Office of Advocacy and Outreach

The Department of Agriculture Office of Advocacy and Outreach is a civilian sub-agency that funds community-based agricultural education, outreach, and advocacy programs through grants and contracts. The office operates within USDA's broader mission to strengthen agricultural development and rural community engagement.

Contract activity at the office is modest and declining. The office has issued 70 total contract awards since 2010, combining $3.3 million in potential value. Recent annual volume has averaged 7.5 awards per year from 2021 through 2024, falling to 1 award so far in 2025, with the most recent award recorded in September 2025. Combined dollars obligated reached $2.9 million (89% of potential value). Competitive concentration among prime contractors is moderately concentrated: the top five by award count hold 54 percent of recent awards, while the top five by potential value hold 35 percent. Oklahoma State University leads by both count (4 awards, $325 thousand combined potential) and value among recent actives, followed by Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (3 awards, $178 thousand) and Innovation Event Management, LP (2 awards, $272 thousand). Forty-three distinct primes have been awarded across the lifetime portfolio. Set-asides are nearly absent: 96 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, with only 3 small-business set-aside awards across the entire portfolio.

Grant activity substantially outpaces contracting. The office has issued 292 grant awards totaling $152.5 million in federal dollars obligated to 194 distinct recipients since 2016. Annual volume has ranged from 30 to 52 awards over the last five years—50 in 2020, 30 in 2021, 52 in 2022, 43 in 2023, and 32 in 2024—with the most recent award recorded in September 2024. Grant recipient concentration is highly fragmented: the top five by award count hold only 6 percent of recent awards, and the top five by federal dollars hold only 5 percent of obligated funds. Alcorn State University is the largest recipient by both metrics (4 awards, $5.2 million obligated). All 292 grant awards are structured as Project Grants with no Cooperative Agreements or other assistance types in the portfolio.

No recent contract opportunities or grant opportunities are present in the source data.

Through coordination and collaboration, the Office of Advocacy and Outreach works across USDA to enhance access to services for the communities we serve.