USDA NRCS Maine Offers Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for FY 2023

Federal Awarding Agency Name: U.S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) 

Notice of Funding Opportunity Title: Announcement for Program Funding for NRCS’ Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2023 Maine.

Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NRCS-ME-CIG-NOFO0001269

Assistance Listing: This program is listed in the Assistance Listing numbers (previously referred to as the Catalog of Federal Financial Assistance (CFDA)) on Sam.gov under 10.912, Environmental Quality Incentives Program. 

SAM is a web-based, government-wide application that collects, validates, stores, and disseminates business information about the federal government’s trading partners in support of the contract awards, grants, and electronic payment processes. 

Notice of Funding Opportunity Summary 

NRCS is announcing the availability of Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) State Program funding to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Applications are accepted from eligible entities (Section C) for projects carried out in the state of Maine. A total of up to $250,000 is available for the Maine CIG competition in FY 2023. All non-federal entities (NFE) and individuals are invited to apply, with the sole exception of federal agencies. Projects may be between one and three years in duration. The maximum award amount for a single award in FY 2023 is $75,000.  

For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D. for information about steps required before submitting an application via Grants.gov. Completing all steps required to start an application can take a significant amount of time, plan accordingly. 

Key Dates 

Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 22, 2023. 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.

Applicants are encouraged to visit https://cig.sc.egov.usda.gov/?utm_source=nrcs-cig&utm_medium=site&utm_campaign=obv-redirect to learn more about the CIG program.  

The agency anticipates making selections by June 1, 2023 and expects to execute awards by July 1, 2023. These dates are estimates and are subject to change.