Grants / Department of Agriculture / Natural Resources Conservation Service

USDA-NRCS-NHQ-RCPP-23-NOFO0001304: Notice of Funding for NRCS’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) for Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2023

Closed Closed August 18, 2023 Opportunity USDA-NRCS-NHQ-RCPP-23-NOFO0001304 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of Natural Resources Conservation Service notices from 2023.

• Award ceiling$25.0 million
• Award floor$250,000
• Total funding$500 million
• Cost sharingRequired
• Funding typeOther

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Entities that are classified as one of the following organizational types can serve as an eligible RCPP partner:1. An agricultural or silvicultural producer association or other group of producers.2. A state or unit of local government.3. An Indian Tribe.4. A farmer cooperative.5. A water district, irrigation district, acequia, rural water district or association, or other organization with specific water delivery authority to agricultural producers.6. A municipal water or wastewater treatment entity.7. An institution of higher education.8. An organization, business or entity with an established history of working cooperatively with producers, as determined by NRCS, to address:a. local conservation priorities related to agricultural production, wildlife habitat development, or nonindustrial private forest land management; orb. critical watershed-scale soil erosion, water quality, sediment reduction, or other natural resource issues.9. An entity, such as an Indian Tribe, state government, local government, or a non-governmental organization, that has a farmland or grassland protection program that purchases agricultural land easements, as defined in 7 CFR 1468.3. 10. A conservation district.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Regional Conservation Partnership Program awards averaged $1.3 million; this notice allows up to $25.0 million per award.
• The notice requires cost sharing or matching funds, so you must contribute part of the project cost.

What the grant funds

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Federal Awarding Agency Name: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of Funding for NRCS’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) for Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NRCS-NHQ-RCPP-23-NOFO0001304 Federal Assistance Listing (previously referred to as the Catalog of Federal Financial Assistance): 10.932, RCPP Due Date: Proposals must be received by NRCS by 4:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 18, 2023. The RCPP promotes the coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that contribute a significant portion of the overall costs of a project. This coordination expands our ability to address resource concerns at farm, watershed, and regional scales. Through the RCPP, NRCS coinvests with partners to implement projects that address conservation challenges and provide measurable improvements and outcomes for resource concerns. Using guidance contained in this notice, potential RCPP partners propose projects that generate conservation benefits by addressing specific natural resource objectives in a state or multistate area or address one or more priority resource concerns within an NRCS-designated critical conservation area (CCA). NRCS and partners collaborate to design, promote, and implement RCPP projects on agricultural and nonindustrial private forest land. Through the RCPP, NRCS may provide both financial and technical assistance funds to project partners and producers to carry out projects. RCPP proposals are evaluated through a competitive proposal process based on three criteria: quantifiable impact, partner contributions, and partnership and management. NRCS is actively working on improving the delivery and administration of the RCPP. Some of the improvements will be directed at areas such as simplifying and reducing the number of agreements while still complying with statutory and regulatory requirements, streamlining and reducing evaluation criteria, reducing lengthy RCPP easement transactions, improving the RCPP Portal, consistent guidance and training for employees and partners, as well as simplifying the technical assistance structure. In FY 2023, NRCS will make a total of $500 million available for both the “Classic” component and the alternative funding arrangements (AFA).

Category: Agriculture, Environment, Natural Resources.

Applying now

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