Pre-Application Webinar FAQ.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 16 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Farm to CNP Education Grant
- Solicitation number
- S-58100-00014994
- Issued by
- Marion County, Oregon
About this file
This Pre-Application Webinar FAQ document provides clarification on application requirements and evaluation criteria for the Oregon Department of Education's Farm to Child Nutrition Program (CNP) Education Grant. The grant supports food-based, agriculture-based, and garden-based educational activities across two funding tracks: a Capacity Building Mini Grant ranging from $2,000–$15,000 and a Capacity Sustaining Full Grant ranging from $15,001–$100,000. The grant period runs from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027 (two years), with applications due November 16, 2025, and award notifications expected around December 10, 2025. Eligible applicants include school districts, education service districts, federally recognized tribes, nonprofit organizations, food producers, and child care program providers. Applications must be submitted exclusively through a designated Smartsheet form; submission via Oregon Buys is no longer required. Applicants must demonstrate participation in federal Child Nutrition Programs (NSLP, CACFP, or SFSP) and serve schools with at least 40% free and reduced lunch populations.
Allowable expenses include labor, materials, supplies, travel, and indirect costs capped at 25% of the total grant award. Risk Management Plans and insurance documentation are required only for start-up funds, with applicants responsible for obtaining insurance estimates from providers. The total funding available is $3,000,000 for the 2025–2027 biennium, with a first-round cap of $750,000 for mini grants. Preference points are awarded to first-time applicants and federally recognized tribes to encourage innovation and equitable scoring. Application materials must be submitted in Excel or Word format, with PDF acceptable only if the applicant's operating system cannot support these formats. Eligible expenses may be claimed retroactively to September 1, 2023, through the entire grant duration. No further deadline extensions are anticipated, and applications submitted via Oregon Buys prior to the transition will be reviewed without requiring resubmission.
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Sheet1
| Question | Answer |
| Do all applications need the Risk Management Plan? | The Risk Management plan is only required for Start-up funds. Details are located in RFA -Section 5.2.2; -Section 3.3 Start-up Funds; an example is in Attachment A Sample Agreement under Exhibit B, Insurance |
| Do I need to provide information about being in "Good Standing"? | No. For CNP sponsors, Good Standing references program status and Administrative Reviews. This will be answered internally at ODE. |
| Can we confirm our application is accepted? | The Smartsheet can give you a receipt of submission. Communications after submission will come from Clint Hall. |
| Have signature requirements changed? | Yes. Only a signature from the Director of Nutrition Services or other authorized signer is required. The site level signature has been removed from Attachment E and is not required. |
| There is no definition of "Grant Administrator" in the RFA. Who should be listed in that space on the Application? | The grant administrator should be the person who has day to day oversight of the grant. |
| Is the new, full grant really the same as the mini aside from points? I compared side by side and they are exactly the same. | Multiple members of ODE Procurement and the Child Nutrition Program have reviewed the applications and finding differences between the applications. |
| What changed in the Applications (Attachment D, E) in Addendum 3? | The applications were streamlined to remove unscored questions. Only the questions referenced in Evaluation Criteria and Points ( Attachments B,C) and the Scoresheets will be scored by the evaluation committee. |
| Are these the final documents and last changes? | Addendum are prohibited less than three days before the closing date. No changes will be allowed after December 5. |
| Please define formats you'll accept applicaion documents in | The Smartsheet Intake Form lists the required documents. Please submit in the format provided (excel, word). PDF format is acceptable if your computer's operating system doesn't support word or excel. |
| I see a two page 'impact' and 2 page 'plan' question, followed by a one page 'impact' and 1 page 'plan' response. For the full sustaining grant, are we expected to answer both (a 2-page and a 1-page response to the same question?) | The applications have been updated and replaced in Addendum 5. |
| The application doesn't let me "check a box". Can I highlight instead? | Use the best method available to indicate your selections. For example, highlighting the selected field instead of checking the box will indicate your selection. |
| For the 'Overview' question in the main grant, the response must fit in the box (according to instructions) - but the box gets infinitely larger as you type. Is there a word limit? | The "in five sentences or less" language was removed. |
| What items are too be included in the category on the Budget worksheet entitled "Indirect costs"? | RFA section 3.2.2.1 Allowable Expenses: Indirect costs such as indirect rates and overhead such as internet, electricity, etcetera, not directly relating to education not exceeding 25% of the total grant award. |
| Do applicants just submit via Smartsheet using the link(s) provided, and nothing else needed on OregonBuys? | Correct. You should download application materials from Oregon Buys and submit them through the appropriate Smartsheet form. |
| Does font still need to be 12 pt and blue? | No, that requirement was removed in Addendum 3. |
| Do the letters of reference/letters of support need to be related to our gardening/ag education? Or just general letters of support? | Letters of reference/support are not required or evaluated, so it is entirely up to the applicant. Limit of 3 optional letters. |
| Are ECE centers like Head Start eligible? | If the Head Start program meets one of the criteria in RFA Section 1.3 Eligibility, it is eligible to apply for grant funds from this program. |
| Our students do not get meals through a federal Child Nutrition Pogram. Are we still eligible to apply? | The children who participate in Education Grant activities need to participate in Oregon's federal Child Nutrition Programs: NSLP, CACFP, or SFSP for your program to be eligible. |
| The RFA says that "Producers of food produced or processed in Oregon, including farmers, ranchers and seafood harvesters" are eligible. This sounds like the food producer does not have to be not profit. Is this correct? | Producers of food do not have to be non-profits under the eligiblity requirements of the RFA. They do have be listed in the Oregon Business Registry. |
| I'm curious why first time applicants are getting preferece points when there is a capacity-sustaining grant which is designed to support ongoing projects. | Preference points are designed to encourage innovation and ensure an equitable scoring process. Currently, first time applicants and Federally recognized tribes earn preference points. |
| fencing isn't capital equipment right? | Fences can be considered allowable expenses if they are temporary and can be easily moved. |
| If you have previously been awarded the grant but your organization did not receive the grant for the 2023-25 grant cycle, are you considered a first time applicant. Mindy Bell School Garden Project | No. First time applicant is over the life of the Farm to CNP Education grants. |
| How do you insert a digital signature without converting into a PDF? | Text or an image of the signature are acceptable. |
| Is the signature for the mini grant for the princpal or the nutrition services director? | The application signatory is up to the applicant. The signature required on the grant resulting from a successful application will need to be an authorized signer for the entity applying. |
| Am I understanding correctly that if we are not a school, then we do not need a signature from a Nurition Services Director? | If you are not a school, you do not need a signature from a Nutrition Services Director. Please use the "not applicable" checkbox and explain why. |
| There is no definition of "Authorized Signatory" (for the Mini application) or "Director of Nutrition Services or other lead nutrition services administrator" (for the Full application). Please define who needs to sign the applications? | An authorized signer from the school should sign in this situation. |
| Do we need support from the person at the school that runs the meal programs, or the district wide nutrition services director? | Signatures beyond signing the application are not required. Up to 3 optional letters of support/reference will be accepted. |
| If we are not a CNP, is a letter of support from a CNP required? | No. Letters of support are optional. Please review RFA section 3.2.3 Letters of Support |
| If a school district itself is applying, would our current insurance meet this expectation? | The school district's current insurance will need to be verified if it has not been already. |
| So how do we estimate insurance in our budget? | Applicants would need to contact the insurance provider of their choice to get estimates for the coverages required in the Sample Grant Agreement. |
| Where in the grant sections are supposed to put the new information about our risk management plan? | The RFA lists the insurance requirements for the ED grant. You will need to account for these costs in your budget, and have to have the insurance in place before you start work when awarded the grant. |
| are you able to clarify the ask for a risk management plan that showed up in the recent addendum to the criteria for evaluation is new. Where do you expect that we should put this in the application process? | The Risk Management plan is only required for Start-up funds. The risk management plan is the required proof of insurance. |
| Is the capacity-sustaining grant only for organizations who have been awarded this program in the past, or is it also for organizations who are currently running a program, and if so, can the capacity-sustaining be building/adding-on new components to their program? | The Capacity-Sustaining Full Grant is is available to anyone who is eligible in the RFA section 1.3 Eligibility. You do not need to have been previously awarded this grant. First time applicants are awarded preference points. |
| Is there a required naming convention for the uploaded files? | No, there is no required naming convention for the files. |
| Can you upload multiple files or do they all need to be bundled into one PDF? | Please submit multiple files. Do not bundle your application files into one PDF. |
| What format are these app docs in? The budget is in Excel. If we are unable to submit an Excel doc, can we not apply for the grant? | If you are unable to submit files in the original format, you should submit them in PDF format. |
| Our organization has a firewall that prohibits us from sharing Excel files with outside organizations. What do i do? | Save your completed documents and attach them to the Smartsheet to submit. Contact your internal data security team for assistance. |
| Where are all the questions and RFP to preview before applying? | Pre-Application materials are posted on OregonBuys https://oregonbuys.gov/bso/external/bidDetail.sdo?docId=S-58100-00014994&external=true&parentUrl=close |
| How do I submit my application materials? | The smartsheet link is detailed on Addendum 4 on the OregonBuys page as well as the RFA Section 3.1.5 Application Submission. Applicants no longer need to submit their applications over Oregon Buys. |
| Can you tell me how specific to be in the budget? Are estimates OK? | The evaluation committee will only have your application materials to evaluate. Points are awarded for reasonable, necessary, and allowable expenses. Estimates are OK. |
| If we already submitted via Oregon Buys should we resubmit? | Your application will be reviewed if it has already been submitted via Oregon Buys. You do not need to resubmit your application. |
| Will there be a recording of this webinar and if so, please let me know how to access it. | Due to technical difficulties that occurred during the webinar, the recording will not be posted. Questions from the webinar are shared here in this updated FAQ and the webinar presentation has been updated based on questions and feedback received during the webinar. |
| There are multiple full grant score sheets that do not match each other. Which is correct? | The Mini and Full grant score sheets currently posted to Oregon Buys are correct. Amendment 5 resolves discrepancies in evaluation criteria, scoresheets, and applications. |
| With getting the questions so close to the deadline (one week), can there be an extension with the deadline? | We do not anticipate another extension to the deadline |
| Would you consider a deadline extension? I feel like a bit more time would be extremely helpful with all of the evolving pieces of this process. Thank you. | We do not anticipate another extension to the deadline |
| Will there an opportunity to make retroactive claims back to September as we have been able to in previous years? | Yes. Eligible expenses incurred during the entire Grant Duration may be sumbitted for reimbursement. This is mentioned in the RFA Section 1.2 Grant Amount and Duration. |
| Is the application for one year, or two? | This grant is funded for the full biennium, from July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2027 as per RFA Section 1.2 Grant Amount and Duration. The amount awarded is for TWO years. |
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