PCF's 2025 Micro-Grant Application
We are accepting applications from September 27th at 9am to November 8th at 5pm PST. We request that you visit this link -
https://pineconefoundation.org/pages/grants-2025 to learn about our Eligibility and Qualifications guidelines, as well as Participation Rules and
FAQ; incomplete applications or those not meeting the requirements will not be considered. We request that one application per operation be submitted. Please note that you will not be able to edit your application once it is submitted, so please take your time and double-check your answers before hitting the Submit button. Also, due to the volume of applications and our limited PCF administrative staff, we regret that we will not be able to contact each applicant individually about their grant status; awardees will be notified via email in late November, and a post will be made on our
Instagram in early December. Finally and most importantly, thank you for taking the time to apply, we look forward to learning about your inspiring operation...
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Please provide a clickable link to your website. If you do not have a website, enter NA.
Please provide a clickable link to your main social media page. Formatting should be as follows:
https://www.instagram.com/pineconefoundation/, not just the handle typed out. The operation must have at least one up-to-date social media profile under the business name to be eligible. This demonstrates your company’s ability to connect with communities and/or promote sales.
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Full Name, Property Address (Street, City, Zip Code), and Email Address. If you are the property owner, please enter NA.
If your proposed project is related to permanent infrastructure, you are required to upload a PDF file of your current lease agreement or proof that you own the land/boat/waterway. File type must be a PDF under 10 MB or it will not upload. If your file is larger than this, please consider using the free version of
https://smallpdf.com/compress-pdf.*
Operation’s Focus (check all that apply)
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Tell us more about what you produce, catch, or harvest. Character limit is 300.
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Annual sales must fall between $15,000 and $500,000 to be eligible.
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PCF's Three Main Evaluation Criteria
Goals: These funds are designed to help recipients get closer to achieving their goals in scaling or improving their operations. We are looking to help build resilience during these troubling times. A strong application will illustrate how the use of these funds will contribute to accomplishing the milestone(s) outlined in the application.
Challenges and Barriers: Priority of selection will be given to applicants who can articulate how these funds will be used to address a particular challenge they are facing in moving their business forward and the results they expect to see with this funding. Robust applications will illustrate the cause and effect of what PCF’s grant funding would allow them to do for their operations and overcome the challenges they are confronting.
Need: We will prioritize applicants for whom the grant money will make a significant difference in their financial ability to meet their goals and improve operations. It is for this reason that we request information regarding operating expenses and gross revenue within the application.
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Financial support for your operation comes from the following sources (check all that apply)
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Please explain the size of your operation.
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If so, please detail which organizations awarded you a grant, what the grant's name was, and how much funding you were awarded. If not, please enter NO.
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This should include details on how the PCF grant funding would help you move past or begin to address some of those challenges/barriers. Character limit is 1,000.
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Reminder, we will not fund land purchases, new wells, consultants (i.e., web developer, marketing firm, financial advising or otherwise), administrative overhead, or marketing costs. Project proposals should be geared toward a one-year completion period. Your operation must plan to continue the business throughout 2026, thus viewing the PCF grant as supplemental, not a lifeline to salvage the operation. Character limit is 1,000.
State the total amount you are applying to have covered by the grant. The maximum PCF grant distribution is $5,000.
Please do not leave this section blank if there is a large disparity above PCF’s maximum grant bid of $5,000. If your project budget is much larger than what PCF is distributing, you are eligible to apply; however, we request that you demonstrate where the additional funding is coming from to make up the difference (i.e., savings, pre-approval for a loan, or otherwise). If you do not have a plan for raising the extra funds at the time of submitting your application, we highly encourage you to present a project that is within the $1,000 to $5,000 range we are offering. Character limit is 600.
Please detail all of your input costs and have labor calculated.
Upload an estimated, itemized budget for the project. File type must be a PDF under 10 MB or less, or it will not upload. If your file is larger than this, please consider using the free version of
https://smallpdf.com/compress-pdf.*
We would like to learn more about your background (check all that apply)
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We love to see the people and places for the application. Moreover, if you are selected, your name and photos will be included in a public announcement of grant recipients on PCF’s website, social media platforms, and marketing materials, so having photos on hand streamlines this process for us. Please upload 1 high-quality JPEG of the owner(s) and 1 high-quality JPEG of the operation. Please use each box to upload two separate photos. Each JPEG must be 10MB or less, or the photos will not upload.
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We'd like to know how you learned about our micro-grant (i.e., I follow PCF's Instagram, AIM Farmers Markets, a non-profit, shared via Instagram, a postcard).
I represent and warrant that this application accurately describes my operation and the intended use of the requested grant, and if such a grant is awarded, I shall comply with all terms and conditions of the Pine Cone Foundation Micro-Grant Eligibility and Qualifications guidelines, as well as Participation Rules -
https://pineconefoundation.org/pages/grants-2025.
I certify that I am the authorized representative of the operation to submit this application and that the statements submitted are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. I understand that a false statement may disqualify me from the grant program.
Please type out your full name that serves as a binding signature with the date of submission below.
