FY24 Nebraska Conservation Collaboration Cooperative Agreements | USDA NRCS NE MULTI 24 NOFO0001342

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS NE MULTI 24 NOFO0001342

The FY24 Nebraska Conservation Collaboration Cooperative Agreements opportunity is a competitive USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) funding notice aimed at supporting conservation projects located in Nebraska. It is designed to help partners leverage NRCS resources to tackle local natural resource concerns, strengthen collaboration among conservation stakeholders, and build conservation leadership at the state and community level. Awards are made as cooperative agreements, meaning recipients should generally expect a more hands-on federal partnership than a typical grant, with NRCS involvement in shaping, coordinating, or supporting project implementation as allowed under the agreement.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) is explicitly released prior to final appropriation or apportionment of FY24 funds, so the final availability and amount of funding can be affected by continuing resolutions or the eventual appropriations act. In practice, that means applicants should plan carefully for potential funding timing or level changes, even if their proposal is otherwise strong and eligible.

Projects proposed under this competition must be structured to run between 1 and 3 years. The program anticipates making up to about 20 awards, with an award ceiling listed at $1,000,000 per award. The funding activity aligns with agriculture, environment, and natural resources, and it is associated with CFDA (Assistance Listing) 10.902.

A wide range of entity types can apply. Eligible applicants include federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations, state governments, counties, cities or townships, special district governments, independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofits (including those with 501(c)(3) status and those without). The NFO also notes that entities may submit more than one application as long as each application is for a different project, and it is possible for a single entity to receive more than one award.

Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov, and proposals will be screened first for completeness and compliance with the requirements in the notice. Proposals that are incomplete or fail to meet the stated compliance rules will be removed from consideration, and applicants will be notified if their submission is eliminated at that stage. For organizations that are new to Grants.gov, the NFO points applicants to the section of the full notice that describes the up-front registration and submission steps, which can take time and should be handled well before the deadline.

The submission deadline is May 6, 2024, at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. Grants.gov support is available through 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov, but NRCS program staff will not assist with Grants.gov account or technical setup issues. Questions directed to the federal awarding agency are limited to clarifying specific NFO content (for example, dates, page references, or resolving apparent inconsistencies). The agency indicates it will not respond to questions asking for judgments about eligibility edge cases or feedback on the strength or merit of a particular project concept.

NRCS estimates it will make selections by June 15, 2024, and expects to execute awards by September 15, 2024, though these timelines are explicitly described as estimates that may change. The official opportunity identifier is USDA NRCS NE MULTI 24 NOFO0001342, and it is categorized as a discretionary funding opportunity using the cooperative agreement instrument.

• The Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 Nebraska Conservation Collaboration 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 2024-03-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-06. (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.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 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), 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 NE MULTI 24 NOFO0001342

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