New York State Grown & Certified Cooperative Marketing Program

The New York State Grown & Certified Cooperative Marketing Program (the Program) will increase producer sales by driving customer demand for New York State Grown & Certified (NYS G&C) products.  The Program will provide funds to support marketing and promotion efforts that utilize the logo and resources of NYS G&C.  Funds are available to any agricultural producer, producer cooperative, agricultural association, or retailer in New York State participating in the NYS G&C program either as a farm, producer, processor, or strategic partner.  Partial funding for the Cooperative Marketing Program was made possible by a grant/cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.

Funds will be used to make changes to packaging or marketing resources to include the NYS G&C logo, conduct point-of-purchase marketing, print, radio and/or digital marketing that exposes consumers to the NYS G&C brand and creates meaningful, long-lasting brand recognition.   Digital marketing materials are permissible, so long as measurable metrics are accessible and available for reporting.

Funding Available

A total of $500,000 in funding is available.  Funding requests shall not exceed $10,000.  Awards will be distributed for new marketing and promotional projects that create lasting and meaningful exposure of NYS G&C to consumers.  Awardees of previous rounds of funding must propose a new project.  Funding will be allocated on a first come, first served basis until funds for this purpose are exhausted.  Funds will be distributed on a reimbursement basis. 

Program Requirements

The Program will provide funding to eligible agricultural producers, producer cooperatives, agricultural association, or retailers, either as a farm, producer, processor, or strategic partner, who currently participate in the NYS G&C program as well as to new enrollees into the program.  Funds must be used to create packaging, conduct point-of-purchase, print, radio and/or digital advertising that exposes consumers to the NYS G&C brand and creates meaningful, long-lasting brand recognition. .

• Non-Eligible Costs:

  • Costs not directly associated with the project
  • Costs incurred prior to the award of the grant
  • Indirect and overhead expenses
  • Costs incurred that do not conform to the NYS G&C Licensing Agreement and Style Guidelines
  • Promotional items (swag), clothing, gifts, prizes, memorabilia, souvenirs.
  • Digital marketing efforts that do not have the ability to report metrics
  • No promotional material, paid for with funding from this grant, may be sold (e.g., reusable shopping bags).

All applicants will need to be registered and prequalified in SFS prior to submitting their application.  Please use this link to register and prequalify. Please Note: It is highly recommended that applicants register and begin the pre-qualification process in SFS as early as possible. This process may take several weeks to complete.

https://grantsmanagement.ny.gov/register-your-organization-sfs