Announcement for Program Funding for NRCS’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) for Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 | USDA NRCS NHQ RCPP 19 GEN0010372

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS NHQ RCPP 19 GEN0010372

The FY 2019 funding announcement for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) lays out a competitive opportunity for partners to work with NRCS on large, outcome-driven conservation projects. The core purpose of RCPP is to coordinate NRCS conservation work with external partners that can bring additional resources, expertise, and capacity, with the goal of addressing natural resource concerns at meaningful scales, including individual farms, watersheds, and broader regions. NRCS frames RCPP as a co-investment model: partners and NRCS jointly design and implement projects that deliver measurable conservation outcomes and demonstrate innovative approaches to persistent conservation challenges.

Projects under this announcement are intended to generate conservation benefits on agricultural land and non-industrial private forest land. Applicants propose projects that either target specific natural resource objectives within a state or multistate area, or focus on one or more priority resource concerns within NRCS-designated Critical Conservation Areas (CCAs). Once selected, NRCS and the partner collaborate throughout the project lifecycle, including project design, outreach and producer engagement, and on-the-ground implementation. NRCS may provide both financial assistance and technical assistance to support project delivery, including assistance that ultimately helps agricultural producers carry out conservation practices consistent with the project objectives.

A key feature of this particular notice is that it applies only to funds made available for Federal Fiscal Year 2019, and it sits in a period of program transition. The announcement repeatedly flags that the 2018 Farm Bill reauthorized RCPP and introduced major changes, including making RCPP a standalone program. While RCPP continues to support activities that resemble those in other NRCS conservation programs, the updated version includes modifications and flexibilities that are unique to RCPP. Because the program structure and expectations shifted significantly compared to the earlier 2014 Farm Bill version, applicants are encouraged to read the full announcement and appendices so they understand the new requirements, options, and evaluation approach that apply to FY 2019 proposals.

Applications are evaluated competitively using four stated criteria: impact, contributions, innovation, and partnership and management. In practical terms, this means proposals are expected to show clear and significant conservation results (impact), demonstrate meaningful partner contributions beyond NRCS funding (contributions), incorporate creative or improved approaches to solving conservation problems (innovation), and present a credible plan for governance, coordination, and successful project execution (partnership and management). The notice emphasizes outcomes and measurability, signaling that proposals should be built around concrete resource concerns, specific objectives, and an implementation plan capable of producing documented improvements.

On funding levels, the announcement indicates that up to $300 million is available nationally for FY 2019 RCPP projects. The source data also lists an award ceiling of $10,000,000, with an estimated 80 awards expected, which suggests NRCS anticipated funding a substantial number of projects while limiting the maximum size of any single award under this competition. The opportunity is listed as a discretionary program and is associated with CFDA number 10.932. The funding activity categories are Agriculture and Natural Resources (with an additional “Other” category noted in the listing). Eligibility is described broadly in the source data as “Others,” with details referenced in the full announcement, consistent with RCPP’s design as a partnership-based program that typically involves eligible partner entities coordinating with producers.

Geographically, the competition is open to applicants across all 50 states and also includes U.S. jurisdictions outside the continental United States. Specifically, NRCS accepts applications from the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and U.S. territories in the Pacific Island Areas, including Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This wide eligibility footprint reinforces that RCPP is meant to address region-specific resource issues wherever they occur, while still operating under a nationally competitive selection process.

For submission, NRCS requires applicants to apply through the RCPP Portal. At the time the notice was posted, NRCS indicated the portal was undergoing updates and would not be immediately available, so applicants were directed to monitor the NRCS RCPP website for the portal opening notice. To avoid delaying proposal development, NRCS provided interim resources, including an RCPP Partner Proposal Guide and a Proposal Template posted online, designed to align with the planned portal updates so partners could build their applications in advance. Access to the portal requires registration with USDA’s eAuthentication system, and the announcement highlights that applicants should pay attention to the time-sensitive steps needed to complete that registration.

For support and applicant guidance, NRCS encourages prospective applicants to contact their relevant RCPP State coordinator(s), with coordinator information provided in an appendix to the announcement (Appendix III, as of September 3, 2019). NRCS also scheduled informational webinars to help applicants understand both the program generally and the mechanics of submission. One general program webinar was scheduled for September 26 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, with participation details to be posted on the NRCS RCPP website. A second webinar focused specifically on how to submit an application through the portal was planned for a later date, to be announced once the portal opening date was set.

From an administrative standpoint, the source data shows the opportunity was created on September 3, 2019, with an original closing date of December 3, 2019. The funding opportunity number is USDA NRCS NHQ RCPP 19 GEN0010372, and it is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Overall, the announcement presents RCPP as a partner-driven, outcomes-focused conservation funding opportunity aimed at scaling up effective conservation work through co-investment, project-level innovation, and coordinated implementation across agricultural and private forest landscapes.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, natural resources, other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Announcement for Program Funding for NRCS’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) for Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2019" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.932.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 03, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 03, 2019. (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 $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 80 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for USDA NRCS NHQ RCPP 19 GEN0010372

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