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 local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state- and community-level conservation leadership.

Proposals are requested for competitive consideration for projects in the state of Minnesota for the following initiatives:

• Urban Conservation Planning: The resource concerns of an urban landscape differ from those of a rural landscape. The overall objective of this category is to increase urban conservation planning and implementation by providing technical and financial assistance by:
  • Working with urban organizations, communities, master gardeners and others to plan and implement conservation in urban settings
  • Provide opportunities for urban agriculture and production through community gardens
  • Address urban resources concerns such as invasive species, habitat for beneficial insects, soil quality, water quality and runoff
  • Provide funding opportunities for urban conservation projects
• Locally Grown Foods: The overall objective of this category is to increase awareness and provide resiliency of conservation and food production networks:
  • Identify food deserts and provide sustainable production opportunities
  • Support locally grown and locally processed food services
  • Expand farmers markets and locally grown food and fiber networks
• Connecting the Urban Consumer with Rural Producers:
  • Promoting conservation work on the farm with urban communities/organizations
  • Highlighting conservation and food production interface with the general public
  • Agritourism and Field Days
  • Highlighting on farm ecosystem benefits for public consumption
• Reaching Out to Historically Underserved Clients and providing Technical and Financial Assistance: The overall objective of this category is to provide outreach to historically underserved clients to increase technical and programmatic conservation delivery by:
  • Identifying cultural and program barriers that limit NRCS assistance
  • Provide outreach and education to underserved clients on NRCS programs and technical materials
  • Assist underserved clients in seeking and obtaining NRCS Assistance
  • Provide planning assistance to underserved clients

Funding Information

• NRCS anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY 2021 will be $750,000. Minimum/Maximum individual award amounts are anticipated to be $50,000/$300,000.
• Proposals are requested from Federally recognized tribal governments, State and local units of government, non-governmental organizations, and institutions of higher learning for competitive consideration of cooperative agreement awards for projects between 2 and 3 years in duration.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility for this opportunity is limited to the following entity types:

• City or township governments
• County governments
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• Nonprofits having 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

For more information, visit Grants.gov.