Conservation Outreach: Racial Equity and Justice Conservation Cooperative Agreements | USDA NRCS NHQ REJ 21 NOFO0001121

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS NHQ REJ 21 NOFO0001121

The Conservation Outreach: Racial Equity and Justice Conservation Cooperative Agreements opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number USDA-NRCS-NHQ-REJ-21-NOFO0001121; CFDA 10.902) is a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) cooperative agreement funding notice run through NRCS's Office of Outreach and Partnerships Division (OPD). The purpose is to improve fair and equitable access to NRCS programs and services, with a clear focus on historically underserved communities. Through this Request for Applications (RFA), NRCS is looking for partner organizations that can help expand the delivery of conservation outreach, technical assistance, and related support to producers and landowners who have traditionally faced barriers to participation.

At the center of the opportunity is the goal of increasing conservation assistance for historically underserved farmers and ranchers, specifically including socially disadvantaged producers, limited resource producers, beginning farmers and ranchers, Tribal producers, and veterans. Projects are expected to help introduce and reinforce climate-smart agriculture concepts and to support producers as they plan for and implement conservation practices and principles. In practical terms, the funding is meant to strengthen on-the-ground engagement that helps producers understand NRCS conservation options, navigate participation steps, and move from awareness to action through planning and implementation support.

NRCS structured this as a non-competitive funding opportunity restricted to certain eligible entities, citing 2 CFR 415.1(d) as the basis for limiting the competition. NRCS states that making noncompetitive awards under this RFA is in the government's best interest and necessary to accomplish the program's goals, particularly because the work is aimed at delivering outreach and technical assistance to historically underserved communities. Applicants are therefore expected to fall within the eligible categories specified by the RFA, and the public listing for this opportunity indicates eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), federally recognized Native American tribal governments, other Native American tribal organizations, and individuals.

In terms of funding scale, NRCS anticipated approximately $50 million available for cooperative agreements under this solicitation in fiscal year 2022. The listing also shows an award ceiling of $1,000,000, which signals that individual awards were not expected to exceed that amount, even though total program funding across all awards could be much larger. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, meaning recipients should expect substantial federal involvement compared to a standard grant, such as coordination, shared responsibilities, or active participation by NRCS in carrying out project objectives.

The timeline was straightforward and time-sensitive. Applications had to be submitted through Grants.gov and received no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 25, 2021. Late submissions were not to be considered. The opportunity was originally created on August 25, 2021 and updated on September 13, 2021 to add webinar information intended to help potential applicants understand the program and application requirements.

NRCS offered an informational webinar on September 24, 2021 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. ET, accessible through an Adobe Connect link. Interested participants were asked to email NRCS-DCWA2-Outreach-and-Partnership-Division@USDA.GOV with "Webinar" in the subject line to indicate interest. A note was included for USDA employees experiencing access problems, advising them to turn off VPN and use Chrome to return to the guest login page.

The application package requirements were emphasized as something applicants should follow closely, including reading the full RFA and using the required templates found in the Related Documents section on Grants.gov. Required documents included a completed Project Proposal using the provided proposal template (with instructions to stay within the page limit, use the required format, and avoid unallowable costs and activities described in the funding restrictions section), the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance, the SF-424A Budget Information form for non-construction programs, and the Grants.gov lobbying form (certification and disclosure of lobbying) when applicable. If an applicant planned to claim indirect costs, they may have needed to include a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) or use a de minimis indirect cost rate approach consistent with federal requirements.

Finally, NRCS highlighted that this award is federal financial assistance and encouraged applicants, especially those less familiar with federal grants and cooperative agreements, to complete the free "Grants 101" training available through CFO.gov. The training covers core federal grants topics such as governing laws and regulations, types of financial assistance mechanisms, Uniform Guidance administrative requirements, cost principles, and risk management and single audit expectations. This emphasis signals that NRCS expected applicants to manage funds and reporting in line with standard federal financial assistance rules and to be prepared for compliance requirements that often come with cooperative agreements.

• The Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Conservation Outreach: Racial Equity and Justice Conservation Cooperative Agreements" 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 2021-08-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-10-25. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals.

Apply for USDA NRCS NHQ REJ 21 NOFO0001121

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