Application Open Date: 5/15/2024
Informational Webinar:
Monday, May 20, 2024, from 1 - 2 pm EST / 10 - 11 am PST. Please register here.
Application Deadline:
Friday, June 14, 2024, at 8pm EST/ 5pm PST
Award Notification: Week of 7/15/24
Grant start date:
September 1, 2024
The Nutrition Incentive Program Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center (NTAE) is pleased to make available grants between $5,000 and $50,000 and a duration of up to 12 months to support capacity building initiatives for current USDA GusNIP, GusCRR, and ARPA grantees and their implementing partners and subawardees.
Eligibility: Current GusNIP/GusCRR/ARPA grantee organizations or implementing partners/subrecipients of these funds. Applicants must be registered as either a government agency or non-profit organization. Due to limited funding, we are only able to award one grant per GusNIP grantee. If we receive multiple applications from a current GusNIP, GusCRR, or ARPA grantee (or their partners), a maximum of one may be funded, depending on the scores of reviewers.
Priority. Priority will be given to projects that include innovative elements in their project design and implementation, encouraging a culture of creative thinking and continuous learning through new solutions that better serve the community(ies). This year, based on the needs identified through our annual TA survey and feedback from NIFA, priority will also be given to applicants with projects that are actively implementing strategies around participant engagement and/or food waste reduction.
For the purpose of this grant, Capacity Building is defined as initiatives that are designed to strengthen an organization’s ability to implement a nutrition incentive or produce prescription project in their community. Capacity building is an investment in the effectiveness and future sustainability of a nutrition incentive project and/or produce prescription project.
This grant seeks to support initiatives that build capacity in any or all of the following categories:
- Communications planning and strategy
- Community Building + Partnership Development
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA)
- Evaluation
- Governance structure
- Nutrition Education
- Participant Engagement + Outreach
- Local Sourcing and/or Food Waste
- Technology
- Capacity building projects in other areas are also encouraged (Please specify)
Applications will be reviewed using the following criteria. Criteria will be scored numerically on a scale of 0-5 or 0-10, as indicated below):- The proposal supports a current USDA GusNIP, GusCRR, and ARPA grantees and their implementing partners and subawardees (0 or 10)
- The proposal supports an organization that has not received funding in previous rounds of the Capacity Building and Innovation Fund (0 or 10)
- Builds capacity in high-need communities with low participation in nutrition incentive programs (0-10)
- The proposal enhances Nutrition Incentive or Produce Prescription projects through innovative or creative approaches that maximize nutrition incentive participants’ purchasing power and access to fruits and vegetables (0-10)
- Provides clear, detailed, and coherent project plan, budget, and budget description (0-10)
- Organization (leadership, board, project team, and/or partnerships) reflects the community this project serves in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, income level, immigrant and refugee background, and language(s) spoken (0-5)
- Organizational leadership includes underrepresented groups including but not limited to tribal communities, communities of color, LGBTQIA+, individuals with disabilities, Veterans (0-5)
- Demonstrates potential for program sustainability beyond this grant period (0-5)
Eligible Expenses: Allowable expenses under the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) include staff, technology, supplies, marketing, postage, and travel incurred between the grant start and end dates. Applications may include relevant expenses incurred by the organization’s outreach and retail partners. You can visit the NIFA Grants Guide for a full list of allowable costs.
Ineligible Expenses: No part of the grant funds may be used to persuade or recruit individuals to apply for SNAP/NAP benefits. No part of the grant funds may be used to carry on propaganda, for lobbying or other attempts to influence legislation, or to influence the outcome of any specific public election, or to carry on, directly or indirectly, any voter registration drive. No part of the grant funds may be used to replace existing GusNIP, GusCRR, or ARPA, funding. No part of the grant funds may be used as a match for a GusNIP, GusCRR, or ARPA grant. No part of the grant funds may be spent directly on nutrition incentives. The CBIF grant does not allocate funds for stipends related to surveys or interviews. However, if your organization requires financial assistance for stipends or interviews, the NTAE offers supplementary funding to support both grantees and subgrantees. Feel free to contact us at ta@nutritionincentivehub.org for further information on how to request funds for surveys and/or interviews’ stipends.
Per the FY 24 GusNIP RFA, the following are now considered ineligible expenses:
- POS equipment necessary for redeeming SNAP/NAP benefits may not be purchased for retailers. Upgrades to retailers’ existing equipment specifically for the purpose of enhancing the issuance and/or redemption of GusNIP incentives is acceptable.
- Firm inventory or stocking fruits and vegetables for retailers.
Reporting Requirements & Obligations of Awarded Organizations:
- Grantees will be required to provide documentation of the expenses incurred and a one-page report about impacts of the funding 45 days after the project end date.
- In addition to reporting requirements, the Nutrition Incentive Hub will schedule a call at the halfway point of their grant with grantees to check in on the progress of their project and provide additional technical assistance as requested.
- Finally, grantees will be required to complete our annual nutrition incentive practitioner TA survey. We will provide more details on these requirements and opportunities for organizations during the award period.
Informational Webinar: The informational webinar was hosted on Wednesday, May 20, 2024, from 1 - 2 pm EST / 10 - 11 am PST. To access the recording, please email us at ta@nutritionincentivehub.org.
Questions? If you have questions about this funding opportunity, please contact Paula Balbontin at ta@nutritionincentivehub.org.
Learn More: To learn more about the Nutrition Incentive Hub, created and funded by the GusNIP NTAE, please visit www.nutritionincentivehub.org.
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Fair Food Network will administer these grants, as a leading partner for the Nutrition Incentive Hub created by the GusNIP NTAE Center. The Nutrition Incentive Program Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Center (NTAE) is supported by Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program grant no. 2019-70030-30415/project accession no. 1020863 and grant no. 2023-70414-40461/project accession no. 1031111 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.