The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is pleased to announce a competitive funding opportunity for the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) Block Grant Pilot.
Donor Name: California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/19/2023
Size of the Grant: $5,000,000
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
The State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program – Block Grant Pilot promotes the development of water efficient irrigation on California’s farmlands and ranchlands.
The SWEEP Block Grant Pilot is a part of the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program, which was first developed in 2014 in response to severe drought. SWEEP provides financial incentives for California agricultural operations to invest in irrigation systems that save water and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Through this Block Grant Pilot solicitation, which will provide funding to organizations to further disburse to agricultural operations, CDFA aims to support regional capacity building and provide opportunities for regional strategic use of SWEEP funding to address local concerns regarding water conservation and water efficiency.
Program Objectives
CDFA aims to collaborate with entities with a mission to promote and develop climate change resilient agriculture. CDFA acknowledges the trusted SWEEP – Block Grant Pilot California Department of Food and Agriculture connections that exist between farmers and ranchers and regional entities such as Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs), University Extension Offices, Tribes, Land Trusts, and nonprofits organizations. CDFA wishes to leverage and strengthen these connections through the SWEEP Block Grant Pilot.
Funding and Duration
Up to $40 million will be made available for the SWEEP Block Grant Pilot Program.
- The maximum award is $5,000,000; the minimum award is $2,000,000.
- 15% of the awarded funds may be used for direct and indirect costs related to administration of the grant including disbursement of funds to Grant Beneficiaries.
- An additional 5% of the award may be used for technical assistance activities as defined by AB 2377 (2018).
- The remainder of the grant funds (at least 80%) must only be used for implementation of on-farm SWEEP projects.
- The maximum funding that can be made available to a Grant Beneficiary is $200,000.
- CDFA reserves the right to offer an award different than the amount requested.
- CDFA will consider equitable regional distribution of funds along with evaluation criteria while selecting projects for award.
- All payments will be made to the Block Grant Recipients. Block Grant Recipients will be responsible for further disbursement of funds.
- The grant term is three years.
- All project activities must occur within the grant term. Costs incurred outside of the grant agreement term will not be reimbursed.
Eligibility Criteria
Block Grant Recipients (BGRs) The following entities are eligible to be BGRs of SWEEP Block Grant funding through this pilot solicitation:
- Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs)
- University of California (UC), California Community Colleges, or California State Universities (CSU)
- Federally- and California-Recognized Native American Indian Tribes
- Local or regional government agencies such as air pollution control districts.
- State agricultural marketing programs, and federal marketing programs that represent California commodities
- Non-profits including, but not limited to:
- Groundwater Sustainability Agencies
- Irrigation districts
- Land trusts
- Non-profit industry organizations
- Eligible entities must be located in California with a physical California business address.
- Applicant organizations are required to provide or facilitate technical assistance to grant beneficiaries as required by AB 2377. AB 2377 defines technical assistance organizations as RCDs, University of California Cooperative Extension and non-profit organizations. If the block grant applicant organization is not one of the entities defined as a technical assistance provider in AB 2377, then they must partner with one such organization to provide the technical assistance elements of the block grant project.
Grant Beneficiaries
The following types of agricultural operations may be selected by BGRs for an on-farm project as Grant Beneficiaries:
- California farmers, ranchers, Federally- and California-Recognized Native American Indian Tribes, and non-profit organizations engaged in agricultural production.
- For the purposes of this program, an agricultural operation is defined as row, vineyard, field and tree crops, commercial nursery, nursery stock production, or greenhouse operation producing food crops or flowers as defined in Food and Agricultural Code section 77911.
- Individuals or business entities receiving grant award funds must be located in California with a physical California business address. The project boundaries must be within the state of California.
- Grant Beneficiary representatives must be at least 18 years old.
For more information, visit SWEEP Block Grant.
