Speakers Fund

Support for conferences and workshops on sustainable agriculture

The Northeast SARE speakers fund supports organizations who are bringing speakers with expertise in sustainable agriculture to meetings, conferences, and workshops.

Goal of the fund

The goal is to disseminate sustainable techniques and approaches, and the primary audience for these events or workshops should be farmers or agricultural service providers such as Cooperative Extension or NRCS staff.

SARE funds can be used to defray the costs of travel, lodging, and meals up to $1,000. Because funds are limited, we will only consider one speaker fund request per event.

Who can apply

To apply, you must be holding your event within the northeast region, which is made up of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

The speaker must be offering workshop content that is consistent with SARE's goals of farm profitability, environmental stewardship, and community benefit.

How to apply

Speakers fund requests should be sent at least six weeks before the workshop, conference, or event. In an e-mail message to nesare@uvm.edu, please give us the following information:

1. Name, address, and contact information for your organization
2. Federal ID number of your organization
3. Name of speaker
4. Title of the workshop or presentation
5. Date and location of the workshop or presentation
6. Description of the workshop or presentation
7. Brief (no more than 300 words) biography of speaker that emphasizes relevant background
8. Expected attendance at the workshop or presentation
9. If applicable, expected attendance at the larger conference or gathering where the workshop is being offered
10. Target audiences (extension, farmers, researchers, the general public, etc.)
11. A description of how you will acknowledge Northeast SARE support
12. SARE request breakdown indicating estimated transportation (bus, plane, or other carrier) mileage (SARE currently allows 50.5 cents per mile), lodging, and food.
13. Please indicate what other funds, if any, will be used.

Speaker funds are paid as a reimbursement, so plan to save all receipts for travel, meals, lodging, and other costs. We also ask for a brief narrative report.


Other speaker options

Perhaps you already have a speaker in mind, but if you don't you may want to read more about SARE's Sustainable Farmer Educators. These speakers are farmers with specific areas of expertise and already have access to SARE funds for time, travel, and other expenses associated with giving workshops and presentations.