Demystifying Grant Terms

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November 10, 2025 - John McCarthy<mccar715@msu.edu> and Colleen Matts<matts@msu.edu>

Screenshot 2025-11-10 154450.png Understanding grant terminology is essential for farmers, food producers, and business owners seeking funding. However, the language used in grant applications and announcements can be confusing, especially when funders use similar terms in different ways. This guide was created to help you make sense of common grant-related terms so you can approach funding opportunities with clarity and confidence. Whether you're applying for your first grant or refining your strategy for future applications, this resource will help you decode the language and better understand the process.

Topics

Grant Announcements
Types of Grants
Types of Awards
Eligibility
Applicant Requirements
Typical Application Elements
Budget and Financial Management
Award Notification

Per the USDA announcement on July 15, 2025, the Regional Food Business Centers program was terminated, prior to its original end date of July 2028. Because of this, the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center halted operations on September 15, 2025 and was unable to responsibly launch the Business Builder Subaward program. Please see our related press release. Resources intended to help food and farm businesses will remain freely available on this website and additional resources can be found at foodsystems.msu.edu/resources.

About the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center

The Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center was dedicated to offering coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building opportunities for farmers, producers, and other food business owners in support of a more resilient and competitive food system. Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems (MI) coordinated the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center comprised of network coordinators – Chicago Food Policy Action Council (IL), Northwest Indiana Food Council (IN), Food Finance Institute of the University of Wisconsin System (WI), and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Food Systems – who sought to take a transformational, rather than transactional, approach. Learn more at glm-rfbc.msu.edu

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Center for Regional Food Systems