The NRCS, an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is seeking support from and opportunities to partner with likeminded natural resource conservation partners.
Donor Name: Natural Resources Conservation Service
States: Alabama
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/10/2023
Size of the Grant: $60,000
Grant Duration: 5 years
Details:
Outreach and education partners are invited to apply for NRCS assistance with projects focused on the following key conservation objectives:
- Utilize Outreach efforts to increase participation in NRCS financial assistance programs and services by all producer designations especially targeting socially disadvantaged, limited resource, women, urban farmers, veterans and beginning farmers and ranchers in Alabama. Also, NRCS in Alabama would like to increase the awareness of minority students’ knowledge at the Middle, High School and University of NRCS career opportunities through the following methods listed below:
- Conducting in-person or virtual Joint USDA Outreach meetings, Women in Ag Conferences, and Farmers Cooperatives Workshops utilizing planning, and promotional techniques to increase the awareness of NRCS programs
- Helping landowners navigate heirs’ property and land retention issues and other Barriers that could impede participation in USDA-NRCS programs through virtual and in-person workshops
- Host multi-county Conservation Events, Regional Summit, Conservation Demonstration Tours, and Rural Farmers Market in targeted counties utilizing news articles, social media, and other media outlets to promote the events
- Establishment, maintenance, and distribution of local produce from rural or urban gardens for targeted audiences to increase access to fresh produce (including veterans, limited resource, women, seniors, youth, and historically underserved groups) while increasing awareness of the benefits within the younger population.
- Conduct USDA outreach and career style events at local middle and high schools in the blackbelt, central, and wiregrass regions of Alabama in order to provide awareness about USDA NRCS careers and college agricultural disciplines of study.
- Outreach that will be conducted to further the Agency’s priorities.
- Conducting outreach to promote soil health with the use of cover crops and other methods that improve soil quality
- Hosting outreach meetings that increase public awareness on prescribed burning, other forestry and wildlife related techniques, and financial assistance opportunities that are available through the USDA-NRCS in Alabama.
- Establishment of a program and outreach opportunities at the university and high school level that will recruit minority students for future employment with the USDA- NRCS in Alabama specifically in the wiregrass region of Alabama, Tuskegee University, Auburn University, and Alabama A&M University.
- Identifying of watersheds through community/municipality outreach meetings, in historically underserved and limited resource communities. The PL-566 program works through local government sponsors and helps participants solve natural resource and related economic problems on a watershed basis. Program outreach criteria can include the following but not limited to flood prevention and damage reduction, development of rural water supply sources, and erosion and sediment control.
Proposed projects must be conducted in the state of Alabama.
Funding Information
- The Federal funding agency expects to award approximately $600,000 through this opportunity
- Award Ceiling: $60,000
- Award Floor: $10,000
- Projects may be between 1 and 5 years in duration.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants and applications must meet eligibility criteria by the application deadline to be considered for award. Eligible applicant type is determined by the implementing program statute. Applicant entities identified in the SAM.gov exclusions database as ineligible, prohibited/restricted, or excluded from receiving Federal contracts and certain Federal assistance and benefits will not be considered for Federal funding, as applicable to the funding being requested under this Federal program (2 CFR 200.206(d)). Neither foreign entities nor individuals are eligible to apply for this opportunity.
- Eligibility for this opportunity is limited to the following entity types:
- City or township governments
- County governments
- For profit organizations other than small businesses
- Independent school districts
- 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
- Public and State-controlled institutions of higher education
- Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
- Small businesses
- Special district governments
- State governments
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
