Notice of Funding Opportunity Summary This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) is being released prior to appropriation and/or apportionment of funds for fiscal year 202 4. Enactment of additional continuing resolutions or an appropriations act may affect the availability or level of funding for this

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The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing the potential availability of funding for agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state-and-community-level conservation leadership.

Proposals must be for projects based in Texas and focus on conservation priority topics as noted in Section A of this notice.

Collaborative projects that provide on-the-ground support for Texas NRCS Field Offices are highly encouraged.

Eligible applicants include:
· City or township governments · County governments · Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) · 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 · Public and State-controlled institutions of higher education · Special district governments · State governments Research proposals will not be accepted, nor considered.

For new users of Grants.gov, see Section D.

of the full Notice of Funding Opportunity for information about steps required before submitting an application via Grants.gov.

Key Dates Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 11:59pm Eastern Time on May 22, 202 4. For technical issues with Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.

Awarding agency staff cannot support applicants regarding Grants.gov accounts.

For inquiries specific to the content of the NFO requirements, contact the federal awarding agency contact (section G of this NFO).

Please limit questions to those regarding specific information contained in this NFO (such as dates, page numbers, clarification of discrepancies, etc.).

Questions related to eligibility, or the merits of a specific proposal will not be addressed.

A webinar for potential applicants will be provided on April 9, 2024, from 10:00am – 11:00am Central Standard Time via Microsoft Office Teams.

Participation.

Meeting participation and additional agreement information will be posted on the NRCS Texas Partners for Conservation website.

The agency anticipates making selections by June 15, 2024, and expects to execute awards by September 15, 202 4. These dates are estimates and are subject to change.

Federal Funding Floor and Ceiling Amounts The estimated funding floor for this opportunity is $25,000, and the estimated funding ceiling is $300,00 0. The funding floor means the minimum agreement funding amount for the Federal share per agreement awarded.

The ceiling is the maximum agreement funding amount for the Federal share per agreement awarded.

These numbers refer to the total agreement amount, not any specific budget period.