Conservation Outreach, FY 2021 | USDA NRCS LA MULTI 21 NOFO0001079

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS LA MULTI 21 NOFO0001079

The Conservation Outreach, FY 2021 opportunity is a discretionary funding notice from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Louisiana designed to expand outreach and partnership capacity for conservation program delivery across the state. The central goal is to support natural resource conservation partners who can promote and increase participation in NRCS programs, ultimately improving how conservation assistance reaches landowners, producers, and communities in Louisiana. The notice emphasizes partnership-driven work that aligns with NRCS conservation objectives and priorities described in the full announcement, with a strong focus on practical outreach that strengthens on-the-ground conservation results.

Funding is offered through cooperative agreements, meaning selected projects are expected to involve substantial involvement and coordination with NRCS rather than operating entirely independently. For FY 2021, NRCS anticipated up to about $5,000,000 total available funding, to be distributed across multiple recipients, with roughly 10 expected awards. Individual awards could be as large as $2,000,000, and actual award amounts depend on Congressional appropriations and the availability of funds at the time awards are made. Projects may be proposed as either single-year or multi-year efforts, with allowable project periods ranging from one to five years, giving applicants flexibility to plan shorter campaigns or longer, sustained outreach strategies.

Eligibility is broad, but applicants must be able to provide support within the State of Louisiana and be engaged in delivering conservation programs and services there. Eligible applicant types include city or township governments, county governments, state governments, special district governments, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized governments, public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories), and both public/state-controlled and private institutions of higher education. This wide eligibility is intended to attract proposals from organizations that already have local reach, trusted community relationships, and the capacity to communicate conservation opportunities effectively to target audiences.

The application process is handled through Grants.gov, and the announcement makes clear that applications will be screened for completeness and compliance with the notice requirements. Submissions that are incomplete or do not follow the stated rules may be removed from consideration, and applicants will be notified if their application is eliminated for these reasons. The Louisiana State Conservationist retains discretion to fund or not fund any applications and may choose to partially fund a proposal if the NRCS objectives can still be achieved with a reduced project scope. Applicants new to Grants.gov are advised to start early and follow the registration and submission steps outlined in the notice, since NRCS staff will not provide support for Grants.gov account or technical issues.

Key dates for this opportunity were set as follows: questions about the notice could be submitted up to April 16, 2021, with responses posted on Grants.gov about two weeks before the application deadline. Complete applications had to be submitted via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 24, 2021. NRCS anticipated making selection decisions by June 22, 2021 and executing awards by September 1, 2021. For Grants.gov technical problems, applicants were directed to contact Grants.gov Applicant Support (1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov), reinforcing that timely submission planning is important.

In short, this grant opportunity funded Louisiana-based outreach partnerships that can increase awareness, understanding, and use of NRCS conservation programs, using cooperative agreements that connect partner capabilities with NRCS priorities. It offered multi-year flexibility, sizeable potential award levels, and broad eligibility across government, nonprofit, tribal, housing authority, and higher education organizations, provided their work meaningfully supports conservation program delivery in Louisiana.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Conservation Outreach, FY 2021" 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 Mar 23, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 24, 2021. (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 $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, 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.

Apply for USDA NRCS LA MULTI 21 NOFO0001079

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