Evaluation Criteria
Who is eligible for the New England Food Vision Prize?
Nonprofit organizations (including higher education institutions), government entities, and municipalities (including K-12 schools). While for-profit businesses may participate as project partners, they may not serve as the primary applicant.
Primary applicant Prize winners are not eligible to submit applications in consecutive years; however, they are eligible to participate as part of a team in the year following an award.
Primary applicant Prize winners with unspent funds remaining on a previously awarded project are ineligible to apply.
I’m not a 501(c)(3), municipality, or state government. Can I still apply?
Entities that do not fit into one of these categories may not serve as the primary applicant, but may apply as part of a team, with the primary applicant meeting this criterion. If you need help finding (a) partner organization(s) please send us an email at info@kendall.org! We’ll be happy to connect you with one of our grantee partners to assist you.
Do project teams need to include academic institutions?
Yes. While we have evolved the Prize to target a larger variety of organizations further up the supply chain, we are requiring commitment from at least one K-12 and/or higher education institution as part of each application. This may include: private colleges/universities, public colleges/universities, community colleges, public K-12 schools/districts, private K-12 schools.
If I am applying as an academic institution, do I need another institutional partner?
No, but you must have at least one other partner that you plan on working with on the project.
Can a project team include non-academic institutions, like corrections or hospitals?
Yes, as long as the requirement of at least one academic institutional partner is met.
I don’t have an existing educational institutional partner. What should I do?
Send us an email at info@kendall.org. We’ll be happy to connect you with one of our grantee partners to assist you.
Can I collaborate with an organization outside of the six New England states?
All partners and primary applicants must be based in New England. (CT, ME, MA, RI, VT, or NH).
Is there a maximum number of partners, including educational institutions, that can be part of a project?
No, there is no maximum number of partners allowed on a single application. Applicants should keep in mind that the primary applicant will be responsible for distributing funds between partner organizations.
Application and Selection Process
What are the Letter of Interest submission requirements?
We ask that Letters of Interest address the six Prize criteria and a few specific questions. See the Letter of Interest info sheet linked on our website for full information and instructions.
If I am invited to submit a full application, what will I need to submit? What will the application entail?
Full applications will expand on the original idea to includes responses to a series of prompts posed by the review committee. In addition to these responses, applicants will be required to submit a letter of support from each target institution mentioned.
What can Prize funding be used for? Is there anything that funding cannot be used for?
Funding may not be used merely for the purchase of food, as doing so would fail to meet the sustainable criterion.
Funding may be used in the following ways:
- Infrastructure investment
- Equipment purchase
- Capacity and staffing
- Training and certification
- Marketing and awareness building
- Your idea here!
How can I measure the impact of my Prize idea?
You can select from many different kinds of metrics to measure your project’s impact, depending on the project. Examples of potential metrics include: number of farmer contracts, dollar amount or poundage of regional food provided or procured, number of students reached. Feel free to contact us for assistance in determining an appropriate metric for your project.
Can my organization submit more than one application with different collaborators?
Only one application may be submitted by an organization at any one time. However, an organization may be a collaborator for another application at the same time as they are an applicant themselves.
Are Letters of Interest expected to address all five Prize criteria? What if I don’t yet know how my project will address one of these criteria?
We do ask that Letters of Interest address all five Prize criteria – Measurable Impact, Collaborative, Regional, Sustainable, Equitable – but understand that ideas may not be fully fleshed out at this initial stage. If you do not yet know, for example, how exactly your project will address sustainability, say so and provide an example or two of how you might reach this criteria.
Who is part of the review team for letters of interest and applications?
Letters of Interest will be reviewed by staff of the Henry P. Kendall Foundation. In addition to these individuals, the full application review committee will include reviewers from all six New England states who bring a diversity of professional and lived experience related to the goals of this Prize.
What percentage of applicants submitting a Letter of Interest are invited to submit a full proposal?
In 2022, we received 39 Letters of Interest. 26 were invited to submit a full proposal and 8 were awarded prizes.
What kind of recognition, announcement, ongoing press, reporting will come with an award?
The Foundation will issue a press release, public email, and web announcement of the winners of the Prize. The winning institutions are encouraged to promote the news as well, and the Foundation will provide quotes and background material to support these efforts.
Financials
How much financial information will be necessary to include in a full proposal? Are there limits to the use of funds for indirect and overhead costs associated with implementing the idea?
A high-level budget for the entire project should be included with full proposals showing the activities and expenses of each member of the collaboration. Indirect costs (i.e. fiscal sponsor percentage taken) may not exceed 10% of the project budget. “Overhead” costs do not refer to staff time or other operations necessary for the completion of a project.
Does the application have to specify how funding would be distributed amongst collaborators and are there any restrictions as to where the funding can go?
The applicant – if successful – will have full responsibility for proper disbursement of the prize funds, including ensuring that funds are accounted for by each collaborator.
How will the prize be awarded?
The prize funding will be awarded to the primary applicant over the requested project timeline period. You may consider having all project partners execute a memorandum of understanding stipulating how funds will be managed, distributed, and expended in accordance with the proposed project.
Will selected projects ever be awarded partial funding?
No – in the final Prize allocation, projects will either receive the full amount of funding applied for or no funding. We therefore encourage you do request the full amount of money required to make your project a success.
Does the prize need to be spent or can it be used to establish a revolving loan fund, for example?
As long as the funds are utilized in a manner consistent with the criteria and priorities of the Prize program, they do not have to be spent right away. A revolving loan fund would be permissible. In these instances, additional terms for the use of the funds may apply.
Can the prize award be used as seed funding, or partial funding for a bigger project?
Yes.
Can the prize award be used to fund an existing project?
Yes, a project being new is not required for this round of the Prize, as long as it meets the criteria and requirements.
New England Food Vision Prize History
What organizations and projects have been funded previously by the New England Food Vision Prize?
View past winners
How is this year’s Prize different from those of previous years?
In 2018 and 2019, the New England Food Vision Prize limited eligibility to Higher Education Dining Service Directors and had a set prize value of $250,000. The current prize program expands eligibility to K-12 food programs, and invites organizations further up the supply chain to collaborate and apply directly. Prize amounts are now anywhere from $25,000-$200,000 to allow for a broader range and scale of projects.
Do you have a question that isn’t answered here?
Please feel free to reach out to us for assistance: