South Carolina Urban, Community and Pollinator Garden Projects

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) is being released prior to appropriation and/or apportionment of funds for fiscal year 2024. Enactment of additional continuing resolutions or an appropriations act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing potential availability of cooperative agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing healthy food discrepancies and encouraging collaboration between conservation partners to address hunger, health, and local-level beautification through providing technical assistance for the development of demonstration  urban, community and pollinator gardens. Proposals are requested for competitive consideration for cooperative agreement awards for projects between 1 and 3 years in duration located in the State of South Carolina. See Section C.1 of this announcement for eligible applicant type. This notice identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for projects. Proposals will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete and/or noncompliant proposals will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant.

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 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 4, 2024. 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.

The agency anticipates making selections by June 1, 2024, and expects to execute awards by August 30, 2024. These dates are estimates and are subject to change. Projects may be between 1 and 3 years in duration. Applicants should plan their projects based on an estimated project start date of September 1, 2024.

Government

• Federally recognized Native American tribal governments
• City or township governments
• State governments
• County governments
• Public and Indian housing authorities
• Special district governments

Education

• Public and state institutions of higher education
• Independent school districts
• Private institutions of higher education

Business

• Small businesses

Nonprofit

• Nonprofits non-higher education without 501(c)(3)
• Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3)
• Other Native American tribal organizations