USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: Minnesota Cooperative Agreement for Local Conservation and Community Leadership

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing potential availability of cooperative agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state- and community-level conservation leadership. Proposals are requested for competitive consideration for projects in the state of Minnesota for the following initiatives:

Urban Conservation Planning: 

The resource concerns of an urban landscape differ from those of a rural landscape. The overall objective of this category is to increase urban conservation planning and implementation by providing technical and financial assistance by:

• Working with urban organizations, communities, master gardeners and others to plan and implement conservation in urban settings
• Provide opportunities for urban agriculture and production through community gardens
• Address urban resources concerns such as invasive species, habitat for beneficial insects, soil quality, water quality and runoff
• Provide funding opportunities for urban conservation projects

Locally Grown Foods

The overall objective of this category is to increase awareness and provide resiliency of conservation and food production networks

• Identify food deserts and provide sustainable production opportunities
• Support locally grown and locally processed food services
• Expand farmers markets and locally grown food and fiber networks

Connecting the Urban Consumer with Rural Producers:

• Promoting conservation work on the farm with urban communities/organizations
• Highlighting conservation and food production interface with the general public
• Agritourism and Field Days
• Highlighting on farm ecosystem benefits for public consumption

Reaching Out to Historically Underserved Clients and providing Technical and Financial Assistance. 

The overall objective of this category is to provide outreach to historically underserved clients to increase technical and programmatic conservation delivery by:

• Identifying cultural and program barriers that limit NRCS assistance
• Provide outreach and education to underserved clients on NRCS programs and technical materials
• Assist underserved clients in seeking and obtaining NRCS Assistance
• Provide planning assistance to underserved clients

NRCS anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY 2021 will be $750,000. Minimum/Maximum individual award amounts are anticipated to be $50,000/$300,000. Proposals are requested from Federally recognized tribal governments, State and local units of government, non-governmental organizations, and institutions of higher learning for competitive consideration of cooperative agreement awards for projects between 2 and 3 years in duration. This notice identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for projects. Proposals will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete and/or noncompliant proposals will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant.

For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D.1. 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 on February 26, 2021. 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. Questions regarding this notice of funding opportunity (NFO) may be submitted until January 15, 2021. A summary of questions and answers will be posted to the Related Documents tab of this NFO in Grants.gov at least two weeks before the application due date. The agency anticipates making selections by March 12, 2021 and expects to execute awards by June 01, 2021.

 Federal Funding Floor and Ceiling Amounts

The estimated funding floor for this opportunity is $50,000, and the estimated funding ceiling is $300,000. 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.

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 via https://www.cfo.gov/grants-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).

For more information, see the Full Announcement document in the Related Documents tab of this opportunity