The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) requests applications for the Smith-Lever Special Needs Competitive Grants Program (SLSNCGP) to assist in preparing for, providing an educational response to, recovering from, and mitigating disasters and disaster threats.
Donor Name: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/01/2026
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
The purpose of the Smith-Lever Special Needs Competitive Grants Program (SLSNCGP), Assistance Listing 10.511, is to support innovative, education-based approaches to address disaster preparedness and potential responses to natural, human-made, or technological disasters or disaster threats that pose risks to communities. The goals and objectives of SLSNCGP include sustaining quality of life in communities across the United States through risk preparedness for food and agriculture systems in the event of a disaster. The SLSNCGP projects collect and distribute timely and relevant information and resources with end-users, stakeholders, and collaborators to improve disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.
Priorities
- Grant funds will support innovative extension initiatives that address risks, hazards, and threats that may lead to disasters. The SLSNCGP enables the CES to assist in preparing for, providing an educational response to, recovering from, and mitigating disasters and disaster threats. The SLSNCGP promotes awareness and capacity building of communities’ response to disasters by strengthening individual, family, farm, and small business disaster preparedness through education and collaborations with other agencies or volunteer organizations.
- NIFA intends to fund SLSNCGP projects to implement applied extension programs that serve public needs through a disaster context. The SLSNCGP will fund the development of educational programs, resource deliverables, and demonstration activities that focus on disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. Projects illustrating strong plans for replicability, scalability, and transferring successful methods to other states and/or regions for a broader reach and greater potential for end-user adoption are strongly encouraged.
Topical Areas
Topical Areas cover the subject areas on which the Coperative Extension System develops and delivers educational resources and programs to target audiences and stakeholders through science-based education. SLSNCGP projects must address at least one of these Topical Areas:
- Agriculture: Includes but is not limited to row crop and forage health and production; livestock health and production; aquaculture; fruit and vegetable production; farm and agribusiness management; economics; farm safety; and agricultural biosecurity.
- Natural Resources: Includes but is not limited to water; forestry; wood sciences; range; waste management; energy, wildlife; and recreation.
- Community and Economic Development: Includes but is not limited to small business; workforce development; community planning; placemaking; revitalization; tourism; visioning and strategic planning; leadership development; housing; homeowner education; community engagement; volunteerism; broadband; and rural life.
- Family and Consumer Sciences: Includes but is not limited to nutrition; food safety; nutrition security; health management and wellness; well-being; mental health; personal and family finance; child development; early childhood education; individual and family relationships; textiles; and hospitality.
- 4-H and Youth Development: Includes but is not limited to youth development; career exploration; community engagement; STEM education; and volunteerism.
Funding Information
- Available Funding: $459,564
- Award Range: $20,000 – $115,000
Grant Period
Project periods for Standard Grants range from 12 to 36 months.
Eligibility Criteria
The following entity(ies) may apply to this NOFO: Organizations.
- Applications may only be submitted by 1862 Land-grant Institutions in the 50 states and the U.S. territories, American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- An eligible individual institution, independent branch campus, or branch institution of a State system may submit a grant application for project activities to be undertaken principally on behalf of its own students or faculty, and to be managed primarily by its own personnel. The applicant executes the project without the requirement of sharing grant funds with other project partners.
- Award recipients may subcontract to organizations not eligible to apply, provided such organizations are necessary for the conduct of the project. The 1862 Land-grant Institutions may partner with each other as well as with other Land-grant Institutions (e.g., 1890s and 1994s), non-Land-grant Institutions, and non-governmental organizations within their state or their region on joint proposals.
- Failure to meet an eligibility criterion by the application deadline may result in the application being excluded from consideration or, even though an application may be reviewed, will preclude NIFA from making an award.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
