The official application will be a Google Form that will launch on September 27th morning and close on November 8th at 5pm PST. 

The questions below are solely for applicants to familiarize themselves with the information we will be requesting before the online application is live.

Please click here for Successful Applicant Examples to help guide you through the process.

Please visit this page on September 27, 2025 at 9am for the official Google Form link.

We are accepting applications from September 27th to November 8th at 5pm PST. We request that you visit our 2025 Grant Info. page to learn about our Eligibility and Qualifications guidelines, as well as Participation rules; incomplete applications or those not meeting the requirements will not be considered. 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; winners 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...

Full Name

Birthday (Month, Day, Year)

Business Name

Business Website

Social Media Link
Please provide a clickable link, not just the handle typed out. Formatting should be as follows: https://www.instagram.com/pineconefoundation/
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.

Contact Email

Contact Phone

Mailing Address (Street, City, Zip Code)

Property Owner’s Full Name
If you are the property owner, please write NA

Property Owner’s Email
If you are the property owner, please write NA

Property Address (Street, City, Zip Code)

Proof of land tenure (ownership, a lease, license, or other written agreement)
If your proposed project is related to permanent infrastructure that cannot move with your operation, 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 1MB or the file will not upload.

Total Acreage of Operation

Operation’s Focus
Farming
Ranching
Aquaculture
Fishing

Year the Operation Was Founded

Operation Overview
Tell us more about your operation, as well as what you produce or harvest.
Character limit 300.

State your operating expenses from 2024.

State your total sales from 2024.
Annual sales must fall between $15,000 and $400,000 to be eligible.

State your gross revenue from 2024.
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.

Financial support for my operation comes from (check all that apply):
Farmers' markets/CSA sales/other direct-to-consumer product sales
Wholesale or institutional markets
Foundation grants
Annual crowdfunding campaigns
Family support
Personal savings
USDA or state government grant programs
FSA or state government loan opportunities
Angel investors
Other

At peak season, how many employees (full and part-time) do you employ?
Please explain the size of your operation.

Was your operation awarded any grants from 2023 to 2025?
If yes
1. Organization(s) name?
2. Each grant's name, if applicable?
3. How much funding were you awarded for each grant received?
If not, please type NO.

Briefly describe the sustainability measures you have in place if any.
600 characters or less.
Optional

Comment on any challenges and barriers to success you and your operation have faced. This should include details on how the PCF grant funding would help you move past or begin to address some of those challenges/barriers.
1000 characters or less.

Please describe your project and how it will improve your operations or serve as a catapult to reach a goal you have set.
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 from January 2026 to November 2026.
1000 characters or less.

Total Grant Project Bid
State the total amount you are applying to have covered by the grant. The maximum PCF grant distribution per application is $5,000.

Comment on any difference between the total cost estimate of your project and the bid amounts.
600 characters or less.
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 $5,000range we are offering.

Projected Budget
Upload an estimated, itemized budget for the project, including supplies, labor, sales tax, etc. File type must be a PDF under 1MB, or it will not upload.

We would like to learn more about your background (check all that apply):
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian/Asian descent
Black/African American/Afro-Caribbean/African
Latinx/Chicanx/Hispanic or Latinx Indigenous/Original People
Indigenous/Original People
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
White/European descent
Women-owned
LGBT+
Veteran
I prefer not to say

Owner and Operation Photos
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. The file type must be JPEG under 5MB or the photos will not upload.

Signature
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.

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.

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