Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Missouri NRCS Partnership Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) | USDA NRCS MO MULTI 23 NOFO0001251

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS MO MULTI 23 NOFO0001251

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Missouri NRCS Partnership Notice of Funding Opportunity (USDA NRCS MO MULTI 23 NOFO0001251) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It is offered as a cooperative agreement, meaning funded projects are expected to involve coordination with NRCS rather than operating entirely independently. The notice was released before final FY 2023 funding levels were fully settled, so the total funding available could change depending on continuing resolutions or an appropriations act. NRCS also notes that the Missouri State Conservationist may decide not to fund some or any applications, even if they are eligible.

The core goal of the opportunity is to partner with organizations and community-based entities in Missouri to implement, coordinate, and/or support the development of Urban Gardens and the Peoples Gardens Initiative. Proposed projects should focus on expanding the awareness, use, and installation of gardens that produce vegetables and specialty crops, as well as native plants or other related vegetative gardens in Missouri urban areas. Strong proposals are expected to do more than build or expand garden sites; they should include learning opportunities that educate urban residents and the general public about the benefits of urban gardening, locally produced food, and garden-based community sites. NRCS emphasizes innovation and conservation outcomes, encouraging applicants to use innovative urban conservation practices (or proven established practices) and to demonstrate the broader benefits of urban gardens, such as community engagement, conservation value, and practical impacts for local food systems.

A key expectation in the notice is community-building capacity. Applicants are expected to show they can bring together members of the urban community to share knowledge among producers, consumers, and other interested groups. In practice, this points toward projects that include partnerships, workshops, demonstrations, training events, community volunteer programs, youth or school engagement, and other structures that help urban gardening efforts persist beyond the grant period. NRCS will accept both single-year and multi-year applications, giving applicants flexibility to design either shorter pilot efforts or longer programs that scale over time.

Eligibility is broad and includes many public and private entity types. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city/township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; and individuals. This range suggests NRCS is open to proposals from local governments, universities, community groups, housing authorities, tribal entities, and individual practitioners, as long as they can deliver the required activities and meet federal grant compliance standards.

Funding details in the posting indicate an award ceiling of $50,000 and an anticipated eight awards. The opportunity is associated with CFDA (now often referred to as Assistance Listing) number 10.935 and is categorized under agriculture, environment, and natural resources. Because proposals will be screened for completeness and compliance, applicants need to follow the NFO instructions carefully; incomplete or noncompliant submissions are eliminated from consideration, and applicants will be notified if removed for those reasons.

Applications had to be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 22, 2023. NRCS makes it clear that technical help with Grants.gov (accounts, system errors, submissions) must go through Grants.gov Applicant Support rather than NRCS program staff, and it provides the support phone number (1-800-518-4726) and email (support@grants.gov). For questions about the content of the NFO itself, applicants are directed to the federal awarding agency contact listed in the notice, but questions are limited to clarifying the posted requirements (for example, dates, page references, or discrepancies). NRCS states it will not respond to questions about whether a specific applicant is eligible or whether a specific project idea is likely to be competitive.

The timeline provided in the notice is straightforward but labeled as subject to change. NRCS anticipated making selections by June 22, 2023 and expected to execute awards by September 30, 2023. To help applicants understand the program and requirements, NRCS scheduled a webinar for 10:00 am Central Standard Time on Tuesday, April 12, 2023, and provided contact information for Brad McCord (573-876-9423; brad.mccord@usda.gov) and Amanda Zapien (573-876-0901; amanda.zapien@usda.gov) for participation details.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Missouri NRCS Partnership Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.935.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 22, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 22, 2023 Applications must be received by 1159 pm Eastern Time.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $50,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, 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, Individuals.

Apply for USDA NRCS MO MULTI 23 NOFO0001251

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