Tribal Colleges Extension Program - Special Emphasis | USDA NIFA SLBCD 010713

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA SLBCD 010713

The Tribal Colleges Extension Program - Special Emphasis (TCEP-SE) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) designed to fund pilot Extension projects at Tribal Colleges and Universities that hold 1994 Land-Grant status. The program focuses on helping these institutions test and launch practical, community-driven Extension efforts that respond directly to local needs. In this context, a "pilot project" means a smaller-scale, targeted initiative that can be implemented quickly, evaluated, and then expanded or adapted based on what works for the community. Projects are expected to support priorities such as youth development, agriculture, economic development, and other locally defined issues that matter to Tribal stakeholders.

A key theme of TCEP-SE is that it is not meant to operate in isolation. Instead, it is intended to fit into the applicant institution's broader land-grant roadmap or strategic planning process. The funding can also serve as a supplement to an institution's existing Tribal Colleges Extension Program (TCEP) capacity project, helping the school extend the reach of research-based innovations and technology while strengthening informal, local educational programming. In practical terms, this could include taking proven approaches from research or past programming and translating them into workshops, demonstrations, community learning events, youth activities, producer trainings, or other outreach formats that make knowledge usable at the local level.

Eligibility is tightly limited. Only Tribal Colleges or Universities officially designated as 1994 Institutions under the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301, as amended) may apply. The eligible applicants listed in the opportunity include: Aaniiih Nakoda College; Bay Mills Community College; Blackfeet Community College; Cankdeska Cikana Community College; Chief Dull Knife College; College of the Menominee Nation; College of the Muscogee Nation; Dine College; Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College; Fort Peck Community College; Haskell Indian Nations University; Ilisagvik College; Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College; Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa University; Leech Lake Tribal College; Little Big Horn College; Little Priest Tribal College; Navajo Technical University; Nebraska Indian Community College; Northwest Indian College; Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College; Oglala Lakota College; Red Lake Nation College; Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College; Salish Kootenai College; Sinte Gleska University; Sisseton Wahpeton College; Sitting Bull College; Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute; Stone Child College; Tohono O'odham Community College; Turtle Mountain Community College; United Tribes Technical College; and White Earth Tribal and Community College. The notice also emphasizes that applicants must meet all requirements described in the Request for Applications (RFA) by the deadline, because missing eligibility criteria can lead to an application being excluded from review or prevent NIFA from making an award.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, this opportunity is issued as a grant under the agriculture funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 10.517. The funding opportunity number is USDA NIFA SLBCD 010713. NIFA anticipated making about five awards, with an award ceiling of $200,000 per award. The opportunity was created on May 9, 2024, and the original application closing date was June 28, 2024. For applicants that are newer to federal grants, the opportunity points to NIFA's Grants Overview as a recommended resource for understanding how federal financial assistance works and what to expect in the application and award process.

Overall, TCEP-SE is best understood as a short-to-medium-term investment meant to help 1994 Land-Grant institutions try focused Extension ideas that can strengthen community education and outreach, build on existing capacity, and improve how research and technology are shared and used locally. The emphasis is on responsiveness and relevance: projects should be shaped by community priorities and stakeholder input, and they should produce lessons or models that can be sustained, expanded, or integrated into the institution's broader Extension strategy over time.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Tribal Colleges Extension Program - Special Emphasis" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.517.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-28. (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 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA SLBCD 010713

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