Since 2001, we have worked with multiple federal grant programs and specialize on those administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. During a typical year, we can help secure over $8 million in total grant funding. Individual applications range from those requesting $20,000 to ones requesting a quarter of a million dollars. The following list shows some of the USDA grant programs with which we can provide assistance. For more information about our grant services, visit http://matsonconsult.com/grants/

  • Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG)
  • Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG)
  • Farmers’ Marketing Promotion Program (FMPP)
  • Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP)
  • Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)
  • Socially-Disadvantaged Groups Grant (SDGG)
  • Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP)
  • Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant (REDLG)
  • Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP)

We work with you through the entire grant application process to help you submit an application with the highest chance of success. Depending on the program, the application process can require between 80-100 hours for us to complete, in addition to the time invested for phone calls, emails, data gathering and sharing, and reviews. We will typically contact you many times throughout the application process, which helps us create an application that captures your project. The more prepared you are, the better we can help you.

Timing is everything when it comes to grant applications. Planning
We take the time to determine how your project best fits within the grant program to give your application the best chance of success. Having worked with many of the same grant programs every year, we have become very familiar with each program’s requirements and format. This allows us to start the application process as soon as possible, typically even before the program is announced.


The cost of a grant application can vary depending on the program and other factors, including:

  • Time required to complete the needed level of work
  • The timeline for application submission
  • Level of project complexity
  • Level and quality of information made available from you

Charges for grant writing services are not contingent on the application’s success. We typically require an initial deposit before beginning work and will bill the final payment after submission.

Some grant programs require additional documents beyond the application that we can also assist with, such as a feasibility study or business plan. Preparation of these items is not included in the above mentioned timeline or cost structure. Should you need these items, we require ample time before starting the grant process to develop the documents. Feasibility studies can typically take about 500 hours to complete and business plans can require about 150 hours.