USDA NRCS Grant for Minnesota Natural Resource Conservation and Leadership

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is offering this grant to advance local natural resource management and foster conservation leadership in Minnesota. This grant is for organizations addressing critical initiatives, including promoting prescribed burning through training, awareness, and plan development, expanding ‘field to market’ connections to boost conservation system adoption, and piloting market-based programs to incentivize long-term stewardship. With a total of $2,500,000 available, individual awards range from $50,000 to $1,500,000 for projects lasting 2 to 3 years. Domestic applicants are encouraged to apply for this competitive opportunity. Proposals must be submitted by June 17, 2020.

Opportunity ID: 327170

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General Information

Document Type:	Grants Notice
Funding Opportunity Number:	USDA-NRCS-MN-MULTI-20-NOFO0001010
Funding Opportunity Title:	Minnesota Fiscal Year (FY20) Contribution Agreement Notice of Funding Opportunity
Opportunity Category:	Discretionary
Opportunity Category Explanation:	–
Funding Instrument Type:	Other
Category of Funding Activity:	Agriculture Environment Natural Resources
Category Explanation:	–
Expected Number of Awards:	3
Assistance Listings:	10.902 — Soil and Water Conservation
Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement:	Yes
Version:	Synopsis 1
Posted Date:	May 18, 2020
Last Updated Date:	May 18, 2020
Original Closing Date for Applications:	Jun 17, 2020 Proposals must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 17, 2020
Current Closing Date for Applications:	Jun 17, 2020 Proposals must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 17, 2020
Archive Date:	Jul 17, 2020
Estimated Total Program Funding:	$2,500,000
Award Ceiling:	$1,500,000
Award Floor:	$50,000

Eligibility

Eligible Applicants:	Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled “Additional Information on Eligibility”
Additional Information on Eligibility:	This opportunity is open to all domestic applicants.

Additional Information

Agency Name:	Natural Resources Conservation Service
Description:	The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing potential availability of contribution agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state- and community-level conservation leadership. Applications will only be accepted for the following initiatives. Prescribed Burning Provide trainings for Job Approval Authority (JAA) and Increase public awareness of the benefits of prescribed fire on the landscape Write prescribed burn plans for implementation under NRCS programs Identify obstacles to building prescribed fire service capacity and develop networks of burn associations Develop promotional and technical materials related to prescribed fire Field to market expansion Increase connectivity of the end user to the producer to improve adoption of conservation systems on the land Increase the public and end users understanding of agriculture production and the stewardship ethic of producers through demonstration projects, field tours, symposia, and social media Enable a free market-based program to incentivize adoption of conservation practices and stewardship systems Pilot a market-based payment and/or exchange system to encourage long term stewardship Host a symposium to explore various systems that could be used to increase conservation adoption on agricultural and private forest lands Applications containing proposals outside of the scope of the above initiatives will not be considered. NRCS anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY 2020 will be $2,500,000. Minimum/Maximum individual award amounts are anticipated to be $50,000/$1,500,000.00. Proposals are requested from all domestic applicants for competitive consideration of contribution 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. Key Dates Proposals must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 17, 2020 via Grants.gov. Funding decisions will be made by the Minnesota NRCS State Conservationist, based on recommendations from a selection committee and the availability of funding in the programs whose CFDA numbers are listed above. Other key dates are: Questions about NFO received by: June 1, 2020 Responses to Questions published by: June 8, 2020 Application Submission Due Date: June 17, 2020 Application Review and Selection: July 17, 2020 Anticipated Agreement Start Date: September 1, 2020 For technical issues with Grants.gov, please 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 more information see the Full Announcement in the Related Documents tab of this opportunity.
Link to Additional Information:	–
Grantor Contact Information:	If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact: Michele Devaney Grants Management Specialist Email:michele.devaney@usda.gov

Version History

Version	Modification Description	Updated Date

Packages

Agency Contact Information:	Michele Devaney Grants Management Specialist Email: michele.devaney@usda.gov
Who Can Apply:	Organization Applicants

Assistance Listing Number	Competition ID	Competition Title	Opportunity Package ID	Opening Date	Closing Date	Actions
10.902			PKG00261739	May 18, 2020	Jun 17, 2020	View

Package 1

Mandatory forms

327170 SF424_3_0-3.0.pdf

327170 ProjectNarrativeAttachments_1_2-1.2.pdf

327170 SF424A-1.0.pdf

327170 BudgetNarrativeAttachments_1_2-1.2.pdf

327170 SF424B-1.1.pdf

327170 GG_LobbyingForm-1.1.pdf

Optional forms

327170 OtherNarrativeAttachments_1_2-1.2.pdf

327170 SFLLL_2_0-2.0.pdf

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