2011 REAP Grant Applications Submitted!

The REAP grant deadline has finally come for us. We were working right up to the last minute! During the home stretch we lost Internet for the morning. A big storm flew over this morning and I imagine that may have had something to do with it. But we hurried to get back on track, and our numerous applications have each been submitted. Here are some stats about this year’s submissions from Prosperity Ag & Energy Resources:

66 70 grants

10 states

41.6% energy savings to come from proposed projects

$2,486,439.22 requested in grants

In the past three years Prosperity has secured 183 REAP grants in 13 states, 108 of which were for Indiana farms and small businesses. In 2010 grants totaling $2,917,444.40 were secured for Prosperity’s clients, and in 2009 an estimated more than $1.5 million in grants were secured as well. Each year over a million gallons of propane gas will be saved with the new grain dryers funded by the REAP grants written at Prosperity.

We are already getting started on REAP grant applications for 2012. Next year is the final year currently announced for the REAP Program. This program has been quite a success and we are hoping and encouraging the continuation of the program. But if you are interested, please do not delay your application! Feel free to contact us with any and all questions at 317-996-2777. 

From the Desk of Prosperity’s Summer Intern, Rachel Bayless:

I am certainly getting practice writing. This internship is giving me the opportunity to practice many different writing styles. Already today I have written a press release, drafted emails to go out to clients and to state offices, and here I am writing a blog. I’m getting practice writing letters to politicians. In addition I’m learning the power of research to go along with writing. Coming into this internship I didn’t know too much, and I still don’t know too much. So I’ve got to read a little bit so that I appear to know what I’m talking about!

As I’ve mentioned and you may already know, the deadline for the 2011 REAP grant application is June 15. That is very close. Last year there were 80 REAP grants written here at Prosperity, and although I’m not sure of the current count, I’m sure there are that many or more this year. Tuesday was when we required clients to have all of their information in for us to work on. And with the farmers all being so busy right now, there is definite a last minute rush. I enjoy it though. Being busy lets me know that I’m being productive. The last thing I want from an internship is to sit idly and learn nothing at the end of the summer.

Once this June 15 deadline has passed, Prosperity is taking a couple of days off. Then when we get back to the office on June 20, I get to jump into a sales/marketing project, which I am looking forward to. My major is sales and marketing. I have taken a really good sales class and worked a little with sales, but I haven’t gotten much of an opportunity yet to work on marketing. I’m eager to learn exactly how to begin such a project, as it will be a very career-preparing experience. The project will be based on Sarah’s books. She currently has two published: Starting & Running Your Own Small Farm Business and The Profitable Hobby Farm. I’ve put together some businesses that may be interested in selling her book, and I will be doing a little more preparation this week so that I will have a good starting point to start talking to prospects. The books certainly have an audience eager to read them. A woman my dad works with has already zipped through The Profitable Hobby Farm, her interest brought on by raising chickens at her home.

After four full weeks of interning at Prosperity Ag & Energy Resources I am learning a lot and preparing for a career (which is, scarily enough, just a couple years away!).

photo by Rachel Bayless

From the Desk of Prosperity’s Summer Intern, Rachel Bayless:

The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant and loan applications are due in less than two weeks. Some of those applications are massive. Last week I looked through all of the 2010 applications Sarah wrote to gather up some data. Some of them are about 200 pages long! Most are about 100. I’m glad I’m the intern and not the grant writer. But I’ll tell you about the data I gathered. In 2010 alone Sarah wrote grants totaling $2,680,032.27. The projects those grants are helping to fund will have an average of 41% energy savings. That’s pretty significant. I’m not sure where we stand this year, but the deadline for REAP is June 15 and a lot of grant applications have been completed, and there are quite a few still coming in.

I must admit my favorite part of this internship is that it is in the country. We just don’t have all kinds of critters running around at home. My mom will insist that I mention that we do have a fox living in our neighborhood and that the neighbors have recently decided to raise chickens. But we live in a suburb. Despite what my friends at school think, I do not live on a farm, there isn’t a cornfield for miles, and any country accent I have is from listening to too much Brad Paisley. But I kind of wish I did live on a farm! I love the cows. The benefit to working on a farm and not living on a farm though is that I get to look at the cows, but I don’t have to take care of them. As far as I’m concerned, they eat grass, and that is taking care of cows. I’m sure anyone owning a cow would have a lot to say about that though!

I also don’t have to worry about the weather like farmers do. With all the rain lately, I’ve just been unhappy about driving in storms. But the farmers are worried because they can’t plant. Luckily, it has dried up. My phone calls this week have been to a lot of farmers who can’t quite hear me, because they are on a tractor. Again, as far as I’m concerned, corn grows in the produce section at Wal-Mart! I know that’s not true. And I’m happy to talk a little louder (or even yell) into the phone so that they can keep up the good work.

photos by Rachel Bayless

From the Desk of Prosperity’s Summer Intern, Rachel Bayless:

With the REAP grant application deadline coming up on June 15, it has been quite busy around here. On top of the current grants Sarah is working on, new prospects are calling every day. We love having the business, but my goodness there are a lot of phone calls coming in! I am becoming a master at “Prosperity Ag and Energy, this is Rachel”.  I’m grateful for the telephone experience. As a Sales and Marketing major, at some point in my career, chances are high that I will need to talk on the phone quite a bit. And unfortunately, I’m a little phone-shy. But I am working on that. Phone-shy is a quality that no sales person should have.

I live in Indianapolis, and Prosperity is a bit of a drive for me. Plus, I have only been driving for a couple weeks. Every day Erin gets to hear my stories of what went wrong. Somebody honked at me, I got lost, it started storming when I left the office and didn’t stop until I got home… my daily horror stories of driving. Last week a woodpecker almost flew into my truck! Don’t worry, he’s okay. But in all honesty, I love the drive. I love passing the farms, and seeing the calves and the donkey farm and the miniature ponies. Yesterday there was a turtle in the middle of the road! I wanted to keep it. I was sure that when I was driving home I would see it crushed on the pavement, and I would be so upset that I didn’t save it. Luckily, I didn’t see it again. So I think he made it! But if I ever see a turtle in the road again, I am going to take it home with me. Last week, I announced that before my internship is over, I want my picture with a cow. The Aubrey’s have about 20 very nice cows. I carry my camera every day, just in case the opportunity arises.

Prosperity is working on becoming a certified Women’s Business Enterprise. Getting the application materials together gives me a great chance to learn all about the company. (There are a lot of application materials.) The amount of work that goes into owning a small company is immense. There’s a lot to do, handled by just a few people. Sarah is also is in the midst of seeking membership with the National Speakers Association. Speaking is obviously something she enjoys, as the membership requires 20 speeches within the last 12 months. I gave four speeches in a semester for my communication class, and that gave me quite enough stress. But the key to being a good speaker is a knowledge and passion for what you are speaking about. I’m not sure that my speeches about pet fish and chocolate milk demonstrated a passion, but Sarah has a knack for giving speeches about grants. The knowledge about both Prosperity Ag and Sarah’s speaking jobs is going to help me as I move towards beginning to help market and sell Sarah’s books. I have them on my desk right now, and I’m looking forward to talking to feed stores and wineries and other assorted locations about selling her books. 

I got my picture with Shimmer! Oh, and Sarah.

The cutest little barn kittens

From the Desk of Prosperity’s Summer Intern, Rachel Bayless:

My name is Rachel Bayless, and I will be Prosperity’s intern this summer. I am a sales and marketing major at Purdue University, which is in the College of Agriculture. I am also pursuing a Communication minor. Prior to beginning at Prosperity, I was the author of a blog for the Purdue Admissions department. I got the chance to promote both Purdue and the School of Agriculture to potential students. I loved this job, because it gave me a chance to tell the incoming freshmen what college is truly like. Purdue websites don’t tell the whole story. I love attending Purdue, and I’m glad that I get to prepare at least a few freshmen for what the experience is really like. I also work in the Advertising Department for Purdue’s independent student newspaper, The Exponent. This is giving me a lot of experience in both sales and marketing. Working as a sales assistant, I have learned some things that I will bring to Prosperity this summer. And following this summer, I will take my experience back to The Exponent as I work as an advertising representative. I can’t say that The Exponent is a huge hit in the College of Agriculture, as it is a pretty liberal newspaper. But experience is invaluable, and that is exactly what I’m getting by working in the advertising department.

While I don’t have an agriculture background, I am eager to gain a little experience in the agricultural field (no pun intended). I am certain that working at Prosperity will prepare me for a career in agriculture, though I currently may not know as much as other students in the College of Agriculture.  This summer I will be responsible for several things. I will be working with Prosperity’s marketing tools, such as this blog and the monthly newsletters. Client correspondence and general administration tasks will also be put in my care. A project that Sarah has lined up for me is to design a marketing project of her books. This project I will be initiating will give me phenomenal, real-career experience in both sales and marketing, and I’m looking forward to taking it on.

Already with Prosperity I have gotten to attend a Women in Agriculture luncheon at the state fairgrounds, where I got to meet the lieutenant governor, Becky Skillman, who I truly enjoyed meeting. She’s a very sweet lady. What a great first internship experience! I am proud that I get to work with Prosperity Ag & Energy Resources this summer. 

Check out announcements about my internship on Facebook, website, and press releases

Congratulations to the 2011 Lugar Series Class

The Friends of Dick Lugar is excited to congratulate the 2011 class of the Richard G. Lugar Excellence in Public Service Series.

The nineteen women in this year's class joined a network of more than 300 Lugar Series graduates during their commencement yesterday in Washington, D.C.

"Each year I enjoy working with Republican women from around Indiana as they take these important steps to achieve leadership positions and work to accomplish real change in their communities," Lugar said. "I am thankful each of these women participated this year and look forward to their many successes in the future. I look forward to a new class of talented and driven Hoosier women this fall."

Founded in 1990, the mission of the Lugar Series is to increase the number and influence of Hoosier Republican women in elected and appointed governmental and political positions at the local, state and federal levels. Today, the program has been replicated in 18 states across the nation.

"Senator Lugar is the standard of grace and statesmanship, proving how great the process can be," said graduate Sarah Aubrey from Monrovia. "Once you have the opportunity to experience the Series at this standard, you have a consistent responsibility. The Series graduates are ready to run for office, support those who run for office, and engage their communities. The Series does a phenomenal job emphasizing 'you can' and 'you are able.' I am honored to have this network of support thanks to Senator Lugar."

This year's class includes Sarah Beth Aubrey (Morgan County), Beverly Austin (Hendricks County), Andrea Brandes (Marion County), Danielle Coulter (Delaware County), Kate Frank (Monroe County), Bethany Gosewehr (Marion County), Lindsay Jancek (Marion County), Bridgette Jarboe (Dubois County), Nicole Kelsey (Marion County), Elizabeth Kurella (Lake County), JoJo Rinebold (Boone County), Stephanny Smith (Allen County), Jo Ann Stewart (Wayne County), Victoria Schneider Temple (Hamilton County), Natalie Thomas (Elkhart County), Megan Umlauf (Marion County), Angela Weber (Johnson County); Beth Wrobel (Porter County); and Mari Yamaguchi (Marion County).

Spring Photos from Prosperity Ag

Photos taken by Erin Smith

Prosperity Ag & Energy Resources