Regional Economic Development Council and Executive Partner, Aeon Nexus Corporation, “we encourage (people) to submit before then.”
Applications are reviewed and scored by Sept. 24, 2013 and an awards ceremony to announce the projects chosen for funding will be held in December 2013.
Additional information about the CFA process along with contact information for each agency can be found at http://regionalcouncils.ny.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2013/new-available_resources_2013.pdf