Texas Partners for Conservation (TPC) Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Announcement for Program Funding – TEXAS | USDA NRCS TX 21 NOFO0001103

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS TX 21 NOFO0001103

The Texas Partners for Conservation (TPC) Fiscal Year 2021 funding announcement is a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) opportunity that supports Texas-based conservation projects through cooperative agreements. The overall purpose is to stretch and amplify NRCS capacity by partnering with outside organizations to tackle local natural resource concerns, build collaboration across communities, and strengthen conservation leadership at the state and local level. The program is specifically geared toward practical, on-the-ground work in Texas, and it strongly favors collaborative efforts that directly help Texas NRCS Field Offices deliver conservation assistance. A key limitation is that research proposals are not allowed; the funding is meant for implementation and field-level support rather than studies or purely academic work.

Funding for FY2021 was projected to total up to $300,000 across the program, although the notice also cautions that budget constraints could limit or even prevent awards in that year. Individual awards have a federal funding floor of $25,000 and a ceiling of $75,000 per agreement, with these amounts referring to the total federal share over the life of the agreement rather than a single year. NRCS expected to make roughly 12 awards. Projects considered under this announcement are intended to run for multi-year terms, generally between 3 and 5 years, reflecting the idea that meaningful conservation outcomes and partner coordination often require sustained effort rather than short-term activities.

Eligibility is broad and includes several common public and nonprofit partner types: state, county, and city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofits with IRS 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education). The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically signals a more active federal role compared to a standard grant, often involving coordination, shared responsibilities, and alignment with NRCS priorities and field operations.

Applications had to be submitted through Grants.gov, and the deadline for this round was 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 1, 2021. The announcement separates two kinds of support: Grants.gov technical support is handled only by the Grants.gov help desk (not by NRCS staff), while program and notice questions could be submitted up to May 1, 2021. NRCS planned to post responses to submitted questions on Grants.gov roughly two weeks before the application deadline, and it also anticipated an informational webinar with details posted on the Texas NRCS partners webpage. The agency projected a selection date of July 9, 2021, with awards expected to be executed by September 15, 2021.

Operationally, the notice emphasizes compliance and completeness. NRCS planned to screen proposals to ensure they meet the requirements laid out in the funding notice, and any application found incomplete or noncompliant would be removed from competition, with applicants notified of that elimination. For organizations that receive awards, there are additional participation expectations beyond submitting a proposal and doing project work. Awardees must attend administrative training, and they may be asked to provide formal project updates via presentations to Texas NRCS leadership. The opportunity also allows current partners to request additional funding for existing Texas Partners for Conservation agreements, meaning it can serve both new projects and expansions of ongoing work if they align with the program priorities and meet the competition requirements.

Because these awards are classified as federal financial assistance, the announcement points applicants toward federal grants management training as a practical preparation step. NRCS recommends the free Grants 101 training hosted at cfo.gov, which covers the major compliance areas that commonly affect recipients, including governing laws and guidance, assistance mechanisms, Uniform Guidance administrative requirements, cost principles, and risk management and single audit considerations. Overall, the TPC FY2021 announcement is best understood as a field-driven conservation partnership program for Texas organizations that can deliver tangible conservation support in coordination with NRCS, within multi-year cooperative agreements and within the stated $25,000 to $75,000 federal funding range per award.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Texas Partners for Conservation (TPC) Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Announcement for Program Funding – TEXAS" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.902.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 26, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 01, 2021 Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 1159 pm Eastern Time on June 1, 2021.. (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 $75,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA NRCS TX 21 NOFO0001103

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