Description

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) is being released prior to appropriation and/or apportionment of funds for fiscal year 2024. Enactment of additional continuing resolutions or an appropriations act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) delivers conservation solutions so agricultural producers can protect natural resources and feed a growing world.NRCS provides leadership and funding to ensure that all programs and services are made accessible to all customers, fairly and equitably, with emphasis on reaching historically underserved farmers and ranchers and Native American tribal governments and organizations. NRCS is committed to advancing equity, justice, and equal opportunity to ensure equitable access to programs and services available on private agricultural and forest lands.

The goal of this funding opportunity is for NRCS, in collaboration with a diverse set of partners, including historically underserved farmers and ranchers and their organizations, to expand the delivery of conservation technical assistance to support grazing planning and conservation practice implementation and monitoring, conferences and other education, demonstrations, producer networks, workforce training, research and outreach projects to improve agricultural resilience. The anticipated amount for cooperative agreements under this NFO is approximately $12 million in fiscal year (FY) 2024.

Funding for the Conservation Technical Assistance: Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) Cooperative Agreements is supported by FY 2024 GLCI.GLCI also provides support to NRCS for grazing technical assistance to producers, as well as the National Grazing Lands Coalition to help state grazing coalitions form and persist with participation from historically underserved producers and Native American tribal governments and organizations, to host a Triennial National Grazing Lands Conference, and to act as navigators for grazers seeking additional resources.

For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D. of the full Notice of Funding Opportunity for information about steps required before submitting an application via Grants.gov.

Key Dates

Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time April 26, 2024. For technical issues with Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.

For inquiries specific to the content of the NFO requirements, contact the federal awarding agency contact (section G of this NFO). Please limit questions to those regarding specific information contained in this NFO (such as dates, page numbers, clarification of discrepancies, etc.). Questions related to eligibility, or the merits of a specific proposal will not be addressed.

The agency anticipates making selections by June 7, 2024, and expects to execute awards by September 30, 2024. These dates are estimates and are subject to change.

Federal Funding Floor and Ceiling Amounts

The estimated funding floor for this opportunity is $100,000, and the estimated funding ceiling is $1,000,000.

A total of $8,000,000 will be made available with a funding ceiling of $1,000,000 and a funding floor of $350,000 for three or four-year agreements.

A total of $4,000,000 will be made available with a funding ceiling of $300,000 and a funding floor of $100,000 for one or two-year agreements.

The funding floor means the minimum agreement funding amount for the Federal share per agreement awarded. The ceiling is the maximum agreement funding amount for the Federal share per agreement awarded. These numbers refer to the total agreement amount, not any specific budget period.

Applicants may apply for either of the two types of agreements.

Federal Financial Assistance Training

The funding available through this NFO is Federal financial assistance. Grants 101 Training is highly recommended for those seeking knowledge about Federal financial assistance. The training is free and available to the public viahttps://www.cfo.gov/resources/federal-financial-assistance-training/.

It consists of five modules covering each of the following topics: 1) laws, regulations, and guidance; 2) financial assistance mechanisms; 3) uniform guidance administrative requirements; 4) cost principles; and 5) risk management and single audit. FPAC agencies also apply Federal financial assistance regulations to certain non-assistance awards (e.g., non-assistance cooperative agreements).