The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is accepting applications for its 2022 Community Innovation and Outreach (CIAO) Program.
Donor Name: Food and Nutrition Service
State: All States
County: All Counties
U.S. Territories: American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 08/01/2022
Grant Size: $20,000,000
Grant Duration: 5 years
Details:
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the nutrition assistance programs of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). FNS works to promote nutrition security through the administration of 15 Federal nutrition assistance programs, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
WIC is a Federal nutrition assistance program that serves low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to five years old who are at nutritional risk. WIC provides nutritious foods, nutrition education including breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health and social services to participants in all 50 states, 33 Indian Tribal Organizations, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
FNS anticipates awarding up to $20 million to a Grantee (for the purpose of this RFA, this term is used in a general way to include cooperators who are awarded and manage cooperative agreements) to ultimately test the effectiveness of community outreach strategies in increasing WIC participation, especially among underserved populations within a community. This announcement of funding is for a one-time cooperative agreement with an accredited institution of higher education (college/university), nonprofit research entity, or other nonprofit organization.
Objectives
- Provide management and technical assistance to potential subgrant applicants throughout the application and award process and to subgrantees throughout the duration of the project.
- Create an FNS-approved implementation framework and evaluation strategy and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to identify project outcomes.
- Develop and award Round 1 of FNS-approved subgrants to WIC State and local agencies, community organizations, and other nonprofits to fund novel community outreach projects.
- Monitor and evaluate Round 1 subgrant projects, draft evaluation summary report, and submit for FNS review.
- Create three evidence-informed model project opportunities for FNS approval (including one with a partner matching component) for testing in a minimum of three locations.
- Develop and award Round 2 of FNS-approved subgrants to WIC State and local agencies, community organizations, and other nonprofits to fund novel and model community outreach projects.
- Monitor and evaluate Round 2 subgrant projects, finalize evaluation summary report, and submit for FNS review.
- Create and update multiple FNS-approved national resources including a national summary report and an outreach framework for WIC Program operators and partners.
Funding Information
- Award Ceiling: $20,000,000
- Award Floor: $1
- Anticipated start dates and period of performance: September 9, 2022 through March 6, 2027; not to exceed 5 years
Eligibility Criteria
Accredited institutions of higher education (colleges/universities), nonprofit research entities, and other nonprofit organizations with documented experience in public health and communications.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
