Business Competitive (SLT)

Information Collection: 0584-0512

Expiration date: xx/xx/xxxx

A6-Child Nutrition-Tribal Partners Nutrition Education Activities

Fiscal Year XXXX Request for Applications (RFA)

Assistance Listing Number (ALN): XX.XXX

Release Date:	Month DD, YYYY
Application Due Date:	XXXXX; 11:59 pm, Eastern Standard Time (EST), Note: Depending upon the time of year the RFA is released, this may need to be updated to Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
Anticipated Award Date:	XX/XXXX Note: Include at least month and year

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service in [explain purpose of IC; for example, understanding the recent decrease in Program participation.] This is a [voluntary/mandatory] collection and FNS [uses/will use] the information to [explain planned use of data; for example, to monitor program funding]. This collection [does/does not] request any personally identifiable information under the Privacy Act of 1974. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0512. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 53.58 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN: PRA (0584-0512). Do not return the completed form to this address.

Application Checklist

This Application Checklist provides applicants with a list of the required actions and documents that must be completed. However, FNS expects that applicants will read the entire RFA prior to the submission of their application and comply with all requirements outlined in the solicitation. The Application Checklist is for applicant use only and should not be submitted as part of the Application Package. 

Complete the following at least four weeks prior to submission: 

• Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number;

• Register the UEI number in the System for Award Management (SAM); and,

• Register in grants.gov.

When preparing your application, ensure: 

• Application format and narrative meet the requirements included in Section 4 – Application and Submission Information. This includes page limits, priorities outlined in Section 5 – Application Review Information, and all necessary attachments.

When preparing your budget, ensure the following information is included:

• All key staff proposed to be paid by this grant.

• The percentage of time the Project Director will devote to the project in full-time equivalents (FTEs).

• Your organization’s fringe benefit rate and amount, as well as the basis for the computation.

• The type of fringe benefits to be covered with Federal funds.

• Itemized travel expenses (including type of travel), travel justification, and basis for lodging estimate.

• Types of equipment and supplies, justifications, and estimates, ensuring that the budget is in line with the project description.

• Information for all contracts and justification for any sole-source contracts

• Justification, description, and an itemized list of all consultant services.

• Indirect cost information (either a copy of a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) or if no agreement exists and the applicant has never been approved for a NICRA, they may charge up to 15% de minimis). If an applicant is requesting the de minimis rate or indirect costs are not required, please state this in the budget narrative.

 

When submitting your application, ensure you have submitted the following:

• SF-424 – Application for Federal Assistance (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

• SF-424A – Budget Information and Instruction Form (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

• SF-424B – Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

• SF-LLL – Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

• AD-3030 – Representations Regarding Felony Conviction and Tax Delinquent Status for Corporate Applicants (fillable PDF in Grants.gov). This document is only required if your organization is a corporation. The form is located in the optional tab of the grants.gov application package.

• FNS-906 – Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)  

• Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (PDF - Upload using the “Add Attachments” button under SF-424 item #15) 

<<Program: add additional requirements as necessary or remove the following examples below if not applicable:>>

• Resumes of key staff

• Letters of support/commitment from key staff and partners

• Additional attachments as required

Table of Contents <<PAGE NUMBERS SHOULD BE FLUSH RIGHT>>

1. Program Description and Objectives 7

Executive Summary 7

Program Description 7

Key Objectives 7

2. Federal Award Information 8

Allowable Costs 8

3. Eligibility Information 9

Eligible Applicants 9

IN ADDITION: Those applicants who fail to submit any required documents or forms will be deemed NONRESPONSIVE and therefore will be INELIGIBLE to participate in the competition and removed from further consideration. 10

Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations 10

Pre-Award Screening Requirements 10

Acknowledgement of USDA Support 11

4. Application and Submission Information 11

Content and Form of Application Submission 11

Special Instructions: 12

Cover Sheet 12

Table of Contents 12

Application Project Summary 13

Project Narrative 13

Activities/Indicators Tracker 13

Application Budget Narrative 14

Indirect Cost Rate 14

Required Grant Application Forms 14

Letter of Intent 14

Submission Date 15

Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov 15

How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov 16

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission 17

File attachment names longer than approximately 50 characters can cause problems processing packages. Please limit file attachment names. Also, do not use any special characters ( This includes periods (.) and spacing followed by a dash in the file. To separate words in naming a file, use underscore 17

Intergovernmental Review 17

Funding Restrictions 18

5. Application Review Information 18

Review Criteria 18

Name of Selection Criteria 1 (XX points) 19

Name of Selection Criteria 2 (XX points) 19

Name of Selection Criteria 3 (XX points) 19

Name of Selection Criteria 4 (XX points) 19

Name of Selection Criteria 5 (XX points) 19

Name of Selection Criteria 6 (XX points) 19

Review and Selection Process 19

6. Federal Award Administration Information 19

Federal Award Notice 19

Administrative and National Policy Requirements 20

Confidentiality of an Application 20

Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality of the Review Process 20

Administrative Regulations 21

Code of Federal Regulations and Other Government Requirements 23

Reporting Requirements 24

Financial Reports 24

Performance Progress Reports (PPR) 24

7. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts 25

8. Other Information 25

Debriefing Requests 25

Appendix 26

RFA Budget Narrative Checklist 26

FNS-906 Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire 28

FNS-908 Performance Progress Report (PPR) 30

<<Program: Be sure to update the entire table of contents when you complete the RFA. You may remove sub-headers, but the main sections that are numbered must be included in the table of contents. To add additional sub-headers, be sure to utilize ‘styles’ in the Word toolbar under the ‘Home’ tab. Headers 1, 2, and 3 are being used throughout this document for main and sub-headers. ‘Normal’ is used as body text. If you wish to change the font, formatting, or color, right-click the style you wish to change and then select ‘modify’. Make your desired changes and then click OK to apply them.>>

1. Program Description and Objectives

Executive Summary

<<REQUIRED: Enter the purpose, authority, and funds available for the grant project. This first section should make it very clear to the reader what the authority is for the project as well as what the project is about and what the expected outcomes are for this award. It should summarize the program and provide information that could help potential applicants decide whether to read the full announcement. Recommended length: one paragraph. >>

Program Description

<<REQUIRED: Here the Program should enter Program Description Information such as:

• Restate the authorizing program legislation. The legislation should be clearly identifiable.

• Indicate if the RFA is for a new program or a one-time initiative

• Summarized description of the funding opportunity

• Indicate if the RFA is a current fiscal year funding opportunity or a modification from a prior year

• Any additional information to help the reader understand the project, e.g., if an any type of evaluation is required.>>

• Include a brief description of eligible entities

• Enter bulleted list of highlights of the program description

• Second bullet.

Key Objectives

Below is a list of the Program Objectives. As noted in Section 4, within the “Activities/Indicators Tracker,” proposed activities should be clearly aligned to these objectives and their associated activities and indicators.

Application proposals must include at least <<Program: fill in number>> of the <<Program: fill in number>> objectives identified below. Proposals can contain more than one objective. Note that if awarded, grantees will be required to report on progress towards activities aligned with the required objective(s) and must use the FNS-908 Performance Progress Report. Carefully considering proposed activities and indicators will prepare grantees for their progress reporting requirements if awarded.

<<REQUIRED: Program should list the standard Program Objectives across the program. Applicants will use these Objectives as they complete Activities/Indicators Tracker in Section 4.

Note: In order to maintain consistency across FNS programs, use of the terms “objectives,” “activities” and “indicators” is required; no substitute words are allowed. the table to fill out the objectives specific to the program. Add rows as needed. An example is provided.>>

#	Objective
Ex. 1	Assist schools/districts administering NSLP and SBP programs in providing: 1) appealing and nutritious school meals, 2) nutrition education, and 3) school environments that promote healthy eating; ultimately encouraging students to follow healthy eating patterns that align with the recommendations set forth in the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
2

2. Federal Award Information

<<REQUIRED: This section should provide information to help an applicant make an informed decision about whether to submit a proposal. At a minimum, this section should include the items listed, but additional items may be added. Estimates and ranges are acceptable. Program may consider adding information regarding the use of funds, including any program-specific requirements and/or criteria for applicant eligibility (also referenced in section 3).>>

The following information is intended to provide applicants with information to help make informed decisions about proposal submissions.

• Total amount of funding expected to award: $XXXX <<Program: This should be the total for all awards, or what is on the AD-700 for this grant/cooperative agreement.>>

• Anticipated number of awards: XX

• Minimum award amount (award floor): $XXXX <<Program: If you do not have an award floor, please enter 0.00 ($0.00).>>

• Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $XXXX

• Anticipated award announcement date: Month Year

• Anticipated period of performance (start and end date of the award): Month Year – Month Year <<Program: This will be limited to no more than 4 ½ years, longer PoPs are subject to advanced approval by the Director, Grants and Fiscal Policy.>>

• Application due date: Month DD, YYYY

Please note:

• Grant awards are subject to the availability of funding and/or appropriations of funds.

• FNS reserves the right to use this solicitation and the results of this competition to award additional grants this year or the subsequent fiscal year, should additional funds become available.

• <<Program: Add additional content or delete this last bullet.>>

Allowable Costs

<<REQUIRED: This section should provide information on allowable costs in accordance with 2 CFR 200. The items listed are examples of allowable costs to assist in writing this section of the RFA. Please edit as you see fit.

If there are any required costs (e.g., travel to attend grantee meeting, etc), be sure to include it in this section for allowable costs.

Among other costs, budgets may include expenses related to personnel, contractors, equipment and supplies, meeting expenses, travel, and trainings. 

This section should also include the following:

• Type of Federal Financial Assistance (Grant or Cooperative Agreement);

• Describe substantial involvement (if Cooperative Agreement); and

• Describe if procurement contracts also may be awarded

Please be very clear if there are specific things that you do NOT want to allow and add them in the section for ‘unallowable costs’ below.>>

Equipment and Supplies: Expenditures for equipment (i.e., items of personal property having a useful life of more than one year and a cost of $10,000 or more) are allowable expenses with prior approval by FNS. FNS reserves the right to approve/disapprove these expenditures based on needs as expressed by the proposed project. Supplies do not require a separate specific prior approval outside of the budget/proposal approval process.

 

All costs proposed in the budget and detailed in the budget narrative must be allowable, reasonable, necessary, and allocable. Refer to 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles for a detailed description of all allowable and unallowable costs.

A complete listing of selected items of costs is located at 2 CFR 200.420 – 200.476.

<<Program: Add to this unallowable costs section if there are specific unallowed costs you want to call out, or create an attachment (add the document name or link as appropriate and include after the appendix in this template) for a detailed list. Note: This should be part of the RFA and not a separate document that will be housed in the related documents tab on grants.gov.>>

3. Eligibility Information

Eligible Applicants

<<REQUIRED: This section should clearly identify the type(s) of entities that are eligible to apply. This section must also address considerations or factors that will make an applicant or application ineligible for consideration. Be very clear when describing entity types. A State agency that administers FNS programs knows that they are a State agency, but there are other entities that don’t understand that concept and THINK that they are. By being very clear in this section, it saves FNS staff time in answering questions from prospective applicants, and it saves applicants from writing a proposal for an award that they are not eligible for. If applicable, the RFA should specify any document submission requirements to support an applicant’s eligibility determination.>>

<<REQUIRED: Enter any other eligibility criteria here as a bulleted list. If none, enter ‘No other eligibility criteria.’ Or ‘None.’ Consider the following eligibility criteria, if applicable:

• Responsiveness criteria, such as a formal letter of commitment, non-profit organizations only, need to partner with State agency, etc.

• Limitation on the number of applications each applicant can submit

• Specific documents that are required

• Participation in FNS nutrition programs

Entities not meeting the eligibility definitions will be deemed ineligible and removed from competition without further consideration. The following are eligible entities, which are described in more detail below:

• <<Program: Enter eligible applicant types (entities)>>

• All non-profit organizations must include their 501(c)(3) determination letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If any other non-profit status applies, i.e., 501(c)(4) please describe here. <<Program: If non-profits are not eligible entities for your grant, delete this bullet.>>

• Add additional eligibility criteria as applicable

Note: In cases where an applicant is deemed nonresponsive for failing to submit required elements or documents associated with this RFA, they will be considered ineligible and removed from consideration.

IN ADDITION: Those applicants who fail to submit any required documents or forms will be deemed NONRESPONSIVE and therefore will be INELIGIBLE to participate in the competition and removed from further consideration.

Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations

• <<Program: Enter cost sharing requirements here, or state “There are no cost sharing or matching requirements for this award.”>>

In-kind contributions are generally defined as the value of goods or services provided by a third-party for the benefit of the grant program, where no funds transferred hands. Applicants may not use Federal funds of any kind, including Federal food service funds, as a match for this grant program.

The host agency contribution to support AmeriCorps and FoodCorps service member stipends is unallowable as a match because both AmeriCorps and FoodCorps are federally funded programs. The match contributions reflected in the submitted grant proposal must be documented, including the basis for the value determination, as well as be reasonable, allocable, and allowable under the criteria for this grant award. <<Program: This is not relevant to all grant opportunities. If not needed, remove.>>

Matching funds may be in the form of allowable direct or indirect costs. For example, the value of buildings and/or property are unallowable costs for the Farm to School Grant, and therefore unallowable as a source of matching funds. Additional information about allowable and unallowable costs is available in Appendix B. The basis for determining the value of cash and in-kind contributions must be in accordance with 2 CFR 200.306 (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title2-vol1/xml/CFR-2014-title2-vol1-sec200-306.xm).  

Applicants failing to provide the specific match contribution documentation will be deemed ineligible and removed from further consideration. The documentation provided must detail the source of the matching contribution.

Pre-Award Screening Requirements

In reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, prior to making a Federal award, Federal awarding agencies, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.205, are required to review information available through any OMB-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility qualifications or financial integrity information. Additionally, Federal awarding agencies are required to have a framework in place for evaluating the risks posed by applicants before they receive Federal awards. The FNS review of risk posed by applicants will be based on the following:

• SAM.gov, the System for Award Management, the Official U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS

• FAPIIS, the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System that has been established to track contractor misconduct and performance

• FNS Risk Assessment Questionnaire (FNS-906)

  • Applicants must complete the Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire that allows FNS to evaluate aspects of the applicant’s financial stability, quality of management systems, and history of performance, reports, and findings from audits. The questionnaire contains a number of questions that may be an indicator of potential risk.

The evaluation of the information obtained from the designated systems and the risk assessment questionnaire may result in FNS imposing special conditions or additional oversight requirements that correspond to the degree of risk assessed.

Acknowledgement of USDA Support

• As outlined in 2 CFR 415.2, grant recipients shall include acknowledgement of USDA Food and Nutrition Service support on any publications written or published with grant support and, if feasible, on any publication reporting the results of, or describing, a grant-supported activity. Grant recipients may be asked to host USDA officials for a site visit during the course of their grant award. All costs associated with the site visit will be paid for by USDA and are not expected to be included in grant budgets.

4. Application Content Information

Content and Form of Application Submission

<<REQUIRED This section must address the required content of an application and the format for submission. This section must also include the required forms to be submitted by the applicant.>>

FNS strongly encourages eligible applicants interested in applying to this program to adhere to the following applicant format. The proposed project plan should be presented on 8 ½” x 11” white paper with at least 1-inch margins on the top and bottom. All pages should be single-spaced in 12-point font. The project description with relevant information should be capture on no more than XX pages, not including the cover sheet, table of content, resumes, letter(s) of commitment, endorsement letter(s), budget narrative(s), appendices, and required forms. All pages, excluding form pages must be numbered. <<Program: Add any additional requirements here that are not part of the page count.>>

Special Instructions:

<<Program: If the RFA requests a Letter of Commitment, it should include the agency’s justification for this requirement, as well as instructions for submitting the letter. If that letter commitment is a required component that effects eligibility it should be cleared noted in the eligibility section above as well>>

• Late application submission will not be considered in this competition. FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via Grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

• Letters of support or Letters of commitment must be submitted with the application through grants.gov. Letters submitted separately or via email will not be considered.

• Applications submitted without the required supporting documents, forms, certification will not be considered.

• Applications missing a written proposal or budget narrative will not be considered and deemed nonresponsive, and removed from further consideration.

• FNS reserves the right to request clarification on any application submitted in response to this solicitation.

• Applications not submitted via Grants.gov will not be considered.

• If multiple application packages are submitted through Grants.gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNS will accept the latest application package successfully submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

<<COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT INFORMATION ONLY>>

<<LIST THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AWARDED APPLICANT HERE>>

<<LIST THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF FNS HERE>>

Cover Sheet

<<Program: Grants recommends developing the cover sheet or optional/suggested template as a fillable PDF. This must be provided to grants, if used, to be placed on grants.gov.>>

The cover page should include, at a minimum:

• Applicant’s name and mailing address

• Primary contact’s name, job title, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address

• Grant program title and subprogram title (if applicable)

• <<Program: Add additional cover sheet requirements here or delete bullet.>>

Table of Contents

The Table of Contents should include relevant sections, subsections and associated page numbers.

Application Project Summary

The application should clearly describe the proposed project activities and anticipated outcomes that would result if the proposal were to be funded.

Project Narrative

<<REQUIRED: This section should also include any RFA-specific requirements.>>

The project narrative should clearly identify what the applicant is proposing and how it will address a solution, the expected results and/or benefits once the solution is achieved, and how it will meet the RFA program scope and objectives. The proposed project methodology should describe the project design, address program specific methodology needs, procedures, timetables, monitoring/oversight, and the organization’s project staffing.

Activities/Indicators Tracker

<<REQUIRED: This is a newly required RFA section as of FY2019. Applicants will be expected to submit applications that outline the activities and indicators that align to the program objectives, as outlined in Section 1 of the RFA. Program Officers should ensure that the Objectives are completed in the RFA.>>

Proposed Activities and indicators measuring success must be mapped to Program Objectives (as described in Section 1 – Program Description) in the below format (note that additional Activities/Indicators can be added as needed).

Note: Indicators are defined as any metric you anticipate will be able to be tracked during the period of performance of the grant. Common examples include Number of People Attended, Number of People Impacted, Number of Conferences Delivered, Number of Materials Created, Number of Trainings, Number of People Trained.

Example

<<REQUIRED: An example should be included in the RFA. Program can customize the example below to be program specific.>>

Objective #	1. <<Program: Enter an example objective specific to your program>>
Activity	Grant-funded activities or trainings
Indicator(s)	No. trained
Activity	Measuring students’ nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors
Indicator(s)	No. impacted

Objective #
Activity
Indicator(s)

Objective #
Activity
Indicator(s)

<<Program: Add any additional guidance here. Feel free to add attachments that provide additional guidance, in which case you would state here, “see attached for XXX.”>>

Application Budget Narrative

The budget narrative, formatted as a table, should correspond with the proposed project narrative and application budget. If the budget narrative is not formatted as a spreadsheet (e.g. Microsoft Excel), then it must be accompanied by a spreadsheet with all costs listed and which aligns to the categories on the SF-424. The narrative must justify and support the bona fide needs of the budget’s direct cost. The budget and budget narrative must be in line with the proposed project description. If the budget includes indirect costs, the applicant must provide a copy of its most recently approved Federal indirect cost rate agreement. Budget categories in this table must match those listed on the SF-424A form. The budget table must be formatted to fit on an 8.5 x 11-inch page, with a font no smaller than 11-point Times New Roman. All funding requests must be in whole dollars.

Indirect Cost Rate

 
A current Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), negotiated with a cognizant Federal agency, should be used to charge indirect costs. Indirect costs may not exceed the negotiated rate. If a NICRA is used, the percentage and base should be indicated. If the applicant does not have, and has never been approved for, a NICRA, they may charge up to 15% de minimis. If the applicant does not have a current Federal negotiated indirect cost rate (including provisional rate) they may elect to charge a de minimis rate of up to 15 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC). In this instance, the applicant must indicate they are requesting the de minimis rate. An applicant may elect not to charge indirect costs and instead use all grant funds for direct costs. If indirect costs are not charged, the phrase “none requested” should be stated in the budget narrative. For questions related to the indirect cost rate, please work with the Grant Officer as noted in Section 7 of this RFA.

Note: Each organization is assigned to a single federal agency (by the Office of Management and Budget) that acts on behalf of all federal agencies in indirect cost rate negotiations and is referred to as the “cognizant agency.” 

Required Grant Application Forms

The required grants.gov forms may be previewed at grants.gov/web/grants/forms/forms-repository.html. These forms are part of the grants.gov Workspace application.

• Non-Construction Grant Projects Forms: SF-424 Family

  • Application and Instruction for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

  • Budget Information and Instructions (SF-424A)

  • Assurance-Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B)

• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL)

  • Indicate on your form whether your organization intends to conduct lobbying activities. If you organization does not intend to lobby, write “Not Applicable” in boxes required to be completed.

• FNS-906 (Grant Program Accounting System and Financial Capability Questionnaire)

• AD-3030 – Representations Regarding Felony Conviction and Tax Delinquent Status for Corporate Applicants (fillable PDF in Grants.gov). This document is only required if your organization is a corporation. The form is located in the optional tab of the grants.gov application package.

• Additional Required Forms and Information

  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. Please see below for further information

  • SAM registration. Please see below for further information.

Letter of Intent

<<Required: Update as noted or delete this letter of intent section if not applicable. It is recommended that you create a fillable PDF for the Letter of Intent.>>

The eligible applicant who intends to apply should submit a Letter of Intent notice by <<MONTH DD, YYYY>>. This notice does not obligate the applicant to submit an application but provides FNS with useful information in preparing for the review and selection process. The notice should include the potential applicant’s name and address, organizations’ name, telephone number, and email address of the primary point of contact. The applicant can send the letter via email to the FNS Grant Officer identified in Section 7 of this RFA.

5. Application Review Information

Review Criteria

<<REQUIRED: The RFA should clearly describe the review and selection process. All criteria should include the evaluation score factors for each criterion. The RFA must list any program policy, merit criteria, program specific requirements, cost sharing or other factors that a selecting official may use when selecting applications for an award.>>

Note: The RFA must address whether cost sharing or matching will be considered in the review process, such as, assign additional points or use as a tiebreaker for applications with equivalent evaluation scores. If cost sharing or matching will not be considered in the review process, please state this in the RFA.

FNS will pre-screen all applications to ensure the applicants are eligible entities and are in compliance with all Program regulations. FNS will not approve any waivers from Program regulations for any projects submitted in response to this solicitation.

<<REQUIRED: Describe the evaluation factors and the applicable weight assigned to each factor. The evaluation factors may include any of the following or any additional factors Program determines is appropriate: Overall Approach, Research Merit, Feasibility, Soundness or Merit of Project Design and Implementation, Grant Impact Assessment, Key Partners, Qualifications of Project Personnel including Project Management and Organizational Experiences, Key Personnel/Staffing, Budget Appropriateness and Efficiency, Management Plan, Project Timeline, etc.>>

<<Note: If you are requiring information from the applicant not contained on grants.gov (such as letters of support, resumes, vitas, etc.), please indicate these requirements within the appropriate evaluation and selection criteria below. Please inform panel members to score incomplete applications appropriately.>>

Name of Selection Criteria 1 (XX points)

Information on this selection criteria. Consider assigning page limits to sections as applicable.

Name of Selection Criteria 2 (XX points)

Information on this selection criteria. Consider assigning page limits to sections as applicable.

Name of Selection Criteria 3 (XX points)

Information on this selection criteria. Consider assigning page limits to sections as applicable.

Name of Selection Criteria 4 (XX points)

Information on this selection criteria. Consider assigning page limits to sections as applicable.

Name of Selection Criteria 5 (XX points)

Information on this selection criteria. Consider assigning page limits to sections as applicable.

Name of Selection Criteria 6 (XX points)

Information on this selection criteria. Consider assigning page limits to sections as applicable.

Total Points Available: 100

Review and Selection Process

Following the initial screening process, FNS will assemble a panel group to review and determine the technical merits of each application. The panel will evaluate the proposals based on how well they address the required application components and array the applications from highest to lowest score. The panel members will recommend applications for consideration for a grant award based on the evaluation scoring. FNS may request information from the applicant not clearly addressed in their proposal. The Selecting Official reserves the right to accept the panel’s recommendation or to select an application for funding out of order to meet agency priorities or geographical representation. FNS reserves the right to use this solicitation and results of this competition to award additional grants in the next fiscal year should additional funds be made available.

6. Application Submission Information

Submission Date

Complete grant applications must be uploaded to grants.gov by 11:59 PM EST <<or EDT>> on the due date listed on the cover page <<Program: Alternatively, you may choose to write out the MONTH DD, YYYY).>>

• Applications must be submitted via grants.gov. Mailed, emailed, or hand-delivered application packages will not be accepted. For further instructions, see the “Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov” below.

• Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

• FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

• If multiple application packages are submitted through grants.gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNS will accept the latest application package successfully submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

• Those applicants who fail to submit any required documents or forms will be deemed NONRESPONSIVE, and therefore will be INELIGIBLE to participate in the competition and removed from further consideration.

FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin the registration process at least four weeks before the due date and to submit applications to grants.gov at least one week before the deadline to allow time to troubleshoot any issues should they arise. Please note that upon submission, grants.gov may send multiple confirmation notices. Applicants should ensure receipt of confirmation that the application was accepted.

FNS will not accept applications outside of grants.gov. Applicants experiencing difficulty submitting applications through grants.gov should contact applicant support via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at [email protected]. This service is available 24/7.

Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov

Applicants must register with grants.gov and SAM.gov in order to submit an application to FNS via grants.gov as required.

In order to submit an application, you must:

1. Obtain a UEI number

What is a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)?

A UEI is a unique number assigned to all entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) who register to do business with the federal government. For more information, visit the U.S. General Services Administration website.

Where do I go to learn more about the UEI?

The U.S. General Services Administration Unique Entity Identifier Update page contains the most up-to-date information about the UEI.

Note: Entities can register in SAM.gov and will be assigned their “SAM UEI.” For additional information on the UEI process, please visit SAM.gov.

2. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM)

• On April 4, 2022, the UEI used across the federal government changed from the DUNS number to the UEI (generated by SAM.gov).

• SAM combines federal procurement systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance into one system. Visit SAM.gov for additional information.

• To register, you must have your organization’s UEI, the organization’s Tax ID Number (TIN), and taxpayer name (as it appears on the last tax return). It may take up to 5 to 7 business days or more to register and/or complete the migration of permissions and/or the renewal of an entity record.

• All applicants must have current SAM status at the time of application submission and throughout the duration of a Federal Award in accordance with 2 CFR Part 25.

• FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin this process at least 3 weeks before the due date of the grant solicitation.

3. Create a Grants.gov Account

The next step in the registration process is to create an account with grants.gov. Applicants must know their organization’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to complete this process. For more detailed instruction about creating a profile on grants.gov, visit grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html.

How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov

Applicants must apply online using Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. For each funding opportunity announcement or RFA, you can create individual instances of a workspace.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, visit grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html.

Applicant Support: Grants.gov provides applicants 24/7 support (except Federal holidays) via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at [email protected]. If you are experiencing difficulties with your submission, it is best to contact grants.gov support and get a ticket number. The Support Center ticket number will assist the Center with tracking your issue.

For programmatic and financial-related questions regarding this specific grant opportunity, please contact the Grant Officer noted in Section 7 – Federal Awarding Agency Contacts of this RFA.

NOTICE: Special Characters and Naming Conventions

All applicants must follow grants.gov guidance on file naming conventions. To avoid submission issues, please follow the guidance provided by grants.gov (per the grants.gov Frequently Asked Questions or FAQ).

Are there restrictions on file names for any attachment I include with my application package?

e.g., ! @ # $ % ^ & * - ‘). (_). For example, Attached_File.pdf.

If these guidelines for file names are not followed, your application will be rejected. FNS will not accept any application rejected from the grants.gov portal due to incorrect naming conventions.

Additional information can be found at grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#attachments.

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission

All applications must be received by 11:59 PM EST <<or EDT>> on the due date listed on the cover page, as detailed in Section 4 – Submission Date. Proof of timely submission is automatically recorded by grants.gov. An electronic date/time stamp is generated within the system when the application is successfully received by grants.gov. The applicant Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and a tracking number (e.g., GRANTXXXXXXXX) from grants.gov with the successful transmission of their application. Applicant AORs will also receive the official date/time stamp and a grants.gov tracking number in an email serving as proof of their timely submission.

When FNS successfully retrieves the application from grants.gov and acknowledges the download of submissions, grants.gov will provide an electronic acknowledgement of receipt of the application to the email address of the applicant with the AOR role. Again, proof of timely submission shall be the official date and time that grants.gov receives your application. Applications received by grants.gov after the established due date for the program will be considered late and will not be considered for FNS funding.

Applicants using slow internet, such as dial-up connections, should be aware that transmission could take some time before grants.gov receives your application. Again, grants.gov will provide either an error or a successfully received transmission in the form of an email sent to the applicant with the AOR role. The grants.gov Support Center reports that some applicants end the transmission because they think that nothing is occurring during the transmission process. Please be patient and give the system time to process the application.

File attachment names longer than approximately 50 characters can cause problems processing packages. Please limit file attachment names. Also, do not use any special characters ( This includes periods (.) and spacing followed by a dash in the file. To separate words in naming a file, use underscore

Intergovernmental Review

This funding opportunity is/is not subject to the requirements of EO 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.” This Executive Order was issues with the desire to foster the intergovernmental partnership and strengthen federalism by relying on State and local processes for the coordination and review of proposed federal financial assistance and direct federal development. The Order allows each State to designate an entity to perform this function.

If you are located within a State that does not have a Single Point of Contact (SPOC), you may send application materials directly to a federal awarding agency.

For a list of State agency contacts, please visit whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SPOC-4-13-20.pdf.

Funding Restrictions

<<REQUIRED: include any information on funding restrictions in order to allow the applicant to develop an application and budget consistent with program requirements. Items include:

• Construction (if anything on construction please flag for review with Buy America requirements)

• Direct cost limitations

• Indirect cost limitations (if applicable)

• Include information on pre-award costs. Program to decide on whether pre-award costs will or will not be awarded for the project.>>

<<Program: Fill in/update as a bulleted list.>>

• Pre-award costs will not be permitted for this <<grant project/cooperative agreement>>. <<Program: If there is an instance in which you would allow pre-award costs, please reach out to your Grants Officer for additional guidance. >>

7. Federal Award Administration Information

Federal Award Notice

The Government is not obligated to make any award as a result of this RFA. Unless an applicant receives a signed award document with terms and conditions, any contact from a FNS Grants or Program Officer should not be considered as a notice of a grant award. No pre-award or pre-agreement costs incurred prior to the effective start date are allowed unless approved and stated on FNS’ signed award document (FNS-529). Only the recognized FNS authorized signature can bind the USDA, Food and Nutrition Service to the expenditure of funds related to an award’s approved budget.

Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Confidentiality of an Application

When an application results in an award, it becomes a part of the record of FNS transactions, available to the public upon specific request. Information that the Secretary determines to be of a confidential, privileged, or proprietary nature will be held in confidence to the extent permitted by law. Therefore, any information that the applicant wishes to have considered as confidential, privileged, or proprietary should be clearly marked within the application. Any application that does not result in an award will be not released to the public. An application may be withdrawn at any time prior to the final action thereon.

Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information

“Personally identifiable information” means information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual (OMB Circular A-130, Managing Information as a Strategic Resource).

Applicants submitting applications in response to this RFA must recognize that confidentiality of PII and other sensitive data is of paramount importance to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.  All federal and non-federal employees (e.g., contractors, affiliates, or partners) working for or on behalf of FNS are required to acknowledge understanding of their responsibilities and accountability for using and protecting PII in accordance with applicable law, regulation, and policy [e.g., the Privacy Act of 1974; Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum, M-17-12, Preparing for and Responding to a Breach of Personally Identifiable Information; OMB Circular A-130, Managing Information as a Strategic Resource (this is a non-exhaustive list of requirements in this area)].

By submitting an application in response to this RFA, applicants are assuring that all data exchanges conducted throughout the application submission and pre-award process (and during the performance of the grant, if awarded) will be conducted in a manner consistent with applicable Federal laws, regulations, and policies. By submitting a grant application, applicants agree to take all necessary steps to protect PII, including the following: (1) ensuring that PII and sensitive data developed, obtained or otherwise associated with UDSA FNS funded grants is securely transmitted; (2) ensuring that PII is not transmitted to unauthorized users, and that PII and other sensitive data is not submitted via email; (3) data is transmitted via FNS approved file sharing services or encrypted mobile media storage devices; and (4) ensuring that PII is encrypted and password protected both in transit and at rest.

Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality of the Review Process

The agency requires all panel reviewers to sign a conflict of interest and confidentiality form to prevent any actual or perceived conflicts of interest that may affect the application review and evaluation process. Names of applicants, including States and tribal governments, submitting an application will be kept confidential, except to those involved in the review process, to the extent permitted by law. In addition, the identities of the reviewers will remain confidential throughout the entire process. Therefore, the names of the reviewers will not be released to applicants.

Administrative Regulations

Federal Tax Liabilities Restrictions

None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to enter into a contract, memorandum of understanding, or cooperative agreement with, make a grant to, or provide a loan or loan guarantee to, any corporation that has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, where the awarding agency is aware of the unpaid tax liability, unless a Federal agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and has made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.

Felony Crime Conviction Restrictions

None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to enter into a contract, memorandum of understanding, or cooperative agreement with, make a grant to, or provide a loan or loan guarantee to, any corporation that was convicted of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the preceding 24 months, where the awarding agency is aware of the conviction, unless a Federal agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and has made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.

Debarment and Suspension 2 CFR Part 180 and 2 CFR Part 417

A recipient chosen for an award shall comply with the non-procurement debarment and suspension common rule implementing Executive Orders (E.O.) 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension,” codified at 2 CFR Part 180 and 2 CFR Part 417. This common rule restricts sub-awards and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. The approved grant recipient will be required to ensure that all sub-contractors and sub-grantees are neither excluded nor disqualified under the suspension and debarment rules prior to approving a sub-grant award by checking the System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov.

Universal Identifier and Central Contractor Registration 2 CFR Part 25

Requirement for System for Award Management. Unless you are exempted from this requirement under 2 CFR 25.110, you as the recipient must maintain current information in the SAM. This includes information on your immediate and highest-level owner and subsidiaries, as well as on all of your predecessors that have been awarded a Federal contract or Federal financial assistance within the last three years, if applicable, until you submit the final financial report required under this Federal award or receive the final payment, whichever is later. This requires that you review and update the information at least annually after the initial registration, and more frequently if required by changes in your information or another Federal award term.

Requirement for Unique Entity Identifier: If you are authorized to make subawards under this Federal award, you:

• Must notify potential subrecipients that no entity (see definition in paragraph C of this award term) may receive a subaward from you until the entity has provided its Unique Entity Identifier to you.

• May not make a subaward to an entity unless the entity has provided its Unique Entity Identifier to you. Subrecipients are not required to obtain an active SAM registration, but must obtain a Unique Entity Identifier.

Reporting Sub-award and Executive Compensation Information 2 CFR Part 170

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) of 2006 (Public Law 109–282), as amended by Section 6202 of Public Law 110–252, requires primary grantees of Federal grants and cooperative agreements to report information on sub-grantee obligations and executive compensation. FFATA promotes open government by enhancing the Federal Government’s accountability for its stewardship of public resources. This is accomplished by making Government information, particularly information on Federal spending, accessible to the general public.

Primary grantees, including State agencies, are required to report actions taken on or after October 1, 2010, that obligates $30,000 or more in Federal grant funds to first- tier sub-grantees. This information must be reported in the Government-wide FFATA Sub-Award Reporting System (FSRS). In order to access FSRS a current SAM registration is required. A primary grantee and first-tier sub-grantees must also report total compensation for each of its five most-highly compensated executives. Every primary and first-tier grantee must obtain a UEI prior to being eligible to receive a grant or sub-grant award. Additional information will be provided to grant recipients upon award.

Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009, Public Law 110-417

Section 872 of this Act requires the development and maintenance of a Federal Government information system that contains specific information on the integrity and performance of covered Federal agency contractors and grantees. The Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) is designed to address these requirements. FAPIIS contains integrity and performance information from the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System, information from SAM.gov, and suspension and debarment information from the SAM. FNS will review and consider any information about the applicant reflected in FAPIIS when making a judgment about whether an applicant is qualified to receive an award.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests

The Freedom of Information ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, provides individuals with a right to access records in the possession of the Federal Government. The Government may withhold information pursuant to the nine exemptions and the three exclusions contained in the Act.

Application packages submitted in response to this grant solicitation may be subject to FOIA by requests by interested parties. In response to these requests, FNS will comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including departmental regulations.

FNS will forward a Business Submitter Notice to the requested applicant’s point-of-contact. Applicants will need to review requested materials and submit and submit any recommendations within 10 days from the date of FNS notification. FNS will redact Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

For additional information on the Freedom of Information (FOIA) process, please contact the FNS Freedom of Information Act officer at [email protected].

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: [email protected].

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Privacy Policy

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service does not collect any personal identifiable information without explicit consent. To view USDA’s Privacy Policy, visit: usda.gov/privacy-policy.

Code of Federal Regulations and Other Government Requirements

This grant will be awarded and administered in accordance with the following regulations 2 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Subtitle A, Chapter II. Any Federal laws, regulations, or USDA directives released after this RFA is posted will be implemented as instructed.

Government-wide Regulations

• 2 CFR Part 25: “Universal Identifier and System for Award Management”

• 2 CFR Part 170: “Reporting Sub-award and Executive Compensation Information”

• 2 CFR Part 175: “Award Term for Trafficking in Persons”

• 2 CFR Part 180: “OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Non-Procurement)”

• 2 CFR Part 200: “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards”

• 2 CFR Part 400: USDA’s implementing regulation of 2 CFR Part 200 “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards”

• 2 CFR Part 415: USDA “General Program Administrative Regulations”

• 2 CFR Part 416: USDA “General Program Administrative Regulations for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments”

• 2 CFR Part 417: USDA “Non-Procurement Debarment and Suspension”

• 2 CFR Part 418 USDA “New Restrictions on Lobbying

• 2 CFR Part 421: USDA “Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Financial Assistance)”

• 7 CRR Part 16: “Equal Opportunity for Religious Organizations”

• 41 U.S.C. Section 22 “Interest of Member of Congress”

• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Public access to Federal Financial Assistance records shall not be limited, except when such records must be kept confidential and would have been excepted from disclosure pursuant to the “Freedom of Information” regulation (5 U.S.C. 552)

General Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) of FNS grant awards may be obtained electronically in advance of an award. For a copy of T&Cs, please contact the Grant Officer noted in the Agency Contacts (Section 7 – Federal Awarding Agency Contacts of this RFA.)

Reporting Requirements

<<REQUIRED: The frequency of financial reporting is quarterly.>>

Financial Reports

The award recipient will be required to enter the SF-425 (Federal Financial Report) into the FNS Food Program Reporting System (FPRS) on a quarterly basis. In order to access FPRS, the grant recipient must obtain login.gov and USDA e-Authentication, verify their identity, and submit an FNS-674 form, which will be provided by the Grant Officer to access FPRS. A final Financial Status report is due 120 days after the termination date. For additional information on FPRS, visit fprs.fns.usda.gov.

Performance Progress Reports (PPR)

Note: This section describes progress report requirements and introduces the FNS-908 PPR form. All RFAs are required to include the PPR form and all grantees are required to use the FNS-908 PPR form when submitting Progress Reports.

Grantees will be required to submit progress reports to FNS 30 days following the end of each quarterly/semi-annual/annually period <<REQUIRED: Be sure to select or update the reporting period as appropriate>>, using the FNS-908 PPR form that will be sent to grantees at the time of award or the initial orientation. The reports should cover the preceding period of activity. A final report identifying the accomplishments and results of the project will be due 120 days after the end date of the award. <<Program: If there are other final report requirements, please list them here.>>

Please note: The FNS-908 PPR form specific to this opportunity will be sent to grantees at the time of award or the initial orientation. Use of the FNS-908 PPR form for progress reports is required. Previous grantees that have not submitted reports timely may be evaluated as high risk. All activities reported on the FNS-908 must align with the required objective(s) from the “Key Objectives” Section above.

<<Program: Add additional guidance as necessary.>>

<<REQUIRED FOR FARM TO SCHOOL: F2S programs should provide additional details about baseline and final reporting.>>

8. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

<<REQUIRED: Add name and email of Grant Officer>>

For questions regarding this solicitation, please contact the Grant Officer.

<<Grant Officer First Name Last Name>>

Grant Officer, Grants and Fiscal Policy Division

U.S. Department of Agriculture, FNS

Email: <[email protected]>

9. Other Information

Debriefing Requests

Non-selected applicants may request a debriefing to discuss the strengths and weakness of submitted proposals. This information may be useful when preparing future grant proposals. Additional information on debriefing requests will be forwarded to non-selected applicants. FNS reserves the right to provide this debriefing orally or in written format.

Appendix

RFA Budget Narrative Checklist

FOR GRANT APPLICANT USE ONLY. DO NOT RETURN THIS FORM WITH THE APPLICATION.

This checklist will assist you in completing the budget narrative portion of the application. Please review the checklist to ensure the items below are addressed in the budget narrative.

NOTE: The budget and budget narrative, as well as forms SF-424 and SF-424A must be in line with the proposal project description (statement of work) bona fide need. FNS reserves the right to request information not clearly addressed. All funding requests must be in whole dollars.

ITEM	YES	NO
Personnel
Did you include all key employees paid for by this grant under this heading?
Are employees of the applicant’s organization identified by name and position title?
Did you reflect percentage of time the Project Director will devote to the project in full-time equivalents (FTE)?
Fringe Benefits
Did you include your organization’s fringe benefit amount along with the basis for the computation?
Did you list the type of fringe benefits to be covered with Federal funds?
Travel
Are travel expenses itemized? For example origination/destination points, number and purpose of trips, number of staff traveling, mode of transportation and cost of each trip.
Are the Attendee Objectives and travel justifications included in the narrative?
Is the basis for the lodging estimates identified in the budget? For example, include excerpt from travel regulations.
Equipment
Is the need for the equipment justified in the narrative?
Are the types of equipment, unit costs, and the number of items to be purchased listed in the budget?
Is the basis for the cost per item or other basis of computation stated in the budget?
Supplies
Are the types of supplies, unit costs, and the number of items to be purchased reflected in the budget?
Is the basis for the costs per item or other basis of computation stated?
Contractual: (FNS reserves the right to request information on all contractual awards and associated costs after the contract is awarded.)
Has the bona fide need been clearly identified in the project description to justify the cost for a contract or sub-grant expense(s) shown on the budget?
A justification for all Sole-source contracts must be provided in the budget narrative prior to approving this identified cost.
Other
Consultant Services – Has the bona fide need been clearly identified in the project description to justify the cost shown on the budget? The following information must be provided in the justification: description of service, the consultant’s name and an itemized list of all direct cost and fees, number of personnel including the position title (specialty and specialized qualifications as appropriate to the costs), number of estimated hours and hourly wages per hour, and all expenses and fees directly related to the proposed services to be rendered to the project.
For all other line items listed under the “Other” heading – List all items to be covered within “Other” along with the methodology on how the applicant derived the costs to be charged to the program.
Indirect Costs
Has the applicant obtained a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) from a cognizant Federal Agency? If yes, a copy of the most recent and signed negotiated rate agreement must be provided along with the application.
2 CFR 200 allows any non-Federal entity (NFE) that has never received a negotiated indirect cost rate to charge a de Minimis rate of 15% of modified total direct costs (MTDC), which the NFE may use indefinitely as a Federally-negotiated rate.

FNS-908 Performance Progress Report (PPR)

FOR REFERENCE ONLY.