Capacity Building for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture (NLGCA)

NLGCA Institutions may use the funds: 1. To successfully compete for funds from Federal grants and other sources to carry out educational, research, outreach/Extension and integrated activities that address priority concerns of national, regional, st

To assist the NLGCA Institutions in maintaining and expanding their capacity to conduct education, research, and outreach activities relating to agriculture, renewable resources, and other similar disciplines.

Only a non-land-grant public college or university (NLGCA) offering a baccalaureate or higher degree in the study of agriculture or forestry. The terms "NLGCA Institution" and "non-land-grant college of agriculture" do not include - (i) Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities; or (ii) any institution designated under - (I) the Act of July 2, 1862 (commonly known as the "First Morrill Act"; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); (II) the Act of August 30, 1890 (commonly known as the "Second Morrill Act") (7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.); (III) the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-382; 7 U.S.C. 301 note); or (IV) Public Law 87-788 (commonly known as the "McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Act") (16 U.S.C. 582a et seq.)

A non-land-grant public college or university offering a baccalaureate or higher degree in the study of agriculture or forestry, faculty of NLGCA, students engaged in the study of agriculture or forestry, the public, interested members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant and interested communities.

To maintain and expand the capacity of the NLGCA Institution to: compete, successfully, for funds from Federal grants and other sources to carry out educational, research, and outreach activities that address priority concerns of national, regional, State, and local interest; disseminate information relating to priority concerns to interested members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities; the public; and any other interested entity; and encourage members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities to participate in priority education, research, and outreach activities by providing matching funding to leverage grant funds. This can be accomplished through the: purchase or other acquisition of equipment and other infrastructure; professional growth and development of the faculty of the NLGCA Institution; and development of graduate assistantships. This program is fully discretionary.

Indirect Costs (IDC) is not to exceed 30 percent of Total Federal Funds Awarded (TFFA). 1.) 7 U.S.C. 3310 limits the recovery of IDC for the overall award to 30 percent of the TFFA under a research, education, or extension grant. The maximum allowable IDC amount recoverable under the award, including the IDC charged by the sub-awardee(s), if any, is the lesser of the following and is determined by calculating the amount of IDC using: the sum of an institution's negotiated indirect cost rate and the indirect cost rate charged by sub-awardees, if any; or 2.) 30 percent of TFFA. As described in 7 U.S.C. 3319i(a)(2)(D)(i), An NLGCA Institution that receives a grant under paragraph (1) may use the funds made available through the grant to maintain and expand the capacity of the NLGCA Institution through the purchase or other acquisition of equipment and other infrastructure (not including alteration, repair, renovation, or construction of buildings.

In accordance with statutory time limits, project periods, including no-cost extensions of time, are not to exceed five (5) years. Further details are provided in the Award document Form NIFA-2009 and the NIFA General Terms and Conditions Grants and Cooperative Agreements.

2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for this listing will be posted on Grants.gov. All applications must be received by the established deadline. General application instructions are listed in the NIFA Grants Application Guide. Program-specific instructions are listed in the NOFO. The NOFO overrides the Application Guide if there is a discrepancy between the two documents. Applicants must apply electronically through Grants.gov; no other method or response is accepted. The application forms package for this funding opportunity must be accessed through Grants.gov. Part III of the NIFA Grants Application Guide explains how to access a specific application forms package. Parts II and III of the NIFA Grants Application Guide contain resources to assist grant applicants and detailed information regarding the Grants.gov registration process. Applications must be signed by the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Contact your AOR prior to starting an application to assess the organization's readiness to submit an electronic application.

NIFA evaluates each application in a two-part process. First, each application is reviewed to ensure that it meets the administrative requirements set forth in the NOFO. Second, a peer-review process (https://www.nifa.usda.gov/nifa-peer-review-process-competitive-grant-applications) will be used to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of applications that have meet the administrative requirements. After each peer review panel has completed deliberations, the responsible NIFA program staff will either recommend an application for support from available funds or decline an application due to insufficient funds or unfavorable review.

Within the limit of funds authorized, the NIFA awarding official will make grants to eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in this NOFO. Successful applicants receive two types of notifications in the award phase: informal and formal. After award recommendations are complete, NIFA will provide an informal notification to the potential awardee. This informal notification is not an authorization to begin performance. After the award is finalized, a formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA), signed by the Authorized Departmental Officer, will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the recipient's Authorized Representative. The NoA will provide pertinent instructions and information including, at a minimum, the information described in 2 CFR 200.211 (see NIFA's Terms and Conditions).

Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate, for application deadlines

Contact the National Program Leader (NPL) regarding dates for specific deadlines, start and end dates, and range of approval/disapproval time.

Specific details are provided in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which are generally published annually. The most current NOFO is available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/capacity-building-grants-non-land-grant-colleges-agriculture-program-nlgca