Community Agriculture Grants (Wisconsin) | USDA NRCS WI CTA 24 NOFO0001316

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS WI CTA 24 NOFO0001316

The Community Agriculture Grants (Wisconsin) opportunity is a discretionary federal grant program administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) under CFDA 10.902. It is aimed at strengthening conservation planning and implementing on-the-ground conservation practices in urban, suburban, and other small-scale agricultural settings across Wisconsin. A central priority is supporting projects that either create new demonstration community gardens or meaningfully enhance and expand existing community agriculture efforts, with an emphasis on practical, teachable examples that communities can replicate.

The program is designed around four main outcomes that proposals are expected to address. First, projects should provide conservation learning experiences for urban, suburban, and Tribal communities, meaning applicants are encouraged to pair installation or improvement of community agriculture sites with education, training, and hands-on demonstrations tied to natural resource stewardship. Second, proposals should address food desert concerns by improving access to healthy food through community-based growing projects, including strategies that increase availability, distribution, or local production capacity in underserved areas. Third, the program explicitly seeks to advance Tribal food sovereignty, supporting Tribal communities and organizations in strengthening culturally appropriate food systems and local control over food production and agricultural practices. Fourth, projects must aim for positive, measurable natural resources conservation outcomes, implying that strong applications will identify specific conservation goals and metrics (for example, soil health improvements, reduced erosion, better water management, reduced runoff, pollinator habitat benefits, or other quantifiable environmental gains) and describe how progress will be tracked.

A broad range of applicants are eligible, including state, county, and city or 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; Tribal organizations that are not federally recognized as governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education); and small businesses. This wide eligibility suggests the program is intended to reach many types of community partners that are positioned to plan, host, and maintain community agriculture and conservation demonstration sites.

The maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $250,000, and NRCS anticipates making about 10 awards. The Notice of Funding Opportunity also notes an important funding condition: it was released prior to final appropriation and/or apportionment of fiscal year 2024 funds, so the final availability or level of funding could be affected by continuing resolutions or an appropriations act. In practical terms, applicants should be aware that awards depend on federal budget actions and could shift in amount or timing.

Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 22, 2024. Applicants who encounter technical problems with Grants.gov are directed to Grants.gov Applicant Support (1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov), and NRCS staff will not assist with Grants.gov account or system issues. Questions to the awarding agency are limited to clarifications about the NFO itself (such as dates, page references, or resolving inconsistencies), and the agency will not respond to questions about whether a specific applicant is eligible or whether a particular project idea is competitive. NRCS estimates it will make selection decisions by June 21, 2024 and execute awards by September 1, 2024, with the reminder that these dates are estimates and may change.

• The Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Community Agriculture Grants (Wisconsin)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.902.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-03-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-22. (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 $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 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, Small businesses.

Apply for USDA NRCS WI CTA 24 NOFO0001316

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