Grant Information for 2026

the 2026 winter GRANT APPLICATION CYCLE is open

We are continuing to make adjustments to our Grant Program. Please review the updated application criteria.

  • Current membership in CMGA is now required to apply for or receive a grant. Applicants must have paid their 2026 dues before the grants deadline on January 15th. Note that the membership drive will open early in January.

  • All certified UConn Master Gardeners, Interns (with Coordinator’s approval), Lifetime Members and Extension Coordinators who are current CMGA members are eligible to apply for a grant. 

  • CMGA Board members are no longer eligible to apply. 

  • Applicants can receive only one grant award per year. (Applicants are eligible to apply for a grant for a different project in consecutive years.)

  • Grants awards are limited to every other year for a single project. (Each awarded project may reapply every other year.)

the maximum amount of a grant increased from $350 to $500

CMGA offers two cycles per year to help plan and prepare projects.

  • Winter grant cycle - applications will open in mid-December for the following year, close in mid-January, and funding decisions made in early February.

  • Spring grant cycle - applications will open in mid-April, close in mid-May, and funding decisions made in early June.

This timeline can help you with the following:

  • Planning in the fall for a project in the following year will enable you to engage the support of local businesses and organizations earlier.

  • You’ll have more time to recruit and organize volunteers.

  • If your project allows, you can start seedlings in the late winter and have them ready to transplant in the spring.

  • If your grant isn’t funded for the winter cycle, you’ll be able to re-apply for a grant in the spring cycle, and still have all summer to work on your project!

more Grant information

Grants awarded in 2025

  • Abington Social Library-Landscape and Garden Restoration, Abington 

  • Bransfield Memorial Park (Rose Hill) Community Gardens, Portland

  • Cat Hollow Park Front Meadow Garden Project, Dayville 

  • Clock Tower Garden, New Haven

  • Collinsville Pollen Trail Educational Signage and Invasive Plant Brochure, Canton

  • Compost Project at Boulder Knoll Community Farm, Cheshire 

  • Drip Irrigation System at The Glebe House and Gertrude Jekyll Garden, Woodbury

  • Enfield Common Ground Rotary Garden, Enfield

  • Garden Walk Spring Glen, Hamden

  • Great Hollow Lake Wildlife Garden, Monroe

  • Mystic Aquarium Penguin Exhibit Area, Mystic 

  • Native Garden Addition to Fairfield County Demonstration Garden, Bethel 

  • Native Plant Border at the Middlesex County Extension Center, Haddam

  • People’s Harvest Garden, Pomfret

  • Preserving the Legacy of Adelma Grenier Simmons, Coventry 

  • Rockland Preserve Coan Pond Pollinator Gardens, Madison

  • Vegetable Beds at YMCA Community Garden / Valley Shore YMCA, Westbrook

  • Wakeman Town Farm: New Gardens Project, Westport

previous years Grant Projects

Have Questions?  

Please email the Grants Committee with your questions - we want to help you be successful in applying for and receiving a CMGA grant to benefit your community!