Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) Pilot Project | USDA NRCS NHQ CFWR 24 NOFO0001412

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS NHQ CFWR 24 NOFO0001412

The Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) Pilot Project is a federal cooperative agreement funding opportunity run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), specifically the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP). NRCS is working in partnership with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under an interagency agreement to carry out this pilot program. The core purpose is to solicit proposals from eligible public-sector applicants to host local pilot projects that reduce food waste and expand composting as part of broader agriculture, environmental, and natural resource goals, with an emphasis on practical, on-the-ground implementation.

This opportunity is published as a discretionary funding program using the cooperative agreement instrument, meaning awardees should expect substantial federal involvement compared to a standard grant. The official Notice of Funding Opportunity is titled "Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) Pilot Project" and is identified by the funding opportunity number USDA-NRCS-NHQ-CFWR-24-NOFO0001412. It is listed on SAM.gov under Assistance Listing (CFDA) 10.935. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov, and applicants are expected to complete the typical federal pre-submission steps required for Grants.gov and SAM registration if they are new or not currently active.

The application deadline is September 4, 2024, at 11:59 pm Eastern Time, and submissions must be made via Grants.gov. If applicants run into technical problems with the Grants.gov system itself, they are directed to Grants.gov Applicant Support (phone 1-800-518-4726 or email support@grants.gov), since awarding agency staff will not troubleshoot Grants.gov account or platform issues. For questions about the content of the notice, applicants may contact the federal awarding agency point of contact listed in the notice (Section G), but questions are limited to clarifying what is written in the NOFO (for example, confirming dates, where something appears, or resolving inconsistencies). The agency will not respond to questions asking for judgments about eligibility edge cases or feedback on the strength of a specific project idea.

Funding levels for individual cooperative agreements are expected to range from a federal share minimum (floor) of $75,000 to a maximum (ceiling) of $400,000, and those figures refer to the total federal amount per agreement rather than a particular budget period. USDA anticipates making selections around November 2024 and expects to have awards executed by January 2025, with the caveat that these timelines are estimates and could change. The notice also states an expectation of roughly 30 awards.

Eligible applicants are government and quasi-government entities, including county governments; city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; and Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments. The opportunity is categorized under Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources, reflecting the connection between organics diversion, soil health, and community-based resource management, particularly in urban and innovative production contexts that NRCS OUAIP typically supports.

To help applicants understand the federal financial assistance environment, the notice points to the federal "Grants 101" training hosted on CFO.gov. The training is free and covers major topics that often affect applicants and awardees, including the legal and regulatory framework, different financial assistance mechanisms, Uniform Guidance administrative requirements, cost principles, and risk management and single audit considerations. In addition, USDA provides a pre-recorded webinar and related materials to walk through the program, with the recording hosted on YouTube and also linked through USDA urban agriculture cooperative agreement resources and the opportunity's related documents section.

In short, CFWR is a competitive USDA NRCS OUAIP cooperative agreement program for FY 2024 designed to fund local pilot projects that advance composting and food waste reduction. It offers mid-sized awards ($75,000 to $400,000 federal share), is aimed at public and tribal governmental applicants, requires submission through Grants.gov by early September 2024, and is expected to result in selections in late 2024 with awards finalized in early 2025.

• The Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) Pilot Project" 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 2024-06-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-09-04. (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 $400,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 30 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments).

Apply for USDA NRCS NHQ CFWR 24 NOFO0001412

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