Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2021 – Idaho | USDA NRCS ID CIG 21 NOFO0001051

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS ID CIG 21 NOFO0001051

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is offering Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) funding for Federal fiscal year 2021 in Idaho to encourage the development, testing, and wider adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. The intent of this opportunity is to move practical, on-the-ground conservation ideas forward by supporting projects that demonstrate new or improved methods that can be replicated or scaled across Idaho. Funded work must be carried out within the state of Idaho and should align with conservation outcomes tied to agriculture, natural resources, and environmental stewardship.

For this Idaho-specific FY 2021 CIG competition, NRCS has made up to $150,000 total available. Individual awards may be as large as $75,000, meaning the funding is structured to support multiple projects rather than one single effort, with an estimated 10 awards expected. Projects can run from one to three years, giving applicants flexibility to propose short pilots or multi-year demonstrations depending on the scope of the innovation and the time needed to generate measurable results.

Eligibility is broad and includes essentially all non-federal entities and individuals, with federal agencies being the only category explicitly excluded. Eligible applicant types include state, county, city/township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other for-profits); and individuals. This wide eligibility is designed to attract both traditional conservation partners (such as local governments, tribes, universities, and nonprofit conservation organizations) and private-sector or producer-driven innovators who can test new tools, practices, or systems.

This opportunity is a discretionary grant competition under CFDA/Assistance Listing 10.912, and the funding instrument is a grant. The official funding opportunity title is "Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2021 - Idaho" and the funding opportunity number is "USDA NRCS ID CIG 21 NOFO0001051." The notice was created on March 5, 2021, and the application closing date is May 3, 2021.

Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov and must be received no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 3, 2021. Applicants who run into technical problems with Grants.gov are directed to contact Grants.gov Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726 or by email at support@grants.gov. NRCS staff cannot assist with setting up or troubleshooting Grants.gov accounts, so applicants are expected to plan ahead for registrations and uploads to avoid deadline issues.

Questions about the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) can be submitted until April 12, 2021. NRCS will post responses to submitted questions on Grants.gov approximately two weeks before the application deadline, which is meant to give all applicants access to the same clarifications and guidance during proposal development. Applicants are also encouraged to review the Idaho State CIG information page hosted by NRCS Idaho to better understand program expectations and state priorities. For direct program questions about this specific announcement, the listed point of contact is Darvis Jordan, reachable by email at darvis.jordan@usda.gov or by phone at (208) 685-6992.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2021 – Idaho" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.912.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 05, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 03, 2021 Applications must be received by 1159pm Eastern Time. (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 $75,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district 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, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for USDA NRCS ID CIG 21 NOFO0001051

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