Missouri Conservation Partnership, Outreach, and Education | USDA NRCS MO MULTI 24 NOFO0001345

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS MO MULTI 24 NOFO0001345

The Missouri Conservation Partnership, Outreach, and Education grant opportunity is a discretionary funding program from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that aims to strengthen conservation outcomes in Missouri by funding partner-led outreach and education. The notice is being released ahead of final fiscal year 2024 funding decisions, meaning the ultimate amount available could change depending on appropriations or continuing resolutions. Within that uncertainty, NRCS is clearly signaling that it wants to invest in strong, mission-aligned partners who can expand awareness of NRCS programs, bring in new participants, and improve access to conservation assistance across communities that have historically been left out.

The program supports projects that advance one of two main objectives. The first objective focuses on outreach that increases diversity, equity, and inclusion in Farm Bill conservation programs through workshops, conferences, and virtual learning. These projects are meant to boost awareness of NRCS programs, build trust and relationships between NRCS, partner organizations, and producers, and ultimately increase participation among Historically Underserved (HU) agricultural producers. The NFO highlights veterans, minority producers, and limited resource landowners and producers as key audiences, and it expects proposals to be intentionally designed around current agricultural topics that are relevant to underserved segments of Missouri agriculture.

The second objective supports technical workshops and/or field days centered on urban and small-scale agriculture initiatives and general awareness. These projects are intended to create practical learning opportunities that educate NRCS staff and partner conservation planners and/or Missouri producers about urban agriculture production systems and approaches. Applicants are expected to show that they can convene or connect members of the agriculture science and technology community so that knowledge can be shared in a way that is useful to producers and other stakeholders. In practice, that points toward hands-on demonstrations, field-based learning, and training events that translate technical expertise into actionable conservation and production practices suited to smaller-scale and urban settings.

Equity is a major theme of the opportunity and is treated as a core operating principle rather than an add-on. NRCS frames equity as fair, just, and impartial access to programs and services, with attention to individuals and communities that have faced persistent barriers. The notice ties this approach to federal equity directives and uses the USDA definition of Historically Underserved groups, which include Beginning Farmers or Ranchers, Socially Disadvantaged producers, Veteran Farmers or Ranchers, and Limited Resource producers. The NFO also provides detail on what these categories mean in practical terms, such as time-in-farming thresholds for beginning and veteran farmers, income and sales thresholds for limited resource status, and the race/ethnicity-based definition used for socially disadvantaged status (with an added clarification that gender alone is not treated as a covered group under NRCS conservation program authorities).

From an applicant and compliance standpoint, NRCS emphasizes that proposals must follow the instructions in the full notice and be complete and compliant at submission. Applications are screened first for completeness and compliance, and any submission that is incomplete or noncompliant is removed from consideration. NRCS also notes that the Missouri State Conservationist retains the discretion not to fund any applications, even if eligible, reinforcing that awards will be competitive and dependent on priorities and available funding. The program allows single-year or multi-year applications, offering flexibility for partners proposing either a focused short-term outreach effort or a longer campaign with multiple events and follow-up engagement.

Eligibility is broad and includes a range of public and nonprofit institutions that commonly deliver conservation outreach and education. Eligible applicants include state governments, independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments, tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status. The funding mechanism is a grant, the assistance listing is CFDA 10.902, and the activity areas align with agriculture, environment, and natural resources. The posted award ceiling is $500,000, and NRCS anticipates making approximately five awards, which suggests a relatively competitive pool with awards large enough to support meaningful statewide or regional programming.

Key dates are clearly laid out. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. The agency draws a firm boundary between technical submission help and program content questions: Grants.gov support handles account and system issues, while NRCS will only address questions that relate to the contents of the NFO itself (for example, clarifying a date, resolving a discrepancy, or pointing to a page/section). NRCS indicates it does not provide feedback on whether an organization is eligible or whether a specific project idea is strong, which is typical for competitive federal opportunities. The agency expects to announce selections by May 3, 2024 and execute awards by July 1, 2024, while noting these dates are estimates and may shift.

To support prospective applicants, NRCS scheduled an informational webinar for 9:00 a.m. Central Standard Time on Wednesday, February 15, 2024, hosted via Microsoft Teams. The notice provides points of contact for webinar participation and general NFO-related inquiries, directing applicants to Jenny Long and Nate Goodrich by phone and email. NRCS also indicates that webinar details and frequently asked questions will be posted on the Missouri NRCS grants and agreements webpage, which is the main hub for updates tied to this funding opportunity.

• The Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Missouri Conservation Partnership, Outreach, and Education" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.902.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-19. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, 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.

Apply for USDA NRCS MO MULTI 24 NOFO0001345

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: