Conservation Collaboration Cooperative Agreements Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Announcement for Program Funding – Montana | USDA NRCS MT CCA 23 NOFO0001254

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS MT CCA 23 NOFO0001254

The Conservation Collaboration Cooperative Agreements (CCA) FY 2023 funding opportunity for Montana is a competitive USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) program that plans to fund cooperative agreements aimed at strengthening conservation work across the state. The core purpose is to leverage NRCS resources alongside partners to address locally driven natural resource concerns, build collaboration among organizations and communities, and develop conservation leadership at both the state and community level. A key detail is that this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) was issued before final FY 2023 funding was fully appropriated or apportioned, meaning the actual availability or amount of funding could shift depending on continuing resolutions or final appropriations decisions.

Projects proposed under this announcement must take place in Montana and can run from 1 to 5 years, giving applicants flexibility to design either shorter, targeted efforts or longer, multi-year initiatives. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally implies a more collaborative relationship with the federal agency than a standard grant, often involving substantial involvement by the awarding agency in carrying out the project. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding under the Agriculture and Natural Resources activity area and is listed under CFDA number 10.902.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of public, nonprofit, tribal, and higher education entities. Specifically, 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; other tribal organizations; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions in those nonprofit categories). Applicants are allowed to submit more than one application as long as each application is for a different project, and an applicant can receive more than one award if selected, which can benefit organizations with multiple distinct conservation priorities or service areas.

Funding levels are framed with an estimated federal funding floor of $50,000 and an estimated ceiling of $5,000,000 per agreement (federal share). These figures apply to the total value of the agreement rather than being tied to a single budget year, which matters for multi-year projects that may spread costs across several periods. NRCS anticipates making around three awards, indicating a fairly selective competition where proposals may need to be well-aligned with the program’s collaboration and resource-leveraging goals to stand out.

Applications were required to be submitted through Grants.gov by April 27, 2023 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. The announcement emphasizes that proposals will be screened first for completeness and compliance with the NFO instructions; incomplete or noncompliant submissions are removed from consideration without being scored competitively, and applicants are notified if eliminated at this stage. It also makes clear that agency staff will not help troubleshoot Grants.gov account or submission problems, so applicants needing technical help were directed to Grants.gov Applicant Support (phone and email provided). For content questions, applicants were instructed to contact the federal awarding agency point of contact listed in the full NFO, but questions were limited to clarifying information in the notice itself (like dates or discrepancies) rather than asking the agency to weigh in on eligibility interpretations or the strength of an idea.

In terms of timeline, NRCS estimated selections would be made by July 1, 2023, with awards executed by September 1, 2023, while noting both dates were subject to change. The notice also highlights that these awards are considered federal financial assistance and encourages applicants, especially those less familiar with federal funding rules, to complete the free “Grants 101” training available through the CFO.gov grants training site. That training covers the legal and regulatory framework, how federal financial assistance works, Uniform Guidance administrative requirements, cost principles, and risk management and single audit topics, all of which are commonly important for managing compliance and reporting under federal awards.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Conservation Collaboration Cooperative Agreements Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Announcement for Program Funding – Montana" 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 Mar 27, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 27, 2023 Applicants must submit their applications via Grants.gov by April 27, 2023 1159 pm Eastern Time.. (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 $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 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), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), 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.

Apply for USDA NRCS MT CCA 23 NOFO0001254

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: