Deadline: 6-Apr-22
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is seeking applications for the Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants (SPECA) program seeks to:
- promote and strengthen secondary education and two-year postsecondary education in the food and agriculture sciences in order to help ensure the existence of a workforce in the United States that’s qualified to serve the food and agriculture sciences system; and
- promote complementary and synergistic linkages among secondary, two-year postsecondary, and higher education programs in the food and agriculture sciences in order to advance excellence in education and encourage more young Americans to pursue and complete a baccalaureate or higher degree in the food and agriculture sciences.
Priorities
The purpose of the Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants (SPECA) program is to award grants to:
- to enhance curricula in agricultural education;
- to increase faculty teaching competencies;
- to interest young people in pursuing higher education in order to prepare for scientific and professional careers in the food and agricultural sciences;
- to promote the incorporation of agriscience and agribusiness subject matter into other instructional programs, particularly classes in science, business, and consumer education;
- to facilitate joint initiatives by the grant recipient with other secondary schools, Institutions of higher education that award an associate’s degree, and institutions of higher education that award a bachelor’s degree to maximize the development and use of resources, such as faculty, facilities, and equipment, to improve agriscience and agribusiness education;
- to support other initiatives designed to meet local, State, regional, or national needs related to promoting excellence in agriscience and agribusiness education; and
- to support current agriculture in the classroom programs for grades K–12.
Funding Information
- The anticipated amount available for SPECA in FY 2022 and FY 2023 is approximately $800,000 each year.
- This RFA is being released prior to the passage of an appropriations act for FY 2022 and FY2023.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants for the SPECA must meet all the requirements discussed in this RFA. Applications may only be submitted by:
- public secondary schools,
- public or private nonprofit junior and community colleges,
- institutions of higher education, or
- nonprofit organizations.
- 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 Grants Overview provides highly recommended information about grants and other resources to help understand the Federal awards process.
- School boards are not eligible as legal recipients of the award.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=337770
