McGovern Dole - Q A Responses Week of April 1-5 2024.pdf

McGovern-Dole FY2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity Questions and Answers

Week of April 1-5

Correction for Week of March 18-22

15. Q: Are for-profit companies eligible to receive an award?

A: Yes, for-profit companies are eligible to receive an award. For-profit organizations fall under the “Other organizations” category. Please see Part C: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION in the NOFO and refer to the linked references, as copied below.

In accordance with the McGovern-Dole authorizing legislation, 7 U.S.C. 1736o-1, the following entities are eligible Applicants:

• Private Voluntary Organizations (see 7 CFR section 1599.2 for the definition of a private voluntary organization)

• Cooperatives

• Intergovernmental Organizations

• Governments of developing countries and their agencies; and

• Other organizations.

Per 7 CFR 1599.2 “’Private voluntary organization’ means a not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization (in the case of a United States organization, an organization that is exempt from Federal income taxes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) that receives funds from private sources, voluntary contributions of money, staff time, or in-kind support from the public, and that is engaged in or is planning to engage in voluntary, charitable, or development assistance activities (other than religious activities).”

Week of April 1-5

1. Q: Did the date for proposal submission change?

A: Yes, the application submission deadline date has changed. Applications are now due on Monday, May 13, 2024, at 5:00:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Final questions are due to PPDED@usga.gov by Friday, May 3, 2024. Please reference page 16 of the NOFO, Key Dates and Times.

2. Q: Can USDA clarify if commodities should be presented through both dry weight (pre-cooked) and wet weight (cooked)?

A: Commodities should be represented in dry weight. Applicants should provide U.S.

commodity tonnages as whole numbers only and in multiples of ten. For more information on commodities, please reference page 40 of the NOFO, Commodity Management.

3. Q: Can USDA clarify if applicants should propose a third-party evaluator at the proposal stage?

A: No, applicants should not propose a third-party evaluator at the proposal/application stage. If awarded, recipients will be required to hire external evaluators to conduct project evaluations.

The evaluation plan must include a comprehensive approach to evaluating the project’s performance and impact. Applicants should develop the evaluation plan as a stand-alone document that they can share with interested entities and the public. For more information on the Evaluation Plan, please reference page 37 of the NOFO.

4. Q: Where can we access a recording of the Public Meeting for the McGovern-Dole NOFO.

A: The recording of the Public Meeting on the McGovern-Dole NOFO can be accessed on the FAIS homepage.

(https://apps.fas.usda.gov/fais/webapp/) Please note that the Application and Question and Answer deadlines in this recording have changed. Please refer to Question 1 for Week April 1-5 in this document for more details.

5. Q: Should applicants use commodity and freight costs from the BHA FY24 Q2 Commodity

Calculator, or an alternate schedule of costs provided by USDA?

A: Applicants can utilize BHA’s FY24 Q2 commodity calculator to design project commodity and freight budgets. Additionally, historic commodity costs are also available on USDA/AMS website and can be referenced by applicants for project estimates and design.

https://www.ams.usda.gov/reports/international-food-aid-reports

6. Q: Can project funds be used to invest directly into government systems to improve them in supporting school feeding and improved literacy?

A: Yes, project funds can be used to invest in government systems that will enhance or improve the implementation of McGovern-Dole projects. However, these investments must be agreed upon with the implementer and clearly benefit the project implementation and its lasting impacts.

Please reference. C. Sustainability and Lasting Impact on Page 30 of the NOFO.

USDA/FAS encourages Applicants to engage with and strengthen capacity of stakeholders at various levels, including the national government and at local/community levels.

Applicants should include information on their plans for collaboration with the target country and efforts to build government capacity to take ownership of the activities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government detailing a path forward to sustainability. To support program sustainability and graduation, USDA/FAS strongly encourages Applicants to include advocacy, capacity building, and policy strengthening activities at all levels of government. Strong applications will also support schools and communities to build self-reliance and sustain school feeding. Examples of milestones towards graduation and the handover of McGovern-Dole supported activities are outlined on page 31 of the NOFO under C. Sustainability and Lasting Impact section of the NOFO.

https://apps.fas.usda.gov/fais/webapp/ https://apps.fas.usda.gov/fais/webapp/) https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ams.usda.gov%2Freports%2Finternational-food-aid-reports&data=05%7C02%7Cdavid.williams4%40usda.gov%7C44ba9b42ddb445ce757408dc54c3eff8%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C1%7C0%7C638478447715625801%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=zkjy%2FfG2kyCsyp4cvwd%2F%2FKAuVRbGv5pMq5esara79qQ%3D&reserved=0

7. Q: Can project funds be used to invest in private companies to provide improved services supporting school feeding and literacy?

A: No, McGovern-Dole funds cannot be used to invest in private companies. Applicants may propose the use of professional services for the implementation of McGovern-Dole projects but not invest in private companies directly.