Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture Program
Applications close Nov 10, 2026
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- Agency
- Joseph Perez Lead Policy Analyst
- Opportunity number
- USDA-NIFA-NLGCA-011938
- Posted
- Aug 26, 2026
- Closes
- Nov 10, 2026
- Award ceiling
- $750,000
- Award floor
- $30,000
- Estimated program funding
- $5,700,000
- Cost sharing required
- false
About this opportunity
The NLGCA Program, under assistance listing number 10.326, will assist NLGCA institutions in maintaining and expanding their capacity to conduct education, research, outreach, and integrated activities relating to agriculture, renewable resources, and other similar disciplines. NLGCA institutions may use the funds to maintain and expand capacity:
1. to successfully compete for funds from Federal grants and other sources to carry out educational, research, outreach, and integrated activities that address priority concerns of national, regional, State, and local interest;
2. to disseminate information relating to priority concerns to:
a. interested members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities;
b. the public; and
c. any other interested entity;
3. to encourage members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities to participate in priority education, research, outreach, and integrated activities by providing matching funds to leverage grant resources, and through:
a. the purchase or other acquisition of equipment and other infrastructure (not including alteration, repair, renovation, or construction of buildings);
b. the professional growth and development of the faculty of the NLGCA Institution; and
c. the development of graduate assistantships.
Who can apply
Applicants for the NLGCA Program must meet all the requirements discussed in this NOFO. Failure to meet the eligibility criteria by the application deadline may result in exclusion from consideration or preclude NIFA from making an award. For those new to Federal financial assistance, NIFA's About Grants provides highly recommended information about grants and other resources to help understand the Federal awards process. Applications may only be submitted by an NLGCA certified as such by NIFA at the time of application. A current list of NLGCAs certified by NIFA can be found on the NLGCA Program webpage or the NLGCA List webpage. Section 7102 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 removed the opt-in, opt-out language that had previously required Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) and McIntire-Stennis Colleges and Universities to relinquish that status if they wanted to pursue NLGCA designation (See Part I, A for legislative authority). There are no longer any such limitations, and HSACUs as well as McIntire-Stennis Colleges and Universities may request NLGCA designation. Non-land-grant colleges and universities may subcontract to organizations not eligible to apply, provided such organizations are necessary for the conduct of the project. All institutions certified as NLGCA prior to December 21, 2018, must reapply for certification and meet the new criteria for NLGCA certification contained in the Federal Register Notice. In order for an institution to qualify as a NLGCA, it must be a public college or university offering a baccalaureate or higher degree in the study of agricultural sciences, forestry, or both, among the 32 specified Areas of Study: Agricultural and domestic animal services; agricultural and extension education services; agricultural and food products processing; agricultural business and management; agricultural communication or agricultural journalism; agricultural economics; agricultural engineering; agricultural mechanization; agricultural production operations; agricultural public services; agriculture; animal sciences; applied horticulture or horticulture operations; aquaculture; equestrian/equine studies; floriculture or floristry operations and management; food science; forest sciences and biology; forestry; greenhouse operations and management; international agriculture; natural resource economics; natural resources management and policy; natural resources or conservation; ornamental horticulture; plant nursery operations and management; plant sciences; range science and management; soil science; turf and turfgrass management; urban forestry; and wood science and wood products or pulp or paper technology. If you are not sure if you are eligible to request NLGCA designation, please consult the NLGCA Eligibility Flow Chart.
How to apply
- 1Register your organization
Applications are submitted by your institution, not individuals. Make sure your organization has an active SAM.gov registration (with a UEI) and a Grants.gov account with an Authorized Organization Representative.
- 2Read the full notice
Open the official notice for the complete eligibility rules, review criteria, page limits, and required forms. Applications close Nov 10, 2026.
- 3Download the application package
From the Grants.gov opportunity page, download the package (or apply via your agency's system where required) and prepare each component.
- 4Build and submit
Prepare the budget and narrative, route for institutional sign-off, and submit before the deadline: GrantsManager can track every step for you.
Agency contact: Joseph Perez Lead Policy Analyst · grantapplicationquestions@usda.gov
Details are pulled from Grants.gov and can change, always confirm against the official notice. GrantsManager isn't affiliated with these agencies.
Resources for applying
All USDA / NIFA grants and resources- Proposal submission checklist
A pre-submission checklist for research proposals: solicitation review, internal routing, budget, compliance, and sponsor-system steps to hit the deadline cleanly.
- Direct vs. indirect costs
The difference between direct and indirect costs on research grants, with examples of each, the gray areas like administrative salaries, and how indirect costs are calculated from your F&A rate.
- Reading your Notice of Award
The parts of a Notice of Award that determine what you can spend, when, and what needs prior approval, plus the terms that cause disallowed costs if missed.
- Grant Budget Template
A five-year research grant budget in Excel that calculates fringe, the NIH salary cap, the MTDC base, and F&A automatically.
- Budget Justification Template
A free budget justification (budget narrative) template for research grants, organized by the federal R&R budget categories, with example language for personnel, fringe, equipment, travel, other direct costs, subawards, and F&A.
- Grant Letter of Intent Template
A free grant letter of intent (LOI) template with two versions: the short NIH letter of intent requested in many funding opportunities, and a foundation LOI that pitches the project before a full proposal.
- Letter of Support Template for Grant Applications
A free letter of support template for NIH and other research grant applications, with collaborator and consultant versions, what NIH asks letters to include, and how NIH's move to letters of collaboration affects them.
- F&A & MTDC calculator
Build the Modified Total Direct Cost base, apply your F&A rate, and see total direct costs, indirect costs, and the full award total, with the usual MTDC exclusions handled.
- Grant burn rate
Compare the share of a grant spent and encumbered with the share of the award period elapsed, see the average monthly burn, the monthly spend needed to finish on budget, and the projected run-out date.
- Grants.gov
Federal grant applications and forms for NIH, USDA, and many others.
- USDA NIFA
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture programs and grants.
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