FY26 SNAP Mobile Payments RFA_Final.docx

Mobile Payments Solution for SNAP Authorized Farmers - Cooperative Agreement

Fiscal Year 2026 Request for Applications (RFA) Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 10.545

OMB BURDEN STATEMENT: This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Administration in supporting the participation of farmers and farmers’ markets in SNAP. This is a voluntary collection and FNA will use the information to select a cooperator whose work aligns with all stated objectives for this cooperative agreement, as outlined in this RFA. 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 60 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 Administration, 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 applicants with a list of the required actions and documents that must be completed. However, FNA expects that applicants will read the entire 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 should not be submitted 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 and Submission Information. This includes page limits, priorities outlined in Section 5 – Application Review Information, and all necessary attachments.

When preparing your budget, ensure the following information is included:

· All key staff proposed to be paid by this cooperative agreement.

· 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.

· The type of fringe benefits to be covered with Federal funds.

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

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

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

· Justification, description, and an itemized list of all consultant services.

· 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 an applicant is requesting the de minimis rate or indirect costs are not required, please state this in the budget narrative.

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)

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

· Resumes of key staff

· Letters of support/commitment from key staff and partners

· Additional attachments as required

Table of Contents

1. Program Description and Objectives Executive Summary The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) works to nourish those in need through financially sound programs that promote health and work, as well as champion the productivity of American agriculture. FNA plans to award the Mobile Payments Solution for SNAP Authorized Farmers, Cooperative Agreement. The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to create new opportunities to connect America’s farmers to USDA’s nutrition assistance programs. Specifically, the cooperative agreement is intended to enable SNAP-authorized direct marketing farmers (DMFs) and farmers markets (FMs), as necessary, to determine, at no or little cost to them, whether adding SNAP to their business model has a positive cost-benefit value. It also aims to provide SNAP recipients with greater access to American agriculture by allowing them to use their benefits to purchase foods from DMFs operating at physical FM locations and via other direct marketing avenues (e.g., roadside stands, pick-your-own), or through eCommerce platforms. The cooperator will use resources from this cooperative agreement to facilitate the development of a shared vision and set of approaches for supporting DMFs and FMs in becoming SNAP authorized; enabling the processing of EBT transactions through technology resources that include a secure SNAP Mobile Transaction Processing Application (The App) or potentially a secure eCommerce platform; and assisting farmers with direct marketing opportunities that result in connections with SNAP households and participants in other Federal nutrition assistance programs. FNA announces, through this Request for Applications (RFA), the availability of a maximum of $4,000,000 to be used over a three-year period for up to three awards as cooperative agreements. Only non-profit organizations and institutes of higher education are eligible to participate in this competition.

Program Description FNA administers 16 nutrition assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP provides nutrition assistance benefits to eligible Americans in need via an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card for use at authorized retailers. These benefits help supplement vulnerable households’ food budgets to give recipients access to nutritious, real food. FNA is responsible for the authorization and oversight of retailers that accept SNAP benefits. This is accomplished jointly by the Retailer Policy Division (RPD) within SNAP, and the Office of Retailer Operations and Compliance (ROC).

Currently, approximately 260,000 retailers are authorized to accept SNAP. Thousands of direct marketing farmers and farmers’ markets (DMFs and FMs) apply for SNAP authorization each year. Since 2012, FNA has supported the participation of DMFs and FMs in their efforts to attract more SNAP customers. This includes helping individual DMFs (and FMs on behalf of DMFs) that meet specific requirements procure low- or no-cost wireless Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) point-of-sale (POS) devices through the SNAP EBT Equipment Program. FNA has also awarded grants/cooperative agreements to provide: a) an e-commerce platform that enables DMFs and FMs to accept SNAP benefits online (SNAP/Federal Nutrition Programs Participation Assistance for Farmers and Farmers’ Markets), and b) a SNAP Mobile Transaction Processing Application and card reader that enables a DMF or FM to accept SNAP by using their own smartphone as a POS device (Mobile Application Cooperative Agreement, SNAP Farmers and Markets).

The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to develop and implement modernized systems for DMFs and FMs to accept SNAP EBT transactions through a secure mobile application (or additionally other technology that supports DMFs in participating in SNAP, such as an eCommerce platform), while also expanding opportunities to connect America’s farmers to SNAP. It will enable SNAP-authorized DMFs (and FMs, as necessary) to determine, at no or little cost to them, whether adding SNAP to their business model has a positive cost-benefit value, and to provide SNAP recipients with greater access to DMFs operating at physical FM locations and via other direct marketing avenues (e.g., roadside stands, pick-your-own). The cooperator will use resources from this cooperative agreement to facilitate the development of a shared vision and set of approaches for supporting DMFs in becoming SNAP authorized; enabling the processing of EBT transactions through a secure SNAP Mobile Transaction Processing Application (The App) or other similar technology that supports DMFs, and assisting farmers with direct marketing opportunities that result in connections with SNAP households and families and participants in other Federal nutrition assistance programs.

This cooperative agreement opportunity is not intended to support the development of an untested mobile application for SNAP (or untested eCommerce platform or similar technology). However, the cooperator may collaborate or coordinate with The App provider to develop additional functionality for The App that would enable the processing of transactions for other Federal nutrition assistance programs.

FNA announces, through this Request for Applications (RFA), the availability of a maximum of $4,000,000 to be used over a three-year period for up to three new awards as cooperative agreements. Only non-profit organizations and institutes of higher education are eligible to participate in this competition.

Key Objectives Below is a list of the Program Objectives. As noted in Section 4, within the “Activities/Indicators Tracker,” proposed activities should be clearly aligned to these objectives and their associated activities and indicators.

Application proposals must include all objectives identified below. Note that if awarded, cooperators will be required to report on progress towards activities aligned with the required objective(s) and must use the FNS-908 Performance Progress Report. Carefully considering proposed activities and indicators will prepare cooperators for their progress reporting requirements if awarded.

· FNA SNAP Retailer Policy Division, SNAP Issuance Policy and Innovation Division, and Retailer Operations Division;

· Cooperator, Prior year Mobile Application Cooperative Agreements, SNAP Farmers and Markets;

· Vendor, STARS; and

· SNAP EBT Modernization Technical Assistance Center (SEMTAC)

a. Provide outreach and assistance to DMFs that are not currently SNAP-authorized or are not currently accepting benefits issued through other Federal nutrition assistance programs (e.g., Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)) to help them complete the application process for SNAP authorization and become SNAP-authorized and, as relevant, participate in one or more nutrition incentive programs. Assist in increasing economic opportunities for DMFs/FMs through outreach to determine whether adding SNAP to a DMF/FM’s business model has a positive cost-benefit value.

b. Guide DMFs in locating SNAP training materials and information and facilitating questions and resolutions with FNA. Provide outreach to FMs specifically about the benefits and process of moving to a DMF model, and to eligible retailers at FMs who are interested in becoming individually authorized.

a. Be in use in the current SNAP EBT environment;

b. Adhere to all EBT security requirements, including encrypted PIN-entry as specified in Section 10, Appendix;

c. Be certified and able to conduct all required SNAP transaction types as specified in Section 10, Appendix;

d. Have the ability to be enhanced to fully support farmer participation in and process EBT transactions for other Federal nutrition assistance and nutrition incentive programs (e.g., Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children – WIC, Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program – GusNIP); and

e. Have the ability to capture GPS data to identify the location of the device, and enable the transmission of GPS data to FNA as part of the transaction message at a future date, as determined by FNA.

Any eCommerce/online sales platforms funded through this cooperative agreement to support DMFs in accepting SNAP benefits must be capable of meeting the requirements to operate online purchasing specified here: https://www.fna.usda.gov/snap/retailer/online/requirements

Successful applicants for this cooperative agreement will identify The App (or similar technology) that will be used and describe how each requirement in Section 10, Appendix will be satisfied (if utilizing The App).

The cooperator will enter into a formal agreement with a provider of The App (or similar technology) to provide newly authorized DMFs or FMs with access to the technology at no cost to the DMF or FM for up to one year. The technology provider must meet requirements as specified in Section 10, Appendix or the requirements to operate online purchasing specified here: https://www.fna.usda.gov/snap/retailer/online/requirements. The formal agreement will specify all costs and terms for the participation of a DMF receiving access to The App on an annualized basis.

DMFs will provide their own mobile device and cellular and data services necessary for transaction processing. Under this cooperative agreement, the cost of The App (or similar technology) and any related licenses will be covered for participating DMFs or FMs for 1 (one) year from the initial date of DMF or FM’s participation in this cooperative agreement and may be renewed on an annual basis if the DMF or FM demonstrates SNAP redemptions of a minimum of $500 per year.

After the one-year, no-cost option, and for any subsequent year that the DMF or FM does not maintain SNAP redemptions of a minimum of $500 for the year in question, the cooperator will assist that DMF or FM in transitioning their agreement from no-cost (participation in this cooperative agreement) to full-cost (by sharing information related to licensing through a third-party vendor), or will facilitate transition to the State SNAP Agency SNAP-only alternative that serves the jurisdiction(s) where the DMF or FM is located.

a. Train DMFs and FMs on installing, operating and maintaining The App (or other similar technology funded through this cooperative agreement);

b. Help troubleshoot issues, and provide technical assistance through the term of the no-cost agreement; and

c. Support outreach that includes a web presence that clearly details the App, technical assistance provided by the cooperator, and how to access both. Social media presence must regularly point to the web information and clearly direct interested DMFs to the services offered.

At a minimum, the cooperator must monitor and track the following metrics:

· the success of outreach activities and training;

· the number of participating DMFs using technology funded through this cooperator;

· the number and amounts of transactions being processed through technology funded through this cooperative agreement for all tender types; and

· the integration of incentive functionality.

Cooperative Agreement Terms The roles and responsibilities of the selected applicant and of FNA are as follows:

Selected Applicant

The selected applicant will:

· Fulfill all cooperative agreement objectives as outlined in the RFA.

· Report on relevant project activities and metrics through required quarterly and final reporting.

· Meet bimonthly with an FNA Program Analyst to discuss project progress.

FNA

FNA will:

· Meet with cooperator bimonthly to discuss project activities.

· Identify any challenges or obstacles FNA may be able to mitigate on behalf of the cooperator.

· Review submitted cooperative agreement reporting materials for completeness and project progress/outcomes.

2. Federal Award Information The following information is intended to provide applicants with information to help make informed decisions about proposal submissions.

· Total amount of funding expected to award: $4,000,000

· Anticipated number of awards: up to 3

· Minimum award amount (award floor): $1

· Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $4,000,000

· Anticipated award announcement date: September 2026

· Anticipated period of performance (start and end date of the award): September 2026 to September 2029

· Anticipated funding of individual awards: $4,000,000

· Application due date: July 31, 2026

Please note:

· Awards are subject to the availability of funding and/or appropriations of funds and FNA reserves the right not to make an award.

· FNA reserves the right to use this solicitation and the results of this competition to award additional cooperative agreements this year or the subsequent fiscal year, should additional funds become available.

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

Allowable Costs FNA will award this cooperative agreement in the form of a cooperative agreement to enable collaboration between FNA and the cooperator during project development and project execution. Examples of FNA participation include:

· Evaluation of quarterly progress reports and financial reports to monitor the cooperator’s project activities and ensure that the objectives, terms and conditions of the agreement are met; and

· Periodic on-site and off-site technical assistance to provide evaluation and guidance on project activities and outputs as they relate to FNA objectives, including:

· Review of project plans and milestones;

· Evaluation of technology improvements; and

· Other technical assistance related to project objectives.

· Periodic collaborative meetings.

FNA will provide funding for approved cooperative agreements through the Grant Award/Letter of Credit process, upon receipt of a properly executed cooperative agreement and subject to the availability of funds.

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 FNA. FNA 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.

Procurement Contracts: Cooperators may use funds to procure contracts for goods and services.

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.

A complete listing of selected items of costs is located at 2 CFR 200.420 – 200.476.

Unallowable Costs State Collaboration: Cooperative Agreement funds may not be used to provide no-cost EBT equipment to States to fulfill the State’s requirement to provide a no-cost EBT only option to farmers (and markets as needed). The cooperator may collaborate with States on providing a mobile solution as part of the States’ responsibility, however, the cooperator may not use project funds for those costs.

3. Eligibility Information Eligible Applicants Entities that do not meet the eligibility definitions will be deemed ineligible and removed from competition without further consideration. The following are eligible entities:

· Nonprofit entities, which are any organization or institution with current Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-designated 501(c)(3) status.

· Accredited institutions of higher education, i.e., Eligible Educational Institutes via a list maintained by the IRS.

All applicant organizations must be domestic entities and shall be owned, operated, and located within the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Guam, or the United States Virgin Islands.

Each eligible applicant may only submit one (1) application in response to this solicitation. Suspended or debarred organizations are ineligible to submit applications in response to this solicitation.

Note: 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.

IN ADDITION: Those applicants who fail to submit any required documents or forms will be deemed NONRESPONSIVE and therefore will be INELIGIBLE to participate in the competition and removed from further consideration.

Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations

There are no cost sharing or matching requirements for this award.

Pre-Award Screening Requirements In reviewing applications in any discretionary grant/cooperative agreement competition, prior to making a Federal award, Federal awarding agencies, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.206, are required to 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 FNA 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 CCR/FedReg, ORCA, EPLS, and FAPIIS.

· FNA Risk Assessment Questionnaire (FNS-906)

· Applicants must complete the Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire that allows FNA 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 FNA imposing special conditions or additional oversight requirements that correspond to the degree of risk assessed.

Acknowledgement of USDA Support

· As required in 2 CFR 415.2, the recipient must have an acknowledgement 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. Award recipients may be asked to host USDA officials for a site visit during the course of their award. All costs associated with the site visit will be paid for by USDA and are not expected to be included in project budgets.

4. Application Content Information Content and Form of Application Submission FNA 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. All pages should be single-spaced in 12-point font. The project description with relevant information should be captured on no more than 10 pages, not including the cover sheet, table of content, resumes, letter(s) of commitment, endorsement letter(s), budget narrative(s), appendices, and required forms. All pages, excluding form pages, must be numbered.

Special Instructions:

· Late application submission will not be considered in this competition. FNA will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via Grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

· Letters of support must be submitted with the application through grants.gov. Letters submitted via email will not be considered.

· Applications submitted without the required supporting documents, forms, certification will not be considered.

· Applications missing a written proposal or budget narrative will not be considered and deemed nonresponsive.

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

· Applications not submitted via Grants.gov will not be considered.

· If multiple application packages are submitted through Grants.gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNA will accept the latest application package successfully submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

· FNA reserves the right to use this solicitation to fund awards in this or the subsequent fiscal year should additional funds become available.

Cover Sheet The cover page should include, at a minimum:

· Applicant’s name and mailing address;

· Primary contact’s name, job title, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address; and

· Cooperative Agreement program title and subprogram title (if applicable).

Table of Contents The Table of Contents should include relevant sections, subsections and associated page numbers.

Application Project Summary The application should clearly describe the proposed project activities and anticipated outcomes that would result if the proposal were to be funded.

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 once the solution is achieved, 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, timetables, monitoring/oversight, and the organization’s project staffing.

Activities/Indicators Tracker Proposed Activities and indicators measuring success must be mapped to Program Objectives (as described in Section 1 – Program Description) in the below format (note that additional Activities/Indicators can be added as needed).

Note: Indicators are defined as any metric the applicant anticipates will be able to be tracked during the period of performance of the cooperative agreement. Common examples include Number of People Attended, Number of People Impacted, Number of Conferences Delivered, Number of Materials Created, Number of Trainings, Number of People Trained.

Example

Objective #

Activity

Indicator(s)

Objective #

Activity

Indicator(s)

Application Budget Narrative The budget narrative, formatted as a table, should correspond with the proposed project narrative and application budget. If the budget narrative is not formatted as a spreadsheet (e.g. Microsoft Excel), 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. 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, FNA will only consider and evaluate the estimated funding request contained on the SF-424.

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 cooperative agreement 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 Grant Officer as noted in Section 7 of this RFA.

Applicants that are nonprofit institutions will be subject to a limit on indirect costs under this cooperative agreement. For purposes of this limitation, the indirect cost limitation applies to cooperative agreements with Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) and other nonprofit organizations as defined in 2 CFR Part 200. Recipients may charge the lesser of their:

(1) Current NICRA or de minimis rate of 15% of MTDC; or

(2) 10% of the total direct costs (TDC).

Required Cooperative Agreement Application Forms The required grants.gov forms may be previewed at grants.gov/web/grants/forms/forms-repository.html. 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)

· Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF LLL)

· 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 and Financial Capability Questionnaire)

· Additional Required Information

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

· SAM registration. Please see below for further information.

5. Application Review Information Review Criteria FNA will pre-screen all applications to ensure the applicants are eligible entities and are in compliance with all Program regulations. FNA will not approve any waivers from Program regulations for any projects submitted in response to this solicitation.

The review committee will evaluate proposals against the criteria below. The project narrative sections include a point value to indicate the importance of each section.

Project Design (35 points)

1. The proposal clearly describes the overall approach and the general techniques that will be used to facilitate the development of a shared vision and set of approaches for supporting the participation of direct marketing farmers (DMFs) across stakeholders that are currently working within FNA, as contracted vendors, grantees, or cooperators (Objective 1).

2. The proposal clearly describes the process for assisting DFMs and FMs in becoming SNAP-authorized by (Objective 2):

a. Providing outreach and assistance to DMFs and FMs that are not currently SNAP-authorized or are not currently accepting benefits issued through other Federal nutrition assistance programs (e.g., Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)) to help them complete the application process for SNAP authorization and become SNAP-authorized and, as relevant, participate in one or more nutrition incentive programs. Providing outreach to determine whether adding SNAP to a DMF/FM’s business model has a positive cost-benefit value.

and

b. Guiding DMFs and FMs in locating SNAP training materials and information and facilitating questions and resolutions with FNA, and providing outreach to FMs specifically about the benefits and process of moving to a DMF model, and to eligible retailers at FMs who are interested in becoming individually authorized.

3. The proposal clearly describes how the cooperator will provide access to a secure SNAP Mobile Transaction Processing Application (or other similar technology, such as an eCommerce platform) to SNAP-authorized DMFs. The proposal will also describe how the cooperator will assist that DMF in transitioning their agreement from no-cost (participation in this cooperative agreement) to full-cost (by sharing information related to licensing through a third-party vendor), or will facilitate transition to the State SNAP Agency SNAP-only alternative that serves the jurisdiction(s) where the DMF or FM is located. The App must meet all requirements specified in Section 10, Appendix (Objective 3).

4. The proposal clearly describes how it will train and provide technical support for DMFs in use of technology associated with SNAP participation. (Objective 4).

5. The proposal clearly describes the proposed project’s plan for monitoring progress, including achievements, milestones, and risks and issues to support evaluating how technology funded through this cooperative agreement helps improve the administration and effectiveness of SNAP in delivering nutrition-related benefits. (Objective 5).

Implementation and Monitoring (15 points)

1. The proposal includes a project timeline that outlines proposed tasks/activities, including sufficient time allotted for each task/activity, and demonstrates agility in progressing from planning and development to implementation.

2. The proposal describes a well-thought-out, organized performance measurement and assessment process that will measure whether the project’s objectives have been achieved and to what extent, assesses lessons learned, and describes new or enhanced approaches to improving performance. The proposal should describe:

a. who will measure and assess the project’s objectives;

b. how the objectives will be measured and assessed; and

c. when the objectives will be measured.

3. The proposal should include a communication plan for communicating internally with FNA, other grantees, vendors, and cooperators, and externally with DMFs and other project stakeholders.

4. The proposal should include sample report templates for summarizing the number of participating farmers (and markets) as well as the participating in training and outreach.

Sustainability (20 points)

1. The proposal shows that the project is very likely to be sustained after the cooperative agreement period ends. The proposal should clearly demonstrate that there is a business plan to enable the continued participation of DMFs and FMs who no longer qualify to participate under the cooperative agreement.

Budget Appropriateness and Economic Efficiency (20 points)

1. The proposal includes:

a. A line item budget consistent with the requirements in Section 4;

b. A narrative that demonstrates how funds will be spent, by whom and for what purpose. The narrative should provide enough detail for reviewers to easily understand how costs were determined and how they relate to the objectives of the project. There should be adequate justification for budget costs based on current industry costs/standards;

c. A copy of the approved negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA) must be attached if indirect costs are shown as a budget expense to the project; and

d. If applicable, the budget must show how the costs are going to be allocated among the various fees for processing EBT transactions, credit/debit transactions, and other associated fees. It should demonstrate that this cooperative agreement is only going to fund approved costs.

2. The proposal should be cost effective; it must demonstrate that the anticipated results are commensurate with the cost of the project.

3. Proposals that include hiring a consultant or contracting of work must provide the following information:

a. Consultant’s name and description of service;

b. Itemized list of all direct costs and fees;

c. Salaries must have the number of personnel including the position title;

d. Specialty and specialized qualifications as appropriate to the salary;

e. Number of estimated hours times hourly wage;

f. All expenses and fees directly related to the proposed services to be rendered to the project; and

g. Applications that are required to issue a bid should provide a narrative explaining the requirements and provide a reasonable estimate of Contractual and Consultant Costs.

Note: Proposal submissions that omit the required budget narratives and/or line item descriptions will be rejected from consideration. Therefore, applicants should recognize that a well-written budget narrative that justifies the proposed project expenditures assists the reviewers during the review process.

Staff Capability Management (10 points)

1. The proposal identifies the project director/manager and other key staff. The proposal includes resumes that demonstrate that the proposed staff has the appropriate technical and experiential backgrounds for their proposed roles. If the applicant is unable to identify the project director/manager or key staff, it must include, in the application package, job descriptions for the positions that must be assigned. Applicants should address their contingency or back-up plans in the event of key staff departures.

2. The proposal outlines the amount of time and effort the project director or manager, key staff, and, if applicable, partnering organizations, will contribute to the project.

3. The proposal demonstrates that effective and consistent oversight by qualified project managers will be implemented throughout the project, and that effective communication will exist within the applicant’s organization.

4. The proposal includes an organization chart of the proposed project.

5. Applicants should address their contingency or back-up plans in the event of key staff departures.

Total Points Available: 100

Review and Selection Process Following the initial screening process, FNA will assemble a panel group to review and determine the technical merits of each application. The panel will evaluate the proposals based on how well they address the required application components and array the applications from highest to lowest score. The panel members will recommend applications for consideration for a award based on the evaluation scoring. FNA may request information from the applicant not clearly addressed in their proposal. The Selecting Official reserves the right to accept the panel’s recommendation or to select an application for funding out of order to meet agency priorities or geographical representation. FNA reserves the right to use this solicitation and results of this competition to award additional cooperative agreements in the next fiscal year should additional funds be made available.

6. Application Submission Information Submission Date Complete applications must be uploaded to grants.gov by 11:59 PM EST on the due date listed on the cover page

· Applications must be submitted via grants.gov. Mailed, emailed, or hand-delivered application packages will not be accepted. For further instructions, see the “Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov” below.

· Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

· FNA will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

· If multiple application packages are submitted through grants.gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNA will accept the latest application package successfully submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

· Those applicants who fail to submit any required documents or forms will be deemed NONRESPONSIVE and therefore will be INELIGIBLE to participate in the competition and removed from further consideration.

FNA strongly encourages applicants to begin the registration process at least four weeks before the due date and to submit applications to grants.gov at least one week before the deadline to allow time to troubleshoot any issues should they arise. Please note that upon submission, grants.gov may send multiple confirmation notices. Applicants should ensure receipt of confirmation that the application was accepted.

FNA will not accept applications outside of grants.gov. Applicants experiencing difficulty submitting applications through grants.gov should contact applicant support via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov. This service is available 24/7.

Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov Applicants must register with grants.gov and SAM.gov in order to submit an application to FNA via grants.gov as required.

In order to submit an application, you must:

1. Obtain a UEI number

What is a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)?

A UEI is a unique number assigned to all entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) who register to do business with the Federal Government. For more information, visit https://sam.gov/entity-registration.

Note: Entities can register in SAM.gov and will be assigned their “SAM UEI.” For additional information on the UEI process, please visit SAM.gov.

2. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM)

· On April 4, 2022, the UEI used across the Federal Government changed from the DUNS number to the UEI (generated by SAM.gov).

· SAM combines Federal procurement systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance into one system. Visit SAM.gov for additional information.

· To register, you must have your organization’s UEI, the organization’s Tax ID Number (TIN), and taxpayer name (as it appears on the last tax return). It may take up to 5 to 7 business days or more to register and/or complete the migration of permissions and/or the renewal of an entity record.

· All applicants must have current SAM status at the time of application submission and throughout the duration of a Federal Award in accordance with 2 CFR Part 25.

· FNA strongly encourages applicants to begin this process at least 3 weeks before the due date of the solicitation.

3. Create a Grants.gov Account

The next step in the registration process is to create an account with grants.gov. Applicants must know their organization’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to complete this process. For more detailed instruction about creating a profile on grants.gov, visit grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html.

How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov Applicants must apply online using Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant/cooperative agreement team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. For each funding opportunity announcement or RFA, you can create individual instances of a workspace.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, visit grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html.

Applicant Support: Grants.gov provides applicants 24/7 support (except Federal holidays) via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov. If you are experiencing difficulties with your submission, it is best to contact grants.gov support and get a ticket number. The Support Center ticket number will assist the Center with tracking your issue.

For programmatic and financial-related questions regarding this specific opportunity, please contact the Grant Officer noted in Section 7 – Federal Awarding Agency Contacts of this RFA.

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission All applications must be received by 11:59 PM EST on the due date listed on the cover page, as detailed in Section 4 – Submission Date. Proof of timely submission is automatically recorded by grants.gov. An electronic date/time stamp is generated within the system when the application is successfully received by grants.gov. The applicant Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and a tracking number (e.g., GRANTXXXXXXXX) from grants.gov with the successful transmission of their application. Applicant AORs will also receive the official date/time stamp and a grants.gov tracking number in an email serving as proof of their timely submission.

When FNA successfully retrieves the application from grants.gov and acknowledges the download of submissions, grants.gov will provide an electronic acknowledgement of receipt of the application to the email address of the applicant with the AOR role. Again, proof of timely submission shall be the official date and time that grants.gov receives your application. Applications received by grants.gov after the established due date for the program will be considered late and will not be considered for FNA funding.

Applicants using slow internet, such as dial-up connections, should be aware that transmission could take some time before grants.gov receives your application. Again, grants.gov will provide either an error or a successfully received transmission in the form of an email sent to the applicant with the AOR role.