Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program | OAO 011

Opportunity Information: Apply for OAO 011

The Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program is a federal grant opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE). The program is listed under Funding Opportunity Title "Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program" with Funding Opportunity Number OAO 011 and CFDA number 10.443, and it is categorized as an agriculture-related funding opportunity. The opportunity is designated as "Mandatory," which typically indicates the funding is authorized and directed by statute, rather than being purely discretionary, and the funding instrument is a grant.

The purpose of this opportunity, as indicated by the title and agency, is to support outreach and assistance efforts aimed at two key groups within agriculture: socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and veteran farmers and ranchers. In practice, programs under this umbrella generally focus on helping these producers better access USDA programs, services, and resources, and on improving their ability to succeed in farming and ranching through education, technical assistance, and targeted support. While the specific required activities, priorities, and allowable costs are not described in the short public summary provided, the official notice directs applicants to consult the application instructions and the full application package for the detailed program requirements, scope of work, and submission rules.

Eligibility for this grant is open to several types of organizations rather than individual applicants. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status, and nonprofit organizations without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education). This suggests the program is intended to fund organizations that have the capacity to design and deliver outreach, training, education, and technical assistance to the intended producer audiences, often through workshops, mentoring, field days, one-on-one advising, partnerships, or similar service delivery models.

Key administrative details include an original closing date of August 7, 2017, and a creation date of June 26, 2017. The award ceiling is listed as $200,000, meaning individual awards were not expected to exceed that amount. The number of expected awards is not specified in the provided data, which usually means applicants would need to review the full application package or the funding announcement for the anticipated number of grants, total funding available, and whether multiple funding tiers or project periods are allowed.

Because the posted description is minimal and explicitly instructs applicants to consult the application instructions and package, the most important next step for any potential applicant would be to review those materials to confirm the program's goals, required project components, evaluation criteria, reporting obligations, budget requirements, period of performance, matching or cost-share expectations (if any), and the exact submission process.

• The Office of Partnerships and Public Engagements in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.443.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-06-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-08-07. (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.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for OAO 011

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