Montana Partners for Conservation Fiscal Year 22 | USDA NRCS MT MULTI 22 NOFO0001164

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS MT MULTI 22 NOFO0001164

Montana Partners for Conservation Fiscal Year 22 is a competitive funding opportunity from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that is designed to build strong, practical partnerships in Montana around conservation delivery. The main idea is to leverage NRCS resources by supporting collaborative, state and community level efforts that address local natural resource concerns, strengthen conservation leadership, and help more people understand and effectively use USDA-NRCS conservation programs. Rather than funding research, NRCS is looking for projects that focus on real-world outreach, education, and technical assistance that can reach producers, private landowners, conservation groups, partner agencies, and the broader public.

Projects must be based in Montana and should directly align with conservation priorities described in Section A of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO). NRCS emphasizes partnership-driven work that helps connect people to NRCS assistance and improves the capacity of communities to participate in conservation programs. Examples of the types of activities NRCS is seeking include conservation outreach workshops, conferences, trainings, and other forms of education and technical assistance. The solicitation also specifically encourages collaborative projects that provide on-the-ground support for Montana NRCS Field Offices, meaning proposals that complement field office workloads, strengthen local service delivery, or help expand the reach of NRCS programs in communities are viewed as a strong fit. Research proposals are explicitly not allowed and will not be considered.

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally signals that NRCS expects to have substantial involvement during the project period compared with a more hands-off grant. Awards are intended to support multi-year work, with projects lasting between 3 and 5 years. Selected recipients should also be prepared to provide updates, and NRCS notes that awarded organizations may be asked to present formal project briefings to Montana NRCS leadership as the work progresses.

Eligibility is limited to three applicant types: federally recognized Native American tribal governments, nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education), and nonprofit organizations without 501(c)(3) status (also excluding institutions of higher education). The opportunity is competitive, and NRCS will screen submitted applications for completeness and compliance with the NFO requirements. Applications that are incomplete or do not follow the rules laid out in the notice will be removed from consideration, and applicants will be informed if they are eliminated for those reasons.

For Fiscal Year 2022, NRCS anticipated up to $3,000,000 total available for the program, although the notice also warns that budget constraints could reduce funding or prevent awards, because the NFO was released prior to final appropriation and apportionment of funds. Individual award sizes are expected to range from a federal share minimum (floor) of $100,000 up to a maximum (ceiling) of $3,000,000 per agreement, and those figures apply to the total agreement amount across the full project period rather than to a single year budget.

Applications were required to be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on April 8, 2022. NRCS directs applicants with Grants.gov technical problems to Grants.gov Applicant Support (1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov) and notes that NRCS staff cannot help troubleshoot Grants.gov accounts. Questions about the content of the NFO itself were to be directed to the federal awarding agency contact listed in Section G, but NRCS limited those questions to clarifying information in the notice (such as dates, page references, or discrepancies) and stated they would not respond to questions about applicant eligibility judgments or the strengths of a particular proposal. The agency estimated selections would be made by June 1, 2022, with awards executed by September 1, 2022, while also noting that these dates were tentative and could change.

Finally, NRCS reminds applicants that this opportunity is federal financial assistance and recommends taking the free Grants 101 training hosted at https://www.cfo.gov/grants-training/ for anyone who needs a clearer understanding of the rules and expectations that come with federal awards, including uniform guidance administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit and risk management topics. The opportunity is listed as discretionary funding under USDA NRCS, with activity areas spanning agriculture, environment, and natural resources, and is associated with CFDA/assistance listing numbers 10.069, 10.902, 10.912, 10.924, and 10.931.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Montana Partners for Conservation Fiscal Year 22" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.069, 10.902, 10.912, 10.924, 10.931.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 08, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 08, 2022 Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 1159 pm Eastern Time on April 08, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA NRCS MT MULTI 22 NOFO0001164

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