The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is offering the Iowa Partners for Conservation Grant to promote natural resource initiatives in Iowa.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing the potential availability of funding for agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state-and-community-level conservation leadership. Proposals must be for projects based in Iowa and focus on conservation issues as noted in Section A (2) of the full announcement located in the Related Documents tab of this opportunity. Collaborative projects that provide on-the-ground support for Iowa NRCS Field Offices are highly encouraged. Research proposals will not be accepted, nor considered. NRCS anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY 2022 will be up to $3,000,000.00, however budget constraints may prevent NRCS from funding 2022 proposals. Proposals are requested from City or township governments, county governments, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, state governments, nonprofits having a 501 (c)(3) status with the IRS (other than institutions of higher education), or institutions of higher education for competitive consideration of awards for projects between 3 and 5 years in duration. Awarded organizations may be required to present project updates in the form of a formal presentation to the Iowa NRCS Leadership. Organizations may use this opportunity to request additional funding for existing Iowa Partners for Conservation (IPC) agreements.

For new users of Grants.gov, see the full announcement located in the Related Documents tab of this 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 on April 4, 2022. 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 May 31, 2022 and expects to execute awards by September 16, 2022. These dates are estimates and are subject to change.