Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Alternative Funding Arrangements (AFA) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2026 — Natural Resources Conservation Service funding opportunity
Natural Resources Conservation Service · Federal agency

Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Alternative Funding Arrangements (AFA) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2026

Posted 17d ago

Federal Awarding Agency Name: Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Funding Opportunity Title: Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP...

75
match
Award $250k–$10M Deadline Aug 24 Location Alabama Type grant Level Federal Open posted Jun 23, 2026
✦ AI Summary
  • Who can apply: Federal-level applicants (see eligibility for details).
  • Funding amount: $250,000 – $10,000,000, total pool ~$310,000,000.
  • Next deadline: August 24, 2026.
  • Issued by: Natural Resources Conservation Service.
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How was this generated?

The “key facts” mode pulls structured fields directly from the official source posting (amount, deadline, eligibility tags). The AI mode adds a short plain-English narrative on top, generated from the same source. Always verify with the agency before applying.

AI-generated. Always verify with the official source.

Who can apply — at a glance

  • Eligible applicants: see the Eligibility tab for the criteria from the official announcement.
  • Where: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia.
  • Award: $250k–$10M. Total program pool: $310,000,000.
  • Matching funds: not required.
  • Deadline type: Fixed.

Compiled from the official listing's structured fields — always verify with the funder before applying.

About the funder

Natural Resources Conservation Service is a federal-level funder.

See all 5 open programs from this agency →

Award amount
$250k–$10M
Deadline
Aug 24
Aug 24, 2026
Total pool
$310M

About this opportunity

Federal Awarding Agency Name: Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Funding Opportunity Title: Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Alternative Funding Arrangements (AFA) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2026 Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NRCS-NHQ-RCPP-AFA-26-NOFO0001451 Assistance Listing: 10.932, Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Due Date: NRCS must receive proposals by 4:59 Eastern Time on August 24, 2026. Note: The RCPP AFA and Classic FY 2026 notices of funding opportunity (NOFO) will run concurrently. For information on Classic proposals please see USDA-NRCS-NHQ- RCPP-Classic-26-NOFO0001450. The RCPP promotes the coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that offer value-added contributions to expand our ability to address regional natural resource concerns. Through the RCPP, NRCS seeks to co-invest with partners to implement projects that provide solutions to conservation challenges thereby measurably improving the resource concerns they seek to address. RCPP promotes collaboration with various communities, which is paramount to achieving equity in NRCS programs and services. Partners use this notice to propose projects that improve natural resources in one or more states or focus on priority concerns in NRCS-designated Critical Conservation Areas (CCAs). NRCS works with these partners to plan and carry out projects on farms, ranches and private forest land. Through the program, NRCS can provide funding to support both partners and producers. Proposals are selected through a competitive process based on their impact, the partner’s contributions, and how well the partnership is managed. Up to $310 million is available for RCPP projects through this announcement and the FY 2026 Classic announcement using the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) funding Working Families Tax Cut Act, Public Law 119-21. Proposals are accepted from all 50 States, the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), and territories in the Pacific Island Areas (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). Up to $30 million of the total available funding is being made available specifically for NRCS to enter into programmatic partnership agreements with Indian tribes. This set aside will be shared by this announcement and the FY 2026 Classic announcement. RCPP AFAs are intended to reimburse projects led by partners that clearly demonstrate their ability to provide technical and financial assistance to benefit conservation implementation. The expectation is that AFA Partners will be ready to implement the project quickly. The 2018 Farm Bill provides the following examples of project types that might be implemented through RCPP AFA: · projects that use innovative approaches to leverage the Federal investment in conservation. · projects that deploy a pay-for-performance conservation approach. Note: Pay for performance is a partner negotiated method used to pay for quantifiable benefits of implemented conservation activities in lieu of reimbursement for practice installation and management activities at NRCS payment rates. · projects that seek large-scale infrastructure investments that generate conservation benefits for agricultural producers and nonindustrial private forest owners. NRCS can make up to 15 AFA awards through this funding opportunity through Farm Bill funding. Submissions: Proposals must be submitted through the RCPP portal. See section E of this announcement for information on using the RCPP portal to submit proposals. Access to the RCPP portal requires a level 2 eAuthentication credential or a Login.gov credential. Obtaining a new Login.gov credential involves multiple steps and can take several days to complete. Instructions are posted on the How to Apply to RCPP web page listed below.

Funding agency

Natural Resources Conservation Service
Federal agency

Tags

Agriculture & Farming Manufacturing Arts & Culture Construction & Housing Tribal & Native Climate & Environment Transportation & Logistics Finance & Capital Access
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Who can apply

Eligibility details aren't on file yet — check the agency source link in the Documents tab for the latest rules.

Geographic eligibility

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming
  • District of Columbia

How to apply

We don't have application instructions on file yet — head straight to the official source.

Apply on agency site
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Source documents

View on agency site
Canonical NOFO, application packet, and forms
No supplemental documents yet.

Direct downloads (NOFO PDFs, application forms, FAQs) will appear here once our team attaches them. For now, the agency site has the canonical packet.

Citation details

Source systemgrants.gov
Source ID362910
PostedJun 23, 2026

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