Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program (SPECA)

Agency: National Institute of Food and Agriculture

10.226 -- Secondary and Two-Year Postsecondary Agriculture Education Challenge Grants

Archived opportunityLast Updated: May 13, 2026

Description

The Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants (SPECA) program seeks to: (a) promote and strengthen secondary education and two-year postsecondary education in the food, agriculture, natural resources and human (FANH) sciences in order to help ensure the existence of a workforce in the United States that's qualified to serve the FANH sciences system; and (b) promote complementary and synergistic linkages among secondary, two-year postsecondary, and higher education programs in the FANH sciences in order to advance excellence in education and encourage more young Americans to pursue and complete a baccalaureate or higher degree in the FANH sciences.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants

Miscellaneous

Other

Additional information

Applicants for the SPECA must meet all the requirements discussed in this RFA. Applications may only be submitted by: (1) public secondary schools, (2) public or private nonprofit junior and community colleges, (3) institutions of higher education, or (4) nonprofit organizations (Attach IRS 501(c)(3) status under R&R ‘Other Project Information’ Field 12 Other Attachments). Failure to meet the eligibility criteria by the application deadline may result in exclusion from consideration or, preclude NIFA from making an award. For those new to Federal financial assistance, NIFA’s Grants Overview provides highly recommended information about grants and other resources to help understand the Federal awards process.School boards are not eligible as legal recipients of the award

Grantor contact information

Description

NIFA Support Business Hours are M-F, 7:00 am - 5:00 pm ET, excluding Federal Holidays

Email

If you have any questions related to preparing application content.

policy@usda.gov

Documents

File name	Description	Last updated
FY21-SPECA-Mod-RFA.pdf	FY2021-Secondary-Education-Two-Year-Postsecondary-Education-and-Agriculture-in-the-K-12-Classroom-Challenge-Grants-Program-(SPECA)-Modified-RFA	Oct 17, 2020 05:56 PM UTC
FY21-SPECA-RFA.pdf	Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program (SPECA)	Oct 16, 2020 11:23 PM UTC

Link to additional information

Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program (SPECA)

Archived: March 6, 2022

Application process

This site is a work in progress. Go to www.grants.gov to apply, track application status, and subscribe to updates.

Award

$800,000

Program Funding

Expected awards

$50,000

Award Minimum

$300,000

Award Maximum

Funding opportunity number:

USDA-NIFA-SAECP-007855

Cost sharing or matching requirement:

Funding instrument type:

Grant

Opportunity Category:

Discretionary

Opportunity Category Explanation:

Category of Funding Activity:

Agriculture

Category Explanation:

History

Version:

Posted date:

October 16, 2020

Archive date:

March 6, 2022