Announcement for Program Funding for NRCS’ Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2022 – New York | USDA NRCS NY CIG 22 NOFO0001158

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS NY CIG 22 NOFO0001158

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is offering Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) funding for federal fiscal year 2022 specifically for projects carried out in New York State. The purpose of this opportunity is to stimulate the development and real-world adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies, meaning proposals should focus on new or improved methods that help address natural resource concerns in practical, on-the-ground ways. The funding is being offered through a discretionary grant competition under CFDA 10.912, and it is intended to support projects that advance conservation outcomes in agriculture, environmental stewardship, and natural resource management.

For the New York FY 2022 competition, NRCS has up to $500,000 total available, and it expects to make about three awards. Individual awards can range from an estimated minimum (funding floor) of $10,000 up to a maximum (funding ceiling) of $200,000 in federal share per agreement. Projects can last between one and three years, giving applicants flexibility to propose shorter pilot demonstrations or longer efforts that test, refine, and encourage broader adoption of a conservation innovation. The $10,000 to $200,000 range refers to the total federal amount for the full agreement, not a per-year figure.

Eligibility is broad: all non-federal entities and individuals may apply, with one clear exclusion: federal agencies are not eligible. In practice, that means state and local governments, tribal entities, nonprofits, for-profit organizations, educational institutions, and individual applicants can all be considered, as long as the proposed work is conducted in New York. The funding instrument is a grant, and the support is categorized as federal financial assistance, which comes with standard federal compliance expectations for budgeting, reporting, and administrative controls.

Applications had to be submitted through Grants.gov, with a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 29, 2022. NRCS noted that applicants experiencing technical problems with Grants.gov should contact Grants.gov Applicant Support (1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov), and that program staff cannot help troubleshoot Grants.gov account or submission issues. NRCS also set boundaries on Q and A: questions were to be limited to clarifications about the Notice of Funding Opportunity (for example, dates, page references, or resolving inconsistencies). They indicated they would not respond to questions about whether a particular applicant is eligible or whether a specific project idea is competitive, which is a common approach intended to keep the competition fair.

NRCS projected an internal timeline where selections would be made by around June 1, 2022, with awards executed by about July 22, 2022, while also emphasizing those dates were estimates and could change. Applicants were encouraged to consult the New York State CIG website to better understand program priorities and context for the state competition, which can be important because CIG competitions often emphasize particular resource concerns or innovation themes relevant to local conditions.

Finally, because this award is federal financial assistance, NRCS highlighted a free public training resource called “Grants 101” hosted at https://www.cfo.gov/grants-training/. The training includes five modules that cover the basics applicants and recipients are expected to understand: laws and regulations, financial assistance mechanisms, Uniform Guidance administrative requirements, cost principles, and risk management and single audit considerations. This is particularly useful for first-time federal grant applicants or smaller organizations that may not be familiar with federal compliance rules.

Key identifiers for the opportunity include the title “Announcement for Program Funding for NRCS’ Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2022 - New York,” Funding Opportunity Number “USDA NRCS NY CIG 22 NOFO0001158,” an original posting/creation date of February 28, 2022, and an original closing date of April 29, 2022.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Announcement for Program Funding for NRCS’ Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2022 – New York" 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 Feb 28, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 29, 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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for USDA NRCS NY CIG 22 NOFO0001158

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