Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture Program

Open Posted

Opportunity number
USDA-NIFA-NLGCA-011938
Agency
Applications due
Award size
$30,000 to $750,000

Opportunity facts

Funding instrument
Grant
Category
  • Agriculture
Eligible applicants
  • Other
Full announcement

Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .

About this opportunity

Written by GovTribe AI ·

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is soliciting applications for Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture (NLGCA) under Assistance Listing 10.326, with an application deadline of November 10, 2026. Eligible applicants are restricted to NIFA-certified non-land-grant colleges or universities offering a baccalaureate or higher degree in agricultural sciences or forestry; HSACUs and McIntire-Stennis-designated institutions may hold NLGCA certification concurrently. No matching funds or cost share are required. The program anticipates approximately 20 awards from $5.7 million in total funding, distributed across four grant types: Planning Activity/Workshop ($25,000–$30,000), Standard ($50,000–$150,000), Collaborative-Joint ($200,000–$300,000), and Collaborative Large-scale Comprehensive Initiative ($600,000–$750,000). Individual award ceilings range from $30,000 to $750,000.

Grants support education, research, outreach, and integrated activities to maintain and expand institutional capacity in agricultural sciences and renewable resources, with emphasis on priority areas aligned with USDA Secretary's Memorandum objectives including farmer profitability, market expansion, invasive species management, soil health, and precision nutrition. Allowable uses include equipment and infrastructure acquisition (excluding building alteration or construction), faculty professional development, and graduate assistantships. Indirect costs are capped at 30 percent of total federal funds awarded.

Evaluation criteria emphasize potential for advancing education, research, or outreach quality; soundness of approach; institutional capacity building; cost-effectiveness; and key personnel qualifications. Applications must include a project narrative not exceeding 25 pages, evaluation plan, logic model, data management plan, mentoring plan where applicable, and required supporting documents. Submissions are electronic through Grants.gov only. Non-land-grant colleges may subcontract with ineligible organizations where necessary to project conduct.

Synopsis

The NLGCA Program, under assistance listing number 10.326, will assist NLGCA institutions in maintaining and expanding their capacity to conduct education, research, outreach, and integrated activities relating to agriculture, renewable resources, and other similar disciplines. NLGCA institutions may use the funds to maintain and expand capacity:

1. to successfully compete for funds from Federal grants and other sources to carry out educational, research, outreach, and integrated activities that address priority concerns of national, regional, State, and local interest;

2. to disseminate information relating to priority concerns to:

a. interested members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities;

b. the public; and

c. any other interested entity;

3. to encourage members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities to participate in priority education, research, outreach, and integrated activities by providing matching funds to leverage grant resources, and through:

a. the purchase or other acquisition of equipment and other infrastructure (not including alteration, repair, renovation, or construction of buildings);

b. the professional growth and development of the faculty of the NLGCA Institution; and

c. the development of graduate assistantships.

Eligibility

Applicants for the NLGCA Program must meet all the requirements discussed in this NOFO. Failure to meet the eligibility criteria by the application deadline may result in exclusion from consideration or preclude NIFA from making an award. For those new to Federal financial assistance, NIFA's About Grants provides highly recommended information about grants and other resources to help understand the Federal awards process. Applications may only be submitted by an NLGCA certified as such by NIFA at the time of application. A current list of NLGCAs certified by NIFA can be found on the NLGCA Program webpage or the NLGCA List webpage. Section 7102 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 removed the opt-in, opt-out language that had previously required Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) and McIntire-Stennis Colleges and Universities to relinquish that status if they wanted to pursue NLGCA designation (See Part I, A for legislative authority). There are no longer any such limitations, and HSACUs as well as McIntire-Stennis Colleges and Universities may request NLGCA designation. Non-land-grant colleges and universities may subcontract to organizations not eligible to apply, provided such organizations are necessary for the conduct of the project. All institutions certified as NLGCA prior to December 21, 2018, must reapply for certification and meet the new criteria for NLGCA certification contained in the Federal Register Notice. In order for an institution to qualify as a NLGCA, it must be a public college or university offering a baccalaureate or higher degree in the study of agricultural sciences, forestry, or both, among the 32 specified Areas of Study: Agricultural and domestic animal services; agricultural and extension education services; agricultural and food products processing; agricultural business and management; agricultural communication or agricultural journalism; agricultural economics; agricultural engineering; agricultural mechanization; agricultural production operations; agricultural public services; agriculture; animal sciences; applied horticulture or horticulture operations; aquaculture; equestrian/equine studies; floriculture or floristry operations and management; food science; forest sciences and biology; forestry; greenhouse operations and management; international agriculture; natural resource economics; natural resources management and policy; natural resources or conservation; ornamental horticulture; plant nursery operations and management; plant sciences; range science and management; soil science; turf and turfgrass management; urban forestry; and wood science and wood products or pulp or paper technology. If you are not sure if you are eligible to request NLGCA designation, please consult the NLGCA Eligibility Flow Chart.

Files

File Type Posted
FY26-NLGCA-NOFO-P.pdf PDF
PKG00294064.pdf PDF

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