CCFWR Webinar PPT.pdf

Community Compost and Food Waste Reduction

(CCFWR) Project

Part I: Overview

Part II: Contact Information

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process

Part IV: Helpful Tips

Part V: Questions

Agenda

Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Advisory Committee

Pilot Projects: Urban and Suburban County Committees

Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (UAIP) Competitive Grants Program

Community Compost and Food Waste Reduction (CCFWR)

Pilot Projects

Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production

What is OUAIP?

Part I: Overview, Page 3

Part I: Overview, Page 4

Purpose: CCFWR specifically provides assistance through a cooperative agreement to municipalities, counties, local governments, or city planners in the United States to carry out planning and implementing activities that will-

1) generate compost;

2) increase access to compost for agricultural producers;

3) reduce reliance on, and limit the use of, fertilizer;

4) improve soil quality;

5) encourage waste management and permaculture business development;

6) increase rainwater absorption;

7) reduce municipal food waste; and

8) divert food waste from landfills.

What are CCFWR Pilot Projects?

Part I: Overview, Page 5

• Financial assistance between NRCS and an eligible entity to carry out community compost and food waste reduction activities.

• Different from a grant in that it provides for substantial involvement between NRCS and the awardee in carrying out a CCFWR Pilot Project such as:

• NRCS will connect pilot projects with other USDA agencies and Federal partners to collaborate on project activities and outcomes that contribute to the U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 goal.

• NRCS will coordinate and convene the CCFWR pilot project team(s) and other experts to share information and strategies related to CCFWR.

• NRCS will gather the methods, results, and benefits derived from the project to evaluate and disseminate different solutions for increasing access to compost and reducing municipal food waste solutions across the United States.

What is a Cooperative Agreement?

Part I: Overview, Page 6

Priority will be given to a CCFWR Pilot Project that:

• Anticipates or demonstrates economic benefits;

• Incorporates plans to make compost easily accessible to agricultural producers, including community gardeners;

• Integrates other food waste strategies, including food recovery efforts; and

• Collaborates with multiple partners.

Priority Consideration

1) Anticipates or demonstrates economic benefits

2) Incorporates plans to make compost easily accessible to agricultural producers, including community gardeners

3) Integrates other food waste strategies, including food recovery efforts

4) Collaborates with multiple partners

Economic Benefits

Part I: Overview, Page 7

1) Anticipates or demonstrates economic benefits

2) Incorporates plans to make compost easily accessible to agricultural producers, including community gardeners

3) Integrates other food waste strategies, including food recovery efforts

4) Collaborates with multiple partners

Pilot Projects may include but are not limited to:

• Deliverables that anticipate or demonstrate economic benefits to the applicant and its collaborators.

• Overall economic efficiency of project activities including plan for self-sustainability.

• Cost-effectiveness of the budget in relation to expected measurable outcomes and project impact.

1) Anticipates or demonstrates economic benefits

2) Incorporates plans to make compost easily accessible to agricultural producers, including community gardeners

3) Integrates other food waste strategies, including food recovery efforts

4) Collaborates with multiple partners

Part I: Overview, Page 8

Pilot Projects may include but are not limited to:

• Activities to make compost easily accessible to agricultural producers, including community gardeners.

• Plan to continue aspects or components of the project related to composting beyond the end of the project period.

Incorporate Compost

Part I: Overview, Page 9

Pilot Projects may include but are not limited to:

• Activities that either compliment, strengthen or non-adversely impact any existing food waste recovery and disposal by commercial, marketing, or business relationships in the area.

Include Innovation

1) Anticipates or demonstrates economic benefits

2) Incorporates plans to make compost easily accessible to agricultural producers, including community gardeners

3) Integrates other food waste strategies, including food recovery efforts

4) Collaborates with multiple partners

• Innovative solutions for increasing access to compost and reducing municipal food waste.

• Enhanced locally driven processes that better address nationally and regionally important composting and food waste reduction goals that transcend localities.

• Eligible entities should collaborate with two or more partner organizations on their CCFWR pilot project.

• Non-eligible entities may be partners on a project.

Collaboration

Part I: Overview, Page 10

1) Anticipates or demonstrates economic benefits

2) Incorporates plans to make compost easily accessible to agricultural producers, including community gardeners

3) Integrates other food waste strategies, including food recovery efforts

4) Collaborates with multiple partners

• The eligible entity that submits the application is responsible for receiving and managing the award.

• Documentation (such as a separate letter of support from each partner) verifying support from collaborators is required as part of the application.

• Local governments are eligible to apply for CCFWR.

“Local government” refers to any unit of government within a state, including a county;

borough; municipality; city; town; township; parish; local public authority, including any public housing agency under the United States Housing Act of 1937 (50 Stat. 888) (P.L.

75–412); special district; school district; intrastate district; council of governments, whether or not incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under State law; and any other agency or instrumentality of a multi-state, regional, or intra-state or local government.

• Applicants must be located within the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), and the Pacific Islands Area (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands).

Who is Eligible to Apply?

Part I: Overview, Page 11

• Individuals such as a farmer or gardener, for-profit organizations and small businesses, Tribal governments, state governments, and Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) including extension programs are not eligible to apply for a CCFWR Project.

• Applicants not located within the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and the U.S.

Virgin Islands), and the Pacific Islands Area (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) are not eligible.

Who is Not Eligible to Apply?

Part I: Overview, Page 12

Type Amount Duration

CCFWR

Pilot Project $45,000 - $90,000 2 years

CCFWR Pilot Project

• 25% match of total project costs required.

• The proposed project should not duplicate activities from another Federal award and have specifically different objectives.

Part I: Overview, Page 13

Matching/Cost Share

Part I: Overview, Page 14

• Applicants are required to match 25 percent of total project costs. Federal funds may constitute no more than 75 percent of the total project budget.

• No competitive advantage (considered voluntary) to provide a match that exceeds the required amount.

• Applications that do not include matching will be ineligible.

• Match must be committed or secured at application submission.

• Applications must include match verification letters for each resource.

Part I: Overview, Page 15

How Do I Calculate the Match Requirement?

USDA Funds Match

Request 75% of the total budget, which equals $67,500 in USDA Funds.

Provide a 25% match of the total budget, which is $22,500.

25%

75%

If the Total Project Budget is $90,000

Part I: Overview, Page 16

What types of match will be accepted?

• Matching may be achieved with contributions of cash, supplies, services, third party in-kind contributions, or a combination of both from sources other than funds provided through this funding opportunity. Cash can be the recipients cash outlay, or cash donations from non-federal third parties or non-federal grants. In-kind can be the value of non-cash contributions typically in the form of value of personnel (including volunteers), goods, and services.

Part I: Overview, Page 17

What types of match will not be accepted?

• Applicants cannot use program income or any other Federal funds as a match.

• Applicants cannot use unrecovered indirect costs as part of the match requirement.

• Unrecovered indirect cost means the difference between the amount charged to the Federal award and the amount that could have been charged to the Federal award under the potential recipients approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate (NICRA).

Activities may include but are not limited to:

• Materials, supplies, and other costs related to the development and testing of strategies to generate compost and reduce food waste;

• Construction;

• Building a non-permanent, temporary or moveable structure;

• Building a permanent structure;

• Contractual including labor costs;

• Personnel costs; and

• Lease or rental of special purpose equipment, vehicles, land, and building space.

What Does CCFWR Fund?

Part I: Overview, Page 18

Projects may not include but are not limited to:

• Offal disposal;

• Purchase of general purpose equipment or lease agreements to own (i.e., lease-to-own or rent-to-own) such equipment;

• Contributions or donations, including cash, property, and services, from the recipient to other entities; and

• Organized fundraising, including financial campaigns, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred to raise capital or obtain contributions.

Activities Not Eligible for Funding

Part I: Overview, Page 19

For more information, visit:

www.Farmers.gov/urban

Have questions? Email:

UrbanAgriculture@usda.gov

Contact Us

Part II: Contact Information, Page 20

Application, Evaluation and Notification Process

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 21

Process Overview

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 22

1. Do the Pre- Work!

2. Submit Your Application

3. Administrative Review

4. Peer Review and Evaluation

5. Award Notification

6/26 by 8/31

• Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity

(NFO).

• Download at www.Farmers.gov/urban and at Grants.gov.

• Make sure you are eligible to apply.

• Understand and follow the application instructions and submission requirements in the NFO.

Read the NFO

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 23

1. Do the Pre- Work!

Prepare CCFWR Application Forms

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 24

Required:

Project Summary and Proposal Narrative (PDF or MS Word Attachment) Form SF-424 – Application for Federal Assistance (on Grants.gov) Form SF-424A – Budget Information, Non-Construction (on Grants.gov) Budget Narrative Verification of Matching Funds Letter for Each Resource Letters of Commitment from Partner and Collaborator Organizations Certification and Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

If Applicable:

Form SF-424C – Budget Information, Construction (on Grants.gov) Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (PDF Attachment)

Complete Required Steps

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 25

Required Action Timing Obtain a TIN/EIN from the IRS (if your org does not have one) Up to 35 days

Obtain a DUNS number (if your org does not have one) 1-2 business days

Register with SAM.gov (if your org does not have an active account) 7-10 business days

Register with Grants.gov, add a profile and authorize an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) Up to 14 days

Submit CCFWR Application in Grants.gov 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 26, 2020

Need Technical Assistance?

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 26

• IRS TIN/EIN issues:

• Businesses: 1-800-829-4933

• Non-profit taxes: 1-877-829-5500

• DUNS issues:

• 1-866-705-5711 (US Only) or SAMHelp@dnb.com

• SAM.gov issues:

• Grants.gov issues:

• 1-800-518-4726 or support@Grants.gov mailto:SAMHelp@dnb.com mailto:support@Grants.gov

Find on Grants.gov

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 27

2. Submit Your Application

6/26

Program: CFDA Number:

CCFWR 10.935

Funding Opportunity Number:

USDA-NRCS-NHQ-CCFWR-20-NOFO0001018

Find the CCFWR funding opportunity and related documents on Grants.gov by searching:

View on Grants.gov

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 28

Submit on Grants.gov

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 29

• Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 26, 2020.

Applications will not be reviewed or considered if:

• Application is not submitted through Grants.gov.

• Application is submitted late.

• Proposal does not comply with the required content, format and formatting structure including page length.

• Application is incomplete or noncompliant.

• Application does not fit the purpose of CCFWR Project.

Part I of Review Process

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 30

3. Administrative Review

• Proposal includes activities funded by another Federal award.

• Applicants and applications do not meet eligibility criteria including eligible applicant type.

• Applicant is identified in the SAM.gov exclusions database as ineligible, prohibited/restricted or excluded from receiving Federal funding.

• Applicant has committed fraud, including materially misleading or incorrect information in the application.

Part I of Review Process Cont’d

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 31

Applications will not be reviewed or considered if:

• Reviewers are USDA employees who bring expertise from across USDA to the evaluation process.

• Reviewers must sign a Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest Statement to serve as a reviewer.

• Reviewers will review approximately 10 proposals.

• Reviewers are assigned to teams of three.

• Reviewers commit approximately 50 hours over four to six weeks to the review process.

Part II of Review Process

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 32

4. Peer Review and Evaluation

20%

20%

20%

20%

20%

Part II of Review Process

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 33

4. Peer Review and Evaluation

Alignment and Intent

Impact and Projected Measurable Outcomes

Fiscal Plan and Resources

Collaboration and Partners

Achievability

Evaluation Criteria

Recap: Tentative UAIP Timeline

Part III: Application, Evaluation and Notification Process, Page 34

1. Do the Pre- Work!

2. Submit Your Application

3. Administrative Review

4. Peer Review and Evaluation

5. Award Notification

6/26

• Application due by 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time on June 26, 2020 through Grants.gov.

• Application Review July 6 to July 24.

• Announce or notify successful and unsuccessful applicants by August 31, 2020.

• Federal awards in place by September 30, 2020.

• Don’t wait until the last minute!

• Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO).

• USDA-NRCS-NHQ-CCFWR-20-NOFO0001018

• Align your Project Proposal Narrative and Budget Narrative.

• Make sure your proposal complies with the required content and format including page limits.

• Get input from collaborators and partners.

Helpful Tips

Part IV: Helpful Tips, Page 35

Questions

Part V: Questions, Page 36

Part V: Questions, Page 37

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