Federal grant programs / Department of the Interior

USGS Experienced Services Program (15.072)

Also known as USGS ESP

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$4.3 million
• Grant awards41
• Typical award$71,599
• Awarded in FY 2025$1.0 million
• Size rank1,645 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceCooperative agreement

Key findings

• It is the 1645th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• Awards went to recipients in 1 states and territories.

What the program funds

To implement legislation that authorizes cooperative agreements with eligible nonprofit organizations that will recruit and provide the services of professionals, age 55 and older, who have the experience and expertise to support the USGS mission across a range of capacities on a temporary, full or part time, project-specific basis.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

This program is limited to qualified non-profit organizations subject to 26 USC 501 c(3) of the tax code, and must be designated by the Secretary of Labor under Title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965. Proof of establishment must be submitted with the application.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Recipients will use funding to cover overhead or administrative costs to fulfill its obligations under the cooperative agreement, as well as salary and benefits for enrollees. Overhead or administrative costs may include payroll and benefits management, required reporting, and providing interactive portal for enrollee supervisors, among others.Authorizing legislation (P.L. 116-94, Sec. 111) specifies that Program activities may not: (1) result in the displacement of individuals currently employed by the Department of the Interior, including partial displacement through reduction of non-overtime hours, wages, or employment benefits; (2) result in the use of an individual under the Department of the Interior Experienced Services Program for a job or function in a case in which a Federal employee is in a layoff status from the same or substantially equivalent job within the Department; or (3) affect existing contracts for services.

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

Oct 01, 2025 to Sep 30, 2026

Award range and average, in the agency's words

Past Fiscal Year (2024): The average task agreement award was $111,282 Current Fiscal Year (2025): The average task agreement award was $69,499 Budget Fiscal Year (2026): Range for FY26 will be $500,000 - $2,000,000

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2025: The nonprofit organization will continue to accept task agreements under the five-year master cooperative agreement with the USGS to recruit skilled, experienced workers, aged 55 and older, to fill a wide range of temporary roles within the Bureau.Fiscal Year2026: USGS anticipates continuing to award task agreements under the five-year master cooperative agreement for similar types of opportunities for individuals 55 and older to fill a wide range of temporary roles within the Bureau.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Almost all of the money went to nonprofits.

By state

Each state below has its own page for this program, with its recipients and yearly totals.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.