What You Need to Know: Telling a Compelling Business Story to Funders Webinar

Описание: Jane Cajuste, Chicago Food Policy Action Council and Madelina DiLisi, Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems (CRFS), share how to tell a compelling business story. Jamie Rahrig and Julie Jesmer, both of CRFS, also share an overview of assistance and grant opportunities that will be forthcoming through the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center.

Grant funding, provided by the USDA, will be available across the Great Lakes Midwest starting in late 2024. This includes the first phase of the Business Builder subaward program for food and/or farm businesses in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. Over $10 million dollars will be distributed to technical assistance providers and eligible business owners over the next four years.

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 and assistance programs. Please see our related press release (https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/usda-cl... ). Resources intended to help food and farm businesses will remain freely available on this website and additional resources can be found at https://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) (https://www.canr.msu.edu/foodsystems/) coordinated the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center comprised of network coordinators – Chicago Food Policy Action Council (IL) (https://www.chicagofoodpolicy.com/) , Northwest Indiana Food Council (IN) (https://www.nwifoodcouncil.org/), Food Finance Institute of the University of Wisconsin System (WI) (https://foodfinanceinstitute.org/), and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Food Systems (https://www.menominee-nsn.gov/Governm... ) – who sought to take a transformational, rather than transactional, approach. Learn more at https://glm-rfbc.msu.edu