The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is requesting applications for the AgVets program for Fiscal Year 2023 to provide grants to nonprofit organizations for programs and services to establish and enhance farming and ranching opportunities for military veterans.
Donor Name: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/19/2023
Size of the Grant: $250,000
Grant Duration: 36 Months
Details:
The USDA and NIFA continue to take a leadership role in assisting veterans who are interested in pursuing careers in agriculture, while also supporting military families in rural America. As military members from diverse backgrounds complete their tours of duty or transition to Veteran status, many return to rural America ready to farm, ranch, and start new businesses. Job and career opportunities can be difficult to locate. Connecting interested military veterans with meaningful employment is key.
The need for workforce development opportunities for Veterans in rural areas corresponds to the need to train a new generation of farmers and ranchers in areas dominated by an aging farm population. Along with higher percentages of rural youth enlisting in the Army when compared to those from more urban areas, America is experiencing demographic changes such as increased numbers of women and minorities serving, and a greater reliance on the National Guard and Reserve in overseas deployments.
The Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans (AgVets) program under assistance listing 10.334, specifically targets military veterans interested in pursuing careers across the food and agricultural sector. Equipping veterans with the necessary skills, training, and experience that lead to meaningful employment opportunities in turn strengthens personal finances and rural economies.
Purpose
The overarching goal of AgVets is to increase the number of military veterans pursuing knowledge and skills development through comprehensive, hands-on and immersive model farm/ranch programs offered locally or regionally that lead to successful careers in the food and agricultural sector.
Project Types
The following describes the types of projects or grants that are eligible for funding:
- Applicants must propose an extension project. Extension Projects must conduct programs and activities that deliver science-based knowledge and informal educational programs to people, enabling them to make practical decisions.
- Program delivery may range from community-based to national audiences and use communication methods from face-to-face to electronic or combinations thereof.
- Extension projects may also include related matters such as certification programs, instructional materials and innovative instructional methods appropriate to informal educational programs.
- Extension Projects address one or more of the following key strategic actions:
- Support non-formal education to increase food and agricultural literacy in adults
- Promote science-based agricultural literacy by increasing understanding and use of food and agricultural science data, information, and programs
- Build science-based capability in people to engage audiences and enable informed decision making
- Develop new applications of instructional tools and curriculum structures that increase technical competency and ensure global competitiveness
- Offer non-formal learning programs that increase accessibility to new audiences at the rate at which new ideas and technologies are tested and/or developed at the community-scale; and Develop programs that increase public knowledge and citizen engagement leading to actions that protect or enhance the nation’s food supply, agricultural productivity, environmental quality, community vitality, and/or public health and well-being
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $4,791,170
- Award Ceiling: $250,000
- Award Floor: $100,000
Project Duration
36 Months
Eligibility Criteria
- AgVets applicants must be nonprofit entities. A letter stating the non-profit status should be included as an attachment to Field 12, Other Attachments.
- Only the applicant must meet the eligibility requirement. Project partners and collaborators need not meet the eligibility requirement. Award recipients may subcontract to organizations not eligible to apply provided such organizations are necessary for the successful completion of the project. Applications submitted by individuals are not eligible for consideration under any category applicable to AgVets.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
