Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Mississippi Conservation Delivery for Outreach, Education, and Technical Assistance | USDA NRCS MS MULTI NOFO0001420

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS MS MULTI NOFO0001420

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Mississippi Conservation Delivery for Outreach, Education, and Technical Assistance opportunity is a competitive federal funding announcement from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) focused on strengthening how conservation programs are delivered across the State of Mississippi. The basic goal is to fund partner-led projects that expand or improve outreach, education, and technical assistance so more producers, landowners, and communities can plan and implement conservation practices aligned with NRCS priorities in Mississippi. Projects must take place in Mississippi and are intended to complement and enhance NRCS efforts rather than operate separately from them.

Awards will be made through cooperative agreements, which typically means recipients should expect an active partnership model where NRCS may be involved in coordination, alignment with conservation objectives, and monitoring of progress. NRCS anticipates about $8,000,000 total available under this notice and expects to make multiple awards, with an estimated 25 awards overall. Project periods can range from one year up to five years, and applicants may submit proposals for either single-year or multiyear work plans depending on what makes sense for the scope and outcomes they are proposing.

The funding opportunity is listed as discretionary and falls under the Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources activity area, with CFDA number 10.912. The maximum award amount (award ceiling) is shown as $999,999 per award, indicating NRCS is prepared to fund moderately sized projects while distributing funds across multiple partners and initiatives. Because this is competitive, applicants should treat the proposal as a scored application where clarity of objectives, alignment with Mississippi conservation priorities, realistic work plans, and measurable outcomes are likely to matter.

Eligibility is broad and includes many common conservation delivery partners. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education); and small businesses. In practical terms, this structure is designed to allow conservation districts, universities, nonprofits, tribal entities, and other local or regional service providers to bring capacity, community relationships, and specialized expertise that can increase participation in NRCS-supported conservation work.

The application deadline is March 16, 2025. NRCS will screen proposals for completeness and compliance with the notice requirements before they are considered for funding. Applications that are incomplete or do not follow the instructions can be removed from consideration, and applicants will be notified if their proposal is eliminated at that stage. The Mississippi State Conservationist also reserves the right not to fund any or all proposals, which is standard language emphasizing that funding decisions depend on proposal quality, program fit, and available funds.

In summary, this opportunity is aimed at building partnerships that help NRCS deliver conservation more effectively in Mississippi by supporting on-the-ground outreach, education, and technical assistance over one to five years. With a substantial statewide funding pool, multiple expected awards, and broad eligibility, it is designed to engage a wide set of conservation partners who can demonstrate strong local reach and the ability to produce measurable conservation delivery results within Mississippi.

• The Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Mississippi Conservation Delivery for Outreach, Education, and Technical Assistance" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.912.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-01-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-03-16. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $999,999.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Small businesses.

Apply for USDA NRCS MS MULTI NOFO0001420

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