Iowa Partners for Conservation (IPC) Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Announcement for Program Funding | USDA NRCS IA IPC 22 NOFO0001131

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS IA IPC 22 NOFO0001131

The Iowa Partners for Conservation (IPC) Fiscal Year 2022 funding announcement is a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) opportunity designed to support Iowa-based conservation projects that make practical, on-the-ground improvements and strengthen local conservation capacity. NRCS is using this program to leverage its own resources by partnering with other organizations, with an emphasis on tackling locally important natural resource concerns, encouraging collaboration across partners, and building conservation leadership at the state and community level. A key theme in the announcement is that projects should be closely connected to real implementation needs in Iowa, especially efforts that directly help Iowa NRCS Field Offices deliver conservation assistance in the field. The program is not intended to fund research; research-focused proposals are explicitly excluded and will not be accepted or reviewed.

Funding is offered through cooperative agreements (a type of federal award that typically involves substantial involvement by the agency), and the opportunity is listed under CFDA 10.902. NRCS indicates it anticipates up to $3,000,000 may be available for FY 2022 IPC projects, although it also cautions that budget constraints could prevent awards from being made. The announcement lists an award ceiling of $1,500,000 per award and anticipates about 10 awards. Project periods are expected to run between 3 and 5 years, reflecting a preference for multi-year efforts that can build momentum, maintain staffing and partnerships, and produce durable conservation outcomes rather than one-time activities.

Eligibility is broad but clearly defined. Applicants may include Iowa-relevant units of government (city or township governments, county governments, and state governments), federally recognized Native American tribal governments, qualifying nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in that nonprofit category), and both public and private institutions of higher education. Proposals must be for projects based in Iowa and must align with the conservation issue priorities identified in Section A(2) of the full notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) posted in the Related Documents section for this listing. The announcement also notes that organizations with existing IPC cooperative agreements can use this opportunity to request additional funding to continue or expand prior work, so it is not limited only to brand-new initiatives.

From an administration and reporting standpoint, applicants should expect a competitive selection process and ongoing coordination with NRCS. Awardees may be asked to provide project updates directly to Iowa NRCS Leadership, potentially through formal presentations, which signals that NRCS wants visibility into progress and an active partnership approach rather than a hands-off grant. Because the opportunity is administered through Grants.gov, applicants must submit their full application package there by the stated deadline, and the announcement stresses that agency staff will not troubleshoot Grants.gov account or technical issues.

The timeline in the notice is specific. Applications were due through Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on April 4, 2022. For Grants.gov technical problems, applicants were directed to Grants.gov Applicant Support (1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov), while questions about the NOFO itself were to be directed to the federal agency contact listed in Section G of the NOFO. Even then, questions were limited to clarifications about the written notice (for example, dates, page references, or discrepancies), and NRCS stated it would not respond to questions about eligibility edge cases or the strengths and weaknesses of a proposed project. NRCS estimated it would make selections by May 31, 2022 and execute awards by September 16, 2022, while also noting these dates were subject to change.

In practical terms, IPC FY 2022 is best understood as a partnership-driven conservation implementation program for Iowa, aimed at delivering measurable resource benefits through coordinated projects that complement and extend NRCS field capacity. Competitive proposals under this announcement would be expected to show strong collaboration, a clear connection to Iowa conservation priorities described in the NOFO, and a work plan focused on implementation and support rather than research.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Iowa Partners for Conservation (IPC) Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Announcement for Program Funding" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.902.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 01, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 04, 2022 Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by 1159 pm Eastern Time on April 4, 2022. (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 $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township 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, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA NRCS IA IPC 22 NOFO0001131

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