Announcement for Program Funding for NRCS’ Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2022 – Connecticut | USDA NRCS CT CIG 22 NOFO0001157

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS CT CIG 22 NOFO0001157

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is offering Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) funding for federal fiscal year 2022 specifically for projects carried out in Connecticut. The purpose of this opportunity is to spur the development and on-the-ground adoption of new or improved conservation practices, approaches, and technologies. In practical terms, the program is aimed at moving promising conservation ideas from concept to real-world use, especially where innovation can improve environmental outcomes tied to agriculture and natural resource management.

For the Connecticut FY 2022 CIG competition, NRCS is making up to $245,000 available in total. The agency expects to make around three awards, although the exact number can vary depending on the size and quality of proposals received. Projects can run from one to three years, which gives applicants room to test, demonstrate, refine, and share results rather than only completing short pilots. Funding per award has a defined range: the estimated minimum (floor) for the federal share is $10,000 and the maximum (ceiling) for the federal share is $200,000. These dollar amounts apply to the total federal share over the full agreement period, not per year or per budget period.

Eligibility is broad. NRCS invites applications from all non-federal entities and from individuals, with one clear exclusion: federal agencies are not eligible to apply. The funding instrument is a grant, and the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding. The program aligns with the Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources funding activity categories and is listed under CFDA number 10.912.

Applications had to be submitted electronically through Grants.gov, with a deadline of 11:59 pm Eastern Time on April 29, 2022. The notice emphasizes that applicants should be prepared for the administrative steps required to use Grants.gov, especially if they are new to the system, and it directs new users to Section D of the full Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) for the required pre-submission setup steps. If applicants encountered technical problems with Grants.gov, they were instructed to contact Grants.gov Applicant Support (1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov). NRCS staff explicitly noted they could not help troubleshoot Grants.gov accounts.

NRCS also set expectations about communications during the competition. Questions were meant to be limited to clarifications about information already in the NFO (for example, deadlines, page references, or resolving discrepancies). The agency stated it would not respond to questions about whether a specific applicant is eligible or whether a proposal idea is strong, which is a common approach in competitive grant programs to keep the process fair and consistent. Applicants were encouraged to review additional Connecticut-specific program information on the NRCS Connecticut CIG webpage: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/ct/home/

In terms of timing, NRCS anticipated making selections by July 1, 2022 and expected to execute awards by September 30, 2022. The notice makes clear these dates were estimates and could change. Finally, NRCS flagged that this opportunity is considered federal financial assistance and recommended a free public training resource, "Grants 101," hosted at https://www.cfo.gov/grants-training/. The training is presented as five modules covering key federal grants basics, including relevant laws and guidance, types of assistance mechanisms, Uniform Guidance administrative requirements, cost principles, and risk management and Single Audit considerations. This is included to help applicants understand the compliance framework that typically comes with federal grant funds.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Announcement for Program Funding for NRCS’ Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2022 – Connecticut" 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 Feb 28, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 29, 2022 Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 1159 pm Eastern Time on April 29, 2022.. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for USDA NRCS CT CIG 22 NOFO0001157

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