FY2026 PTIG RFA - Final.docx

OMB Number: 0584-0512 Expiration Date: 03/31/2029

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Process and Technology Improvement Grants (PTIGs)

Fiscal Year 2026 Request for Applications (RFA)

Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 10.580

Release Date: May 20, 2026

Application Due Date: June 29, 2026; 11:59 PM, Eastern Daylight Time

Anticipated Award Date: September 2026

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service in evaluating applications for the Process and Technology Improvement Grant. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to rank and fund applicants for the Process and Technology Improvement Grant. This collection does not request any personally identifiable information under the Privacy Act of 1974. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0512. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 50 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN: PRA (0584-0512). Do not return the completed form to this address.

APPLICATION CHECKLIST

This Application Checklist provides a list of the required actions and documents that applicants must complete. However, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) expects that applicants will read the entire Request for Application (RFA) prior to the submission of their application and comply with all requirements outlined in the solicitation. The Application Checklist is for applicant use only and applicants should not submit it as part of the Application Package.

Complete the following at least four weeks prior to submission:

· Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number;

· Register the UEI number in the System for Award Management (SAM); and,

· Register in Grants.gov.

When preparing your application, ensure:

· Application format and narrative meet the requirements included in Section 4 “Application Content Information." This includes page limits, priorities outlined in Section 5 “Application Review Information”, and all necessary attachments.

· Your application meets the objective areas outlined in Section 1 “Program Description.”

When preparing the application’s budget, include the following information:

· Cost Allocation

· If other programs will benefit from this project, as the costs supported by the grant will only fund the SNAP aspects of the project.

· Personnel

· Includes all key employees proposed to be paid for by the grant.

· Identifies employees by name, position, and title.

· The percentage of time the Project Director will devote to the project in full-time equivalents (FTEs).

· Your organization’s fringe benefit rate and amount, as well as the basis for the computation.

· Explain the type of fringe benefits covered with Federal funds.

· Travel

· Itemized travel expenses (including type of travel), travel justification, and basis for lodging estimate.

· Equipment & Supplies

· Types of equipment and supplies, justifications, and estimates, ensuring that the budget is in line with the project description.

· Contractual and Consultant Costs

· Identify the need for a contractor in the proposal and justify the cost in the budget narrative.

· Information for all contracts and justification for any sole-source contracts.

· Applicants required to issue a bid have provided a narrative explaining the requirement and provided a reasonable estimate for contractual and consultant costs.

· Indirect Cost Information

· Indirect cost information. Provide either a copy of a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) or if no agreement exists, the applicant may charge up to 15% de minimis. If the applicant is requesting the de minimis rate or not requesting indirect costs, please indicate this in the budget narrative.

· Other

· Itemize and explain any other reasonable costs associated with this project.

· Attach the budget narrative table as a spreadsheet appendix.

As part of the application, applicants must certify:

· They will use grant funds for a new project and not for ongoing costs to carry out an existing project.

· No more than 25% of the required grant funds support outreach activities.

When submitting your application, ensure you have submitted the following:

· SF-424 – Application for Federal Assistance (fillable PDF in Grants.gov).

· SF-424A – Budget Information and Instruction Form (fillable PDF in Grants.gov).

· SF-424B – Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (fillable PDF in Grants.gov).

· SF-LLL – Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

· FNS-906 – Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire (fillable PDF in Grants.gov).

· This document is only required if your organization is a corporation. The form is located in the optional tab of the grants.gov application package.

· Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (PDF - Upload using the “Add Attachments” button under SF-424 item #15).

When applicable, application packages must include the following documents:

· All nonprofit organizations must include their 501(c)(3) determination letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

· Letter(s) of commitment

· Letter(s) of endorsement

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

Executive Summary The purpose of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Process and Technology Improvement Grants (PTIGs) is to support efforts by State agencies and their community-based and faith-based partners to develop and implement projects that use technology to improve the quality and efficiency of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application and eligibility determination systems. Section 11(t) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (Public Law 116-94), as amended, “Grants for Simplified Application and Eligibility Determination Systems and Improved Access to Benefits”, authorizes the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to award up to $5 million a year in grants that allow applicants to “develop and implement supplemental nutrition assistance program simplified application and eligibility determination systems.”

In FY 2026, FNS intends to award up to $5 million in grants to eligible entities and each applicant may apply for between $20,000 to $2 million in funding. Eligible entities include State agencies administering SNAP; State or local governments; agencies providing health or welfare services; public health or educational entities; or private nonprofit entities, such as community-based or faith-based organizations, food banks, or other emergency feeding organizations. Unless the applicant is a State agency submitting an application on its own, a letter of commitment or letter of endorsement from the relevant State SNAP agency must be included in the application package to be considered for funding. Throughout this Request for Applications (RFA), the term “State agencies” refers to the agencies of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Guam that administer SNAP. These awards are contingent upon the availability of funds.

Program Description Section 11(t) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (Public Law 116-94), as amended, “Grants for Simplified Application and Eligibility Determination Systems and Improved Access to Benefits”, authorizes FNS to award up to $5 million in grants that allow applicants to “develop and implement supplemental nutrition assistance program simplified application and eligibility determination systems.”

The purpose of the FY 2026 PTIGs is to support efforts by State agencies and their community-based and faith-based partners to develop and implement projects that use technology to improve the quality and efficiency of SNAP application and eligibility determination systems. Funds from this RFA are for new projects only.

Fiscal Year 2026 Key Objectives FY 2026 PTIGs must be used for one or more of the three objectives identified below. Proposals may contain more than one objective. Applicants must clearly identify in their proposal which of the objective(s) they have selected. As noted in Section 4, applicants must map their proposed activities and indicators measuring the success and outcomes of their project to their selected objective(s) using the “Activities/Indicators Tracker.” If awarded, grantees will be required to use the FNS-908 Performance Progress Report to report on progress toward activities that align with the required objective(s) listed on the “Activities/Indicators Tracker.” Carefully considering proposed activities and indicators will prepare grantees for their performance progress reporting requirements if awarded.

The project examples aligned with each objective listed below are only suggestions. FNS welcomes other projects that support these objectives and encourages applicants to propose innovative activities to solve both common and unique problems associated with the SNAP application and eligibility processes.[footnoteRef:2] [2: Links to FNS resources related to these examples and other potential projects are in Appendix A: Tips for Proposal Writers. ]

1. OBJECTIVE #1: Modernize SNAP customer service and client communication to improve efficiency, transparency, and accuracy in application processing and eligibility determinations, including by using technology to improve the customer experience and allow households to manage their cases.

Proposals may include activities such as:

· Creating or improving client self-service options, such as scripted chat bots or “virtual agents” to answer questions in alignment with FNS’ guidance on the use of non-merit personnel,[footnoteRef:3] updating personal information via a client portal, or tracking their application status online; [3: See Appendix E: Glossary of Advanced Automation Terms for more information. ]

· Improving communication with applicants and participants with electronic notices (eNotices) and text messaging reminders;

· Ensuring applications, verification requirements, notices, and other client communications are clear, in plain language, and accompanied by guides or instructions for easy understanding;

· Reducing technology-based barriers to improve service delivery, such as expanding mobile document upload options, or expanding partnerships with local agencies; or

· Developing and/or enhancing mobile responsive websites, mobile applications, online applications, and online portals to streamline self-service options.

2. OBJECTIVE #2: Improve administrative infrastructure and day-to-day SNAP operations in processing applications and determining eligibility, including by employing technology to improve service levels, and accurate and timely case processing, as required by law.

Proposals may include activities such as:

· Increasing State call center capacity, such as by adding phone lines, improving automated telephone systems like phone trees, establishing or enhancing telephonic interview and telephonic signature capabilities, or implementing Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology or “virtual agents”; 2

· Improving paper document processing using intelligent or optical character recognition (I/OCR), or robotic process automation (RPA) technology to process no-change periodic reports, automate data match evaluation and clearance (as allowable);

· Developing workload management dashboards or data analysis tools to monitor workload, case status, outstanding tasks, timeliness, and other key metrics;

· Enhancing eligibility systems and applications, such as using an Application Programming Interface (API) or software bot to automatically register an application in the eligibility system, eliminate duplicate entry, or prepopulate eligibility systems from an online application.

· Developing workload management dashboards or data analysis tools to monitor key metrics, or creating risk assessment tools to flag and allocate resources to cases or eligibility criteria more likely to incur payment errors; [footnoteRef:4] [4: Understanding Risk Assessment in SNAP Payment Accuracy, https://www.fns.usda.gov/research/snap/risk-assessment. ]

3. OBJECTIVE #3: Invest in technology and systems to coordinate application and eligibility determination processes, including verification practices, between SNAP and other Federal, State, and local assistance programs. Proposals will improve administrative efficiency, as allowable by program requirements, when processing combined applications.

Proposals may include activities such as:

· Developing combined applications and partnerships across State-operated assistance programs to increase administrative efficiency and alignment between programs;

· Enhancing cross-program enrollment through integrated mobile applications, online portals, and automated technologies for data population such as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) or robotic process automation (RPA);

· Improving data sharing and verification between SNAP and other Federal, State, and local assistance programs within the State agency; or

· Creating a technology improvement plan to enhance or develop accurate cross-enrollment or administration between SNAP and other programs, as permitted by law.

Waivers Please note that all activities under FY 2026 PTIG projects must be allowable under current SNAP regulations and guidance. No project activities will be approved which require a waiver of SNAP regulations. Accordingly, applicants may not predicate PTIG projects on waivers of SNAP regulations.

Advanced Automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) FNS will only fund projects containing advanced automation technologies acknowledged as major changes. For examples of projects that FNS has acknowledged, applicants should reference the chart in the “Use of Advanced Automation in SNAP” memo. Applicants must clearly outline the type, scope, and use of advanced automation that will be involved in their projects in the application.[footnoteRef:5] Applicants are encouraged to reach out with any questions about the scope and compliance of their planned advanced automation.

[5: See Appendix E: Glossary of Advanced Automation Terms for more information.]

Major Changes SNAP regulations require States to inform FNS of a major change in program operations, such as an increased reliance on automated systems. Major change requirements intend to prevent adverse effects on access and integrity when State agencies change their SNAP benefit delivery processes and procedures. If FNS approves a PTIG application to be a PTIG project, the PTIG approval will serve as the major change notification.[footnoteRef:6] Applicants should indicate whether or not their project proposal qualifies as a major change in the executive summary. Applicants who are unsure whether their project proposal qualifies as a major change should contact their State or Regional Office, as appropriate. [6: Review of Major Changes in Program Design and Management Evaluation Systems, https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/fr-011916 ]

FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

The following information provides applicants with information to help make informed decisions about proposal submissions.

· Total amount of funding expected to award: $5,000,000

· Anticipated number of awards: 12 awards

· Minimum award amount (award floor): $20,000

· Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $2,000,000

· Anticipated award announcement date: May 20, 2026

· Anticipated period of performance: September 2026 through September 2029

· Application due date: June 29, 2026; 11:59 PM, Eastern Daylight Time

Please note:

· Grant awards are subject to the availability of funding and/or appropriations of funds.

· FNS reserves the right to use this RFA and results of this competition to award additional grants this or the subsequent fiscal year, should additional funds become available.

· Applications, and all proposed activities, must comply with applicable laws, regulations, and executive orders. FNS reserves the right to exclude from consideration any applications proposing activities in contradiction of these requirements.

Allowable Costs

· Funds from this RFA are for new projects only. New projects may be an enhancement upon an existing PTIG project but must contain new project activities and outcomes.

· Equipment and Supplies: Expenditures for equipment (i.e., items of personal property having a useful life of more than one year and a cost of $10,000 or more) are allowable expenses with prior approval by FNS. FNS reserves the right to approve/disapprove these expenditures based on needs as expressed by the proposed project. Supplies do not require a separate specific prior approval outside of the budget/proposal approval process.

· If the activities funded under this grant are part of a larger eligibility system project with total projected costs exceeding $6 million, the applicant must submit, and FNS must approve, an Advance Planning Document (APD) prior to the expenditure of these grant funds. Guidance on the APD process is available at www.fns.usda.gov/apd/.

· PTIG-funded projects may benefit other governmental programs; however, grant funds must only support SNAP’s share of the project costs and must be properly allocated.

Funding Restrictions

· PTIG funds cannot fund the ongoing cost of carrying out an existing project.

· Applicants may not budget more than 25% of grant funds toward SNAP outreach activities. PTIGs cannot fund the drafting or printing of informational materials, pure application assistance, screening/pre-qualifying applicants, or other similar activities.

Pre-Award Costs FNS will not approve pre-award costs for these grant projects.

All costs proposed in the budget and detailed in the budget narrative must be allowable, reasonable, necessary, and allocable. Refer to 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles for a detailed description of all allowable and unallowable costs.

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

Eligible Applicants

The entities eligible to receive grants under this competition are:

· The 53 State agencies that administer SNAP;[footnoteRef:7] [7: State agencies should have the necessary approvals of State officials (such as councils or legislatures) of funding prior to submitting the application. Applicants should also acknowledge in their application that they have obtained all necessary approvals for funding.]

· State or local governments;[footnoteRef:8] [8: State and local governments should have the necessary approvals of State officials (such as councils or legislatures) of funding prior to submitting the application. Applicants should also acknowledge in their application that they have obtained all necessary approvals for funding.]

· Public and private agencies providing health or welfare services;

· Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs);[footnoteRef:9] [9: If an ITO applies for a PTIG, they must apply in partnership with their SNAP State Agency and provide a letter of endorsement from their State SNAP agency. Alternatively, the State agency can apply for a PTIG project with an ITO, and the ITO would need to provide a letter of commitment.]

· Public health or educational entities; and

· Private nonprofit entities such as community-based or faith-based organizations, food banks, or other emergency feeding organizations.[footnoteRef:10] [10: Non-profit organizations must submit a copy of the IRS Determination Letter, form 501(c)(3) or proof of application for exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and a list of their Board of Directors, if applicable. If any other non-profit status applies, i.e., 501©(4) please describe here. All corporations, including nonprofit corporations, must complete an AD-3030.]

Unless the applicant is a State agency submitting an application on its own, a letter of commitment or letter of endorsement from the relevant State SNAP agency must be included in the application package to be considered for funding.

Ineligible and Non-Responsive Applicants FNS will deem entities that do not meet the eligibility definitions ineligible and remove them from competition without further consideration. In cases where an applicant is deemed nonresponsive for failing to submit required elements or documents associated with this RFA, they will be considered ineligible and removed from consideration.

Additionally, any eligible entity that received a PTIG award in either of the last two fiscal years (FY 2024 or FY 2025) is ineligible to apply for and receive a PTIG this fiscal year (FY 2026). This restriction only applies to the lead entity on the award (i.e., the recipient whose name appears in block 9 of the awarded project’s FNS-529) and not to partner entities on a particular project.

Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations There is no cost sharing or matching required for this grant.

Number of Applications and Partnership Criteria For the purposes of this grant competition, State agencies may submit only one application each but may enter into more than one partnership with another entity, as explained in the Letters of Commitment subsection below. State agencies with more than one partner organization may also consider submitting a single application designed to make sub-grants to the partner organizations. Proposals forwarded by any given State agency should request funding for distinct, non-overlapping activities. Additionally, if a State agency is part of more than one partnership the State agency must ensure that costs are clearly allocated. For example, if a State agency is a partner for more than one proposal, and the same project manager is listed under both project concepts, the proposals budgets must reflect proper cost allocation.

FNS has designed this grant competition to allow State agencies to work in concert with non-governmental entities that wish to apply for this grant through letters of commitment or endorsement. Additional information is in Section 4, “Application Content Information”.

Pre-Award Screening Requirements In reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, prior to making a Federal award, Federal awarding agencies, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.206, must review information available through any OMB-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility qualifications or financial integrity information. Additionally, Federal awarding agencies are required to have a framework in place for evaluating the risks posed by applicants before they receive Federal awards. The FNS review of risk posed by applicants will be based on the following:

· SAM.gov, the System for Award Management, the Official U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of Central Contractor Registration (CCR)/Federal Registerer (FedReg), Online Representations & Certifications Applications (OCRA); Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), and Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS);

· FNS Risk Assessment Questionnaire (FNS-906)

· Applicants must complete the Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire that allows FNS to evaluate aspects of the applicant’s financial stability, quality of management systems, and history of performance, reports and findings from audits. The questionnaire contains a number of questions that may be an indicator of potential risk.

The evaluation of the information obtained from the designated systems and the risk assessment questionnaire may result in FNS imposing special conditions or additional oversight requirements that correspond to the degree of risk assessed.

Acknowledgment of USDA Support

· As required in 2 CFR 415.2, the recipient must have an acknowledgment of the USDA awarding agency support placed on any information dissemination products with any Federal financial assistance support, including those which report the results of, or describe, a Federal financial assistance-supported activity. Grant recipients may be asked to host USDA officials for a site visit during the course of their grant award. All costs associated with the site visit will be paid for by USDA and are not expected to be included in grant budgets.

APPLICATION CONTENT INFORMATION

Content and Form of Application Submissions FNS strongly encourages eligible applicants interested in applying to this program to adhere to the following applicant format. The proposed project plan should be presented on 8 ½” x 11” white paper with at least 1-inch margins on the top and bottom. The application should be 25 pages or less, single-spaced and in 12-point font, not including the cover sheet, executive summary, table of contents, resumes, letter of commitment(s) or endorsement(s), budget narrative(s), appendixes, and required forms. Applicants must number all pages, excluding the form pages.

Special Instructions:

· FNS will deem applications missing Evaluation Criteria sections or the required supporting documents, forms, and certification for funding as nonresponsive and will remove them from further consideration.

· Applicants must submit letters of endorsement and/or letters of commitment with the application through Grants.gov. FNS will not consider letters submitted separately or via email.

· FNS reserves the right to request clarification on any application submitted in response to this solicitation.

Application Evaluation The review committee will evaluate proposals against the criteria below and score them based on how well they address the requirements in Section 5 "Application Review Information". Proposals can receive up to 100 points, plus 9 bonus points. The Application Checklist will assist applicants in meeting the necessary requirements.

Every proposal must include the following sections: Cover Sheet, Table of Contents, Executive Summary, Project Narrative (including Project Design; Organizational Experience, Staff Capability, and Management; Evaluation; and Budget Appropriateness and Economic Efficiency), and the Activities/Indicator Tracker. Details on requirements for each section are below.

Cover Sheet The cover page should include the following:

1. Grant program title;

2. Applicant’s name and mailing address;

3. Project title and sub-project title (if applicable);

4. Project summary (a one to two sentence description of project) which clearly identifies the objective(s) selected;

5. Primary contact’s name, job title, phone number, and email address; and

6. Between one and three secondary contacts’ name(s), job title(s), phone number(s), and email address(es).

Table of Contents Proposals must include a table of contents that mirrors the outline included in this section of the RFA and include relevant topic page numbers.

Applicant Project Summary The project summary should clearly describe the proposed project activities and anticipated outcomes that would result if the proposal were to be funded, including:

1. The SNAP-specific problem that prompted the applicant to submit a PTIG application;

2. How exactly the project proposed in this grant application solves the problem identified;

3. Identify the State agency and/or eligible entities involved in the project;

4. Amount of funding requested;

5. Which objective(s) the proposal addresses and whether the submission includes the bonus point area(s);

6. The proposed activities and anticipated outcomes that would result from the project;

7. Which SNAP processes the project will improve;

8. Whether or not the project qualifies as a major change; and,

9. Whether any part of the proposal was written or developed with artificial intelligence (AI), and if so, which section(s).

Note: The project summary should not exceed one page.

Project Narrative The project narrative should clearly identify what the applicant is proposing and how it will address a solution, the expected results and/or benefits, and how it will meet the RFA program scope and objectives. The proposed project methodology should describe the project design, address program specific methodology needs, procedures, timelines, impact and evaluation, monitoring/oversight, and the organization’s project staffing. For additional details, please see Section 5 "Application Review Information" below.

Innovation As stated above, FNS encourages applicants to propose innovative activities to solve both common and unique problems associated with the SNAP application and eligibility processes. For this RFA, FNS defines innovative activities as those that either use novel technology or process or that use a known technology or process in a novel way.

The most innovative activities would use a novel technology or process or a known technology or process in a novel way that reaches and positively impacts the broadest population possible, provides evidence of the applicant’s confidence that the project will be a success, and demonstrates the anticipated results exceed the level of effort required.[footnoteRef:11] Applicants may refer to the PTIG webpage to view PTIG awardees’ project descriptions since FY 2020. FNS encourages applicants to adapt and build upon these projects. These projects scored highly due in part to their unique uses of technology and processes and the evidence they presented for their reach, impact, confidence, and effort. [11: FNS will view innovation through the RICE methodology, defined here. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-life-hacks/organization/understanding-the-rice-model-and-its-framework. ]

Activities/Indicators Tracker Proposed activities and indicators measuring the success and outcomes of your project must be mapped to the Program Objective(s) listed in the application. Please use the format below and add additional Objectives, Activities, and Indicators as needed. One or more of the required objectives may be selected. However, for each objective there must be at least one proposed activity and at least one proposed indicator. Activities are the elements of the project that will lead to the success of your identified objective. Indicators are defined as any metric you anticipate will be able to be tracked during the period of performance of the grant.

If awarded, grantees will be required to use the FNS-908 Performance Progress Report to report on progress toward the required objective(s), activities, and indicators listed on the “Activities/Indicators Tracker.” FNS may ask recipients of a PTIG award to add to or modify the activities and indicators on the FNS-908 Performance Progress Report to include information that may be of interest to the agency

Example Activities/Indicators Tracker:

Letters of Commitment or Endorsement Where applicable, applicants must include a letter of commitment or letter of endorsement addressed to the FNS Grants Officer in the application package.

Letters of Commitment State agencies partnering with another organization(s) must submit a letter(s) of commitment from its partner(s). The letter(s) of commitment must:

· Be specific to the proposed project;

· Describe the organization’s role in the project;

· Specify the amount of time in FTEs the partner organization intends to commit to the project; and

· Be on the respective organization’s letterhead and signed by an authorizing individual.

Letters of Endorsement Applicants other than a State agency, including local or county governments, must submit a letter of endorsement from the State agency. The State agency’s letter of endorsement must demonstrate that the State agency strongly endorses and/or is involved in the proposed project and:

· Be specific to the proposed project;

· Express support for the proposed project;

· Describe how the proposed project will support the State agency’s current or planned technology and/or business process improvement efforts and priorities; and

· Explain the project’s projected impact on the State agency’s eligibility system;

· Acknowledge whether the project creates any additional work for the State agency and identify the State agency’s capacity to address the additional work; and

· Be on the respective State agency’s letterhead and signed by an authorizing official.

Application Budget Narrative

The budget narrative, formatted as a table, should correspond with the proposed project narrative and application budget. A well-written budget narrative provides line-item details for all of the activities under the award and justifies the proposed project expenditures and assists reviewers during the proposal review process. If the budget narrative is not formatted as a spreadsheet (e.g. Microsoft Excel, .csv, etc.), then it must be accompanied by a spreadsheet with all costs listed and which aligns to the categories on the SF-424.

The narrative must justify and support the bona fide needs of the budget’s direct cost. The budget and budget narrative must be in line with the proposed project description. If the budget includes indirect costs, the applicant must provide a copy of its most recently approved Federal indirect cost rate agreement or indicate if the de minimis is being requested. Budget categories in this table must match those listed on the SF-424A form. The budget table must be formatted to fit on an 8.5 x 11-inch page, with a font no smaller than 11-point. All funding requests must be in whole dollars.

Note that if a discrepancy exists between the total funding request (submitted on SF-424, SF-424A, and budget or budget narrative) within the application package in response to this solicitation, FNS will only consider and evaluate the estimated funding request contained on the SF-424.

Cost Allocation

Where necessary, the budget narrative must identify programs other than SNAP that may benefit from the implementation of the project and allocate project costs across the benefiting programs to demonstrate that this grant is only going to fund SNAP’s share of project costs. For instance, if a project aimed to improve a joint application for SNAP and Medicaid, and SNAP represents 80 percent of applications received, the PTIG funding request should be 80 percent of the total project cost.

Sub-Projects

Project proposals containing more than one sub-project must demonstrate how the sub-projects are related to each other and the overarching proposal’s goals within the Project Design section. Additionally, applicants must provide a funding breakdown for each sub-project within the Budget section.

No Sub-Projects Example:

Sub-Projects Example:

Personnel (Sub-Project 2: Person A: 0.25 FTE x $150,000/year x 2 years)

$ 75,000

Fringe Benefits (Sub-Project 2: Person A: 20% annual salary)

$ 15,000

Contractual / Consultant Costs (Sub-Project 1: 2,400 hours x $125 / hour) (Sub-Project 2: 1,600 hours x $125 / hour) $ 300,000

$ 200,000

$ 500,000

Indirect Cost Rate

A current Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), negotiated with a cognizant Federal agency, should be used to charge indirect costs. Indirect costs may not exceed the negotiated rate. If a NICRA is used, the percentage and base should be indicated in the budget narrative and a copy of the agreement must be submitted with your application. If the applicant does not have a current Federal negotiated indirect cost rate (including provisional rate) they may elect to charge a de minimis rate of up to 15 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC). In this instance, the applicant must indicate they are requesting the de minimis rate. An applicant may elect not to charge indirect costs and instead use all grant funds for direct costs. If indirect costs are not charged, the phrase “none requested” should be stated in the budget narrative. For questions related to the indirect cost rate, please work with the Federal Awarding Agency Contact.

Note: Each organization is assigned to a single Federal agency (by the Office of Management and Budget) that acts on behalf of all Federal agencies in indirect cost rate negotiations and is referred to as the “cognizant agency.”

Contractual and Consultant Costs

Proposals that include hiring a consultant or contractor must provide the following information:

· Consultant’s name and description of service;

· Itemized list of all direct costs and fees;

· The number of personnel, including position titles;

· Specialty and specialized qualifications as appropriate to the salary;

· Number of estimated hours times hourly wage for each staff member; and

· All expenses and fees directly related to the proposed services to be rendered for the project.

FNS requires applicants that are required to issue a bid to include a narrative explaining the requirement and a detailed description of contractor responsibilities / consultant responsibilities / anticipated tasks and a reasonable estimate of contractual and consultant costs.

Required Grant Application Forms The required Grants.gov forms may be previewed in the Forms Repository. These forms are part of the grants.gov workspace application.

· Non-Construction Grant Projects Forms: SF-424 Family

· Application and Instruction for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

· Budget Information and Instructions (SF-424A)

· Assurance-Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B)

· SF-LLL (Disclosure of Lobbying Activities)

· Indicate on your form whether your organization intends to conduct lobbying activities. If you organization does not intend to lobby, write “Not Applicable” in boxes required to be completed.

· FNS-906 – Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire

· Additional Required Forms and Information

· Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. Please see below for further information.

· SAM registration. Please see below for further information.

APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

Evaluation of Grant Application Criteria

Review Criteria FNS will pre-screen all applications to ensure that:

· Applicants are eligible entities;

· Applications address one or more of the three Fiscal Year 2026 Key Objectives;

· Applications do not require any waivers from Program regulations;

· Applications do not contain advanced automation technologies not acknowledged as major changes; and,

· Applications are in compliance with all Program regulations with applicable laws, regulations, and executive orders.

FNS reserves the right to exclude from consideration any applications proposing activities in contradiction of these requirements.

Evaluation Factors and Criteria FNS will review all complete applications competitively and score them against the criteria listed below, including:

· Project design (35 points)

· Impact and evaluation (30 points)

· Budget and economic efficiency (20 points)

· Organizational experience, staff capability, and management (15 points)

· Bonus points (up to 9 points)

Total points: 109

1. Project Design (35 points) Problem Analysis

· The proposal clearly defines the problem facing the SNAP certification and eligibility determination process.

· The proposal clearly defines the solution and provides evidence or compelling justification that the proposed project will solve or ameliorate the identified problem.

· Proposals may include any consultation with stakeholders, advocacy groups, public comment, research, studies, or real-world examples.

· The proposal clearly states the intended impact and outcomes of the proposed project.

· The proposal demonstrates that the solution is innovative, as defined in “Project Narrative” above.

· The proposal includes a description of how the project integrates with and supports the State agency’s current or planned process improvement and/or technology initiatives.

· Project proposals containing more than one sub-project must demonstrate how the sub-projects are related to each other and the overarching proposal’s goals.

Implementation

· The proposal clearly articulates how the applicant will implement this project.

· The proposal includes a project timeline that outlines proposed tasks and demonstrates that the applicant allotted sufficient time for each activity.

Sustainability

· The proposal shows that the applicant has a plan for sustaining the project after the grant period of performance ends.

2. Impact & Evaluation (30 points) Impact

· The proposal must:

· Clearly quantify the proposed project’s direct effect on the SNAP application and eligibility determination processes;

· Provide measurable evidence that the proposed changes will benefit the applicant, recipient, and/or caseworkers; and

· Identify how the proposed project will impact one or more of the following aspects of SNAP and propose how to evaluate the impacts:

· Timeliness

· Program integrity

· Payment accuracy

· Program access

· Application screening

· Verification

· Administrative cost

· Interviews

· Recertification

· Client reporting

· Application intake

· Notices

· Error rate

· Proposed Activities and Indicators measuring the success and outcomes of the project must be mapped to the objective(s) listed in the Fiscal Year 2026 Key Objectives using the Activities/Indicators Tracker.

Evaluation FNS expects applicants to conduct their own evaluation independent of the Activities/Indicators Tracker that includes evaluating overall success and outcomes of the project at completion. The proposed evaluation plan should describe how the applicant plans to measure the project’s impact and:

· Include information from the Activities/Indicators Tracker;

· Reflect how the applicant proposed to measure the impact of the proposed project;

· Be comprehensive, specific, and data driven;

· Identify how the applicant proposes to measure the outcomes of the project - the impact of the project on one or more of the SNAP processes listed above;

· Include clear measures which assess whether the proposed project intervention addresses the problem identified;

· Detail who will measure the goals of the project;

· Detail what criteria the applicant will evaluate and how the applicant will evaluate the criteria; and,

· Define the intervals at which the applicant will conduct evaluation during the grant period of performance.

3. Organizational Experience, Staff Capability, and Management (15 points) Oversight

· The proposal describes a plan for effective and consistent oversight by qualified project managers throughout the project.

· The proposal includes an organizational chart for the project, including names of key personnel where applicable.

Communication

· The proposal includes an internal communication plan and, if applicable, a communication plan for communicating externally with partner organizations.

Staff

· The proposal identifies the project director or manager and other key staff.

· The proposal includes resumes and project job descriptions that demonstrate that staff have the appropriate technical and experiential backgrounds to implement the project.

· If staff are hired for this project, the proposal includes proposed job descriptions for these positions.

· The proposal addresses contingency plans in the event of key staff departures.

Time Commitment

· The proposal identifies key staff and outlines the amount of time key staff will devote to the project, expressed as a percentage of Full-Time Equivalents (FTE).

· If applicable, the proposal identifies the amount of time key staff will spend managing partnering organizations.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

· Proposals must delineate how all data and client personally identifiable information (PII) would be protected in accordance with Section 11(e)(8) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, Federal regulations at 7 CFR 272.1(c), and the Privacy Act of 1974.

4. Budget Appropriateness and Economic Efficiency (20 points) Budget Forms

· Applications must include the required budget forms outlined in Application Checklist.

Cost Allocation

· Where necessary, the proposal identifies programs other than SNAP that may benefit from the project and allocates project costs to demonstrate that this grant is only going to fund SNAP’s share of project costs.

Budget Narrative The budget narrative must meet the criteria noted in Section 4, Application Content Information and should:

· Include a table that lists all line-item amounts in whole dollars;

· Include all items listed on the checklist at the beginning of this RFA;

· Correspond with the proposed project narrative and application budget;

· Provide enough detail for reviewers to easily understand how costs were determined and derived and adequately justified based on current industry costs/standards or estimates from vendor(s) when possible. Applicants should obtain information on costs from applicable organizations or from online sources;

· Align with the requested amounts in the submitted SF-424A; and,

· Include separate tables for each sub-project, if applicable.

Indirect Cost Rate

· If the applicant does not have a current Federal negotiated indirect cost rate (including provisional rate) they may elect to charge a de minimis rate of up to 15 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC). If a NICRA is used, the percentage and base should be indicated in the budget narrative and a copy of the agreement must be submitted with your application.

Efficiency

· The proposal must demonstrate that the anticipated results are commensurate with the cost of the project.

Contractual and Consultant Costs

· Where necessary, the proposal hiring a consultant or contractor provides all relevant information included above.

Bonus Points (Up to Nine Points Total)

· FNS will award up to three bonus points to proposals that are particularly data driven. This can include conducting surveys, interviews, or other data collection or research in advance of submission of a proposal to determine more accurately what the quantifiable problem is that the proposed solution intends to solve. For example, specific quantifiable statistics may bolster the argument that the proposed project is necessary to improve payment accuracy or timeliness.

· FNS will award up to three bonus points to proposals from applicants that have never received a PTIG as FNS believes such applicants would benefit from capacity building and modernization projects. The proposal must demonstrate high need and a quantifiable and significant impact to receive the full three points.

· FNS will award up to three bonus points to proposals that approach solutions from a human-centered design (HCD) perspective to modernize program delivery and improve the customer experience. Projects that incorporate HCD focus on usability through collaboration with program participants in usability testing, focus groups, user research, or other methods to improve SNAP processes for end users.[footnoteRef:12] [12: Find additional information about HCD and resources to adopt HCD into…