The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is requesting applications for its 2024 Secondary Education Two-Year Postsecondary Education and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program.
Donor Name: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/08/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
The Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants (SPECA) program seeks to: (a) promote and strengthen secondary education and two-year postsecondary education in the food and agriculture sciences in order to help ensure the existence of a workforce in the United States that’s qualified to serve the food and agriculture sciences system; and (b) promote complementary and synergistic linkages among secondary, two-year postsecondary, and higher education programs in the food and agriculture sciences in order to advance excellence in education and encourage more young Americans to pursue and complete a baccalaureate or higher degree in the food and agriculture sciences.
Purpose and Priorities
The purpose of the Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants (SPECA) program is to award grants to:
- Enhance curricula in agricultural education
- Increase faculty teaching competencies
- Interest young people in pursuing higher education in order to prepare for scientific and professional careers in the food and agricultural sciences
- Promote the incorporation of agriscience and agribusiness subject matter into other instructional programs, particularly classes in science, business, and consumer education
- Facilitate joint initiatives by the grant recipient with other secondary schools, institutions of higher education that award an associate degree, and institutions of higher education that award a bachelor’s degree to maximize the development and use of resources, such as faculty, facilities, and equipment, to improve agriscience and agribusiness education
- Support other initiatives designed to meet local, State, regional, or national needs related to promoting excellence in agriscience and agribusiness education
- Support current agriculture in the classroom programs for grades K–12.
Project and Grant Types
The following describes the types of projects or grants that are eligible for funding:
Project Types. Applicants must propose one of three types of projects: Regular, or Collaborative Type 1.
- Regular Project
- Applicants may request up to $50,000 (total, not per year) for a Regular Grant.
- Applicant executes the project without the requirement of sharing grant funds with other project partners.
- Collaboration Project (Applicant + One or more Partners)
- Applicants may request up to $150,000 (total, not per year) for a Collaboration Project.
- Applicant executes the project with assistance from at least one additional partner.
Project Categories
Each project must support academic instruction with a primary focus in at least one of the following three K-14 Grade Levels:
- K-8 grade levels: Projects with a specific focus on any of the academic grades Kindergarten through eight.
- Secondary School: Projects with a specific focus on any of the academic grades 9 through 12.
- Junior or Community College: Projects with a specific focus on associate degree level (2-year postsecondary) activities.
Funding Information
- The amount available for SPECA in 2024 is approximately $900,000.
- Average Award Range: $50,000 – $150,000.
Grant Period
24-36 months.
Eligibility Criteria
Applications may only be submitted by: (1) public secondary schools 20 U.S.C. 7801(45), (2) public or private nonprofit junior and community colleges, (3) institutions of higher education (20 U.S.C. 1001), or (4) nonprofit organizations (Attach IRS 501(c)(3) status under R&R ‘Other Project Information’ Field 12 Other Attachments).
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
