NIFA requests applications for the Smith-Lever Special Needs
Competitive Grants Program (SLSNCGP) RFA for FY 2026 to enable the Cooperative
Extension System (CES) to assist in preparing for, providing an educational
response to, recovering from, and mitigating disasters and disaster threats.
This program supports innovative, education-based approaches to address
disaster preparedness and specific responses related to disasters or disaster
threats caused by natural, human-made, or technological hazards or by other
factors that contribute to the exposure of or risk to a community. Projects
illustrating strong plans for replicability, scalability, and transferring
successful methods to other states and/or regions for a broader reach and
greater potential for end-user adoption are strongly encouraged.  

NIFA is soliciting applications for SLSNCGP projects that
focus on disasters, address at least one of the listed Topical Areas, and use
at least one of the listed Strategies.

Topical Areas: Topical Areas cover the subject areas on
which the Coperative Extension System develops and delivers educational
resources and programs to target audiences and stakeholders through
science-based education. SLSNCGP projects must address at least one of these
Topical Areas:

Agriculture: Includes but is not limited to row crop and
forage health and production; livestock health and production; aquaculture;
fruit and vegetable production; farm and agribusiness management; economics;
farm safety; and agricultural biosecurity. 

Natural Resources: Includes but is not limited to water;
forestry; wood sciences; range; waste management; energy, wildlife; and
recreation.

Community and Economic Development: Includes but is not
limited to small business; workforce development; community planning;
placemaking; revitalization; tourism; visioning and strategic planning;
leadership development; housing; homeowner education; community engagement;
volunteerism; broadband; and rural life.

Family and Consumer Sciences: Includes but is not limited to
nutrition; food safety; nutrition security; health management and wellness;
well-being; mental health; personal and family finance; child development;
early childhood education; individual and family relationships; textiles; and
hospitality. 

4-H and Youth Development: Includes but is not limited to
youth development; career exploration; community engagement; STEM education;
and volunteerism. 

Strategies: Strategies represent the plans of action and
implementation methods used by the Cooperative Extension System to reach and
engage target audiences and stakeholders through science-based education.
SLSNCGP projects must use at least one of these Strategies:

Program and Resource Development: Includes but is not
limited to workshops; field days; program series; round-table sessions; day
camps; curricula development; resource guides and fact sheet development; and
print and/or web-based deliverables.

Exercise and Training: Includes but is not limited to
simulation exercises; tabletop exercises; train-the-trainer programs; technical
assistance; and in-person and/or virtual skills-based trainings.

Communications: Includes but is not limited to new or
exploratory ways to reach target audiences and stakeholders; app development;
message amplification; social media; cybersecurity; and use of emergent
technology like Artificial Intelligence. 

Disaster Planning: Includes but is not limited to needs
assessment; all-hazards planning; hazard-specific planning; and evaluation
activities. 

Professional Development and Capacity Building: Includes but
is not limited to just-in-time and/or continually relevant continuing education
for CES professionals and partners; and activities that support the
effectiveness and future of an organization or community like volunteer
recruitment, leadership succession, gap analysis, and outcome
measurement. 

Eligibility:

Applications may only be submitted by 1862 Land-grant
Institutions in the 50 states and the U.S. territories, American Samoa, Guam,
Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin
Islands. 

An eligible individual institution, independent branch
campus, or branch institution of a State system may submit a grant application
for project activities to be undertaken principally on behalf of its own
students or faculty, and to be managed primarily by its own personnel. The
applicant executes the project without the requirement of sharing grant funds
with other project partners.

Award recipients may subcontract to organizations not
eligible to apply, provided such organizations are necessary for the conduct of
the project. The 1862 Land-grant Institutions may partner with each other as
well as with other Land-grant Institutions (e.g., 1890s and 1994s),
non-Land-grant Institutions, and non-governmental organizations within their
state or their region on joint proposals. 

Award Range: $20,000 - $115,000

Match Required: Applicants MUST provide 100% matching
contributions for all Federal funds awarded under this funding opportunity
announcement.