AL NRCS Technical Assistance FY 2023 | USDA NRCS AL CTA 23 NOFO0001283

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS AL CTA 23 NOFO0001283

The AL NRCS Technical Assistance FY 2023 opportunity is a competitive federal funding notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), focused on building partnerships that can expand or strengthen conservation-related technical services and outreach in Alabama during Fiscal Year 2023. The core purpose is to bring in capable partners to help NRCS implement key conservation assistance activities, which typically include on-the-ground technical support, project planning and implementation assistance, and outreach efforts that encourage adoption of natural resource conservation practices. All proposed work must be performed in Alabama, and the Alabama State Conservationist retains discretion over whether any applications are funded.

Funding is offered through cooperative agreements, meaning the selected recipients should expect an active partnership structure with NRCS rather than a simple pass-through grant. NRCS anticipates up to $1,000,000 total available for the program in FY 2023, with an award ceiling of $250,000 per project and an estimated five awards. Projects may be structured to run from one to five years, which allows applicants to propose either shorter, targeted efforts or longer initiatives that build sustained capacity for technical assistance and outreach. A key caveat is that the notice was released prior to final appropriation and/or apportionment of FY 2023 funds, so the ultimate amount available could be affected by continuing resolutions or final appropriations decisions.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations that can contribute technical expertise, local capacity, or community reach. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions); and for-profit entities (including small businesses and other for-profit organizations, excluding only the limitation that the category is specified as other than small businesses and also small businesses, both of which are eligible). The funding activity aligns with agriculture, environment, and natural resources priorities, and the listed CFDA/Assistance Listing numbers are 10.902, 10.904, 10.912, 10.924, and 10.931.

Applications were required to be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 15, 2023. NRCS emphasized that submissions would be screened for completeness and compliance with the notice requirements, and that incomplete or noncompliant applications could be removed from consideration, with applicants notified if eliminated for that reason. For Grants.gov technical problems, applicants were directed to Grants.gov Applicant Support (1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov), and NRCS staff indicated they could not assist with Grants.gov account issues. Questions to the agency were limited to clarifying information within the notice itself (for example, dates, page references, or inconsistencies), while questions about eligibility determinations or the competitiveness of a specific proposal would not be addressed.

NRCS provided an expected timeline for decisions and award processing, noting these were estimates and could change. The agency anticipated making selections by June 25, 2023, and executing awards by July 30, 2023. Overall, the opportunity is designed for organizations that can demonstrably help NRCS deliver conservation technical assistance and outreach at scale in Alabama, under a cooperative agreement model with defined compliance and submission requirements and with funding levels dependent on final federal budget actions.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "AL NRCS Technical Assistance FY 2023" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.902, 10.904, 10.912, 10.924, 10.931.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 21, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 15, 2023. (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 $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, 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, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for USDA NRCS AL CTA 23 NOFO0001283

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