Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture Program | USDA NIFA NLGCA 010975

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA NLGCA 010975

The Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture (NLGCA) Program is a discretionary grant opportunity run by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under CFDA 10.326. Its main purpose is to strengthen the institutional capacity of eligible non-land-grant public colleges and universities that offer agriculture and/or forestry degrees, so they can build stronger academic and research programs and be more competitive for future external funding. In practice, this program is designed to help these institutions expand their ability to deliver education, conduct research, and provide outreach that responds to priority issues at the national, regional, state, and local levels.

Funding can be used in several broad ways tied to capacity-building. First, institutions may use grant support to improve their ability to successfully compete for additional federal grants and other funding sources, specifically to carry out education, research, and outreach activities that address priority concerns. Second, funds may support dissemination of information related to those priority concerns to relevant audiences, including agricultural and renewable resources communities, the public, and other interested entities. Third, the program allows activities that encourage participation from relevant communities in priority education, research, and outreach efforts, including the strategic use of matching funds to leverage other grant support. Fourth, and importantly for institutional strengthening, the program supports certain tangible and workforce-development investments: purchasing or otherwise acquiring equipment and other infrastructure (with a clear restriction that the funds cannot be used for altering, repairing, renovating, or constructing buildings), supporting professional growth and development of NLGCA faculty, and developing graduate assistantships. Taken together, the allowable uses point to a program that is less about a single research project and more about building the long-term people, tools, and systems an institution needs to compete and deliver impact.

Only institutions that are officially certified by NIFA as a Non-Land Grant College of Agriculture at the time of application may apply. This certification requirement is central: if an applicant does not meet eligibility by the deadline, NIFA may exclude the application from review or be unable to make an award. A current list of certified NLGCAs is maintained by NIFA on the NLGCA List Resource webpage, and applicants are expected to confirm they are on that list (or obtain certification) before submitting. The opportunity also notes that while only certified NLGCAs may apply as the lead applicant, award recipients are allowed to issue subawards to organizations that are not themselves eligible to apply, as long as those partners are necessary to carry out the project.

Eligibility hinges on what qualifies an institution as an NLGCA. An institution must be a public college or university that offers a baccalaureate or higher degree in agricultural sciences, forestry, or both, and the degree program must fall within one or more of 32 specified areas of study. Those areas span a wide range of agriculture and natural resources fields, including (among others) agricultural economics, agricultural engineering and mechanization, animal sciences, food science, plant sciences, soil science, forestry, natural resources management and policy, conservation, horticulture-related specialties (including greenhouse operations, nursery management, turfgrass management, and ornamental horticulture), aquaculture, international agriculture, urban forestry, and wood science and wood products or pulp and paper technology. If an institution is uncertain whether its programs fit the requirements, the guidance points applicants to an NLGCA Eligibility Flow Chart to help determine whether they should request designation.

The certification process is also spelled out. To request that NIFA certify an institution as an NLGCA, an Authorized Representative must submit an NLGCA Certification Memo through the Non-Land-Grant University designation webpage, attesting that the institution meets the qualifications. NIFA indicates it will respond within 30 days to the administrative point of contact listed in the request, either providing certification or explaining why the request is denied. There is also an important historical note: institutions that were certified as NLGCAs before December 21, 2018 must reapply for certification under updated criteria established in a Federal Register Notice. Additionally, statutory changes made by Section 7102 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 removed prior opt-in/opt-out limitations that had affected Hispanic Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) and McIntire-Stennis Colleges and Universities; those institutions no longer have to relinquish such statuses in order to pursue NLGCA designation.

The program clarifies how eligibility is treated across multi-campus systems. Individual branches of a college or university that are separately accredited as degree-granting institutions, as reflected on the Official List of Certified Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture, are treated as separate institutions and can apply on their own. By contrast, campuses or branches that are not separately accredited as degree-granting institutions are not treated as separate institutions and are not independently eligible to apply. In all cases, accreditation must be from an agency or association recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Key administrative details from the opportunity listing include the Funding Opportunity Number USDA NIFA NLGCA 010975, an original closing date of November 15, 2024, and an award ceiling of $750,000. NIFA anticipates making about 20 awards. The instrument is a grant, and the activity category is agriculture. For applicants new to federal funding, the notice directs them to NIFA Grants Overview resources to better understand federal financial assistance expectations and processes, reinforcing that meeting eligibility and following the RFA requirements precisely is essential to remaining under consideration.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.326.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-09-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-11-15. (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 $750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA NLGCA 010975

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