FederalClosedFixed dateNatural Resources Conservation Service

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

Award ceiling
$250,000 – $10,000,000
Closes
Aug 24, 2026
Last verified
2026-09-18

Awards $250,000 – $10,000,000 per recipient for city or township governments, county governments, for profit organizations other than small businesses, independent school districts, native american tribal governments (federally recognized), native american tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments), 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, others (see text field entitled "additional information on eligibility" for clarification), private institutions of higher education, public and state controlled institutions of higher education, small businesses, special district governments, state governments, closing Aug 24, 2026.

Official pageSign in to trackVerified2026-09-18
City or township governmentsCounty governmentsFor profit organizations other than small businessesIndependent school districtsNative American tribal governments (Federally recognized)Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher educationNonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher educationOthers (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)Private institutions of higher educationPublic and State controlled institutions of higher educationSmall businessesSpecial district governmentsState governmentsASGUMPPRUSVIAgriculture

In one sentence

Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Alternative Funding Arrangements (AFA) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2026 awards $250,000 – $10,000,000 per recipient, open to city or township governments, county governments, for profit organizations other than small businesses, independent school…

Record fields
Program pool (total)
$310,000,000
Total across all awards in this programme. Not an amount any single applicant can receive.
Award ceiling (per project)
$10,000,000
Up to $30 million set aside for programmatic partnership agreements with Indian tribes, shared by this announcement and FY 2026 Classic announcement
Award floor
$250,000
Typical award
Not confirmed
Deadline
Aug 24, 2026
Deadline type
Fixed date
Opens
Jun 23, 2026
Status
Closed
Eligible entities
City or township governments · County governments · For profit organizations other than small businesses · Independent school districts · Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) · Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) · 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 · Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification) · Private institutions of higher education · Public and State controlled institutions of higher education · Small businesses · Special district governments · State governments
Geography
AS · GU · MP · PR · US · VI
Matching funds
Yes
Disbursement
Reimbursement
Application effort
Not confirmed
Use of funds
projects that use innovative approaches to leverage the Federal investment in conservation · projects that deploy a pay-for-performance conservation approach · projects that seek large-scale infrastructure investments that generate conservation benefits for agricultural producers and nonindustrial private forest owners
Currency
USD

How much money is available?

Two different figures govern a programme and they are not interchangeable. The programme pool is what the funder has allocated across every award it will make this cycle. The award ceiling is the most one applicant can be granted.

Program pool (total)Across all awards this cycle
$310,000,000
Award ceiling (per project)The most one applicant can receive
$10,000,000

Source wording: “Up to $30 million set aside for programmatic partnership agreements with Indian tribes, shared by this announcement and FY 2026 Classic announcement”

Who can apply?

level
federal
Derived from the source that published this record
entity
City or township governments, County governments, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Independent school districts, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), 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, Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification), Private institutions of higher education
+4more, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Small businesses, Special district governments, State governments
Source field: entity types
state
AS, GU, MP, PR, US, VI
Source field: states
industry
Agriculture
Source field: industries
use
projects that deploy a pay-for-performance conservation approach, projects that seek large-scale infrastructure investments that generate conservation benefits for agricultural producers and nonindustrial private forest owners, projects that use innovative approaches to leverage the Federal investment in conservation
Source field: use of funds
size limit

Not confirmed

Source field: applicant size limit
clause text

a. an agricultural or silvicultural producer association or other group of producers;b. a state or unit of local government;c. an Indian tribe;d. a farmer cooperative;e. a water district, irrigation district, acequia, rural water district…

We store the structured fields above. Clause-by-clause text from the guidelines is not connected for this record.

When does it close?

Aug 24, 2026ClosedDeadline type Fixed date

NRCS must receive proposals by 4:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 24, 2026

What can the money be used for?

3 categorysThe source’s own spending categories, and what is not parsed.
projects that use innovative approaches to leverage the Federal investment in conservationprojects that deploy a pay-for-performance conservation approachprojects that seek large-scale infrastructure investments that generate conservation benefits for agricultural producers and nonindustrial private forest owners

These categories come from the source's own classification. A line-item cost table, where the programme publishes one, lives in the guidelines and is not parsed for this record.

How hard is the application?

2 fieldsEffort, match requirement and reimbursement, as the source stated them.
Application effort
Not confirmed
Disbursement
Reimbursement
Recipients spend first and are reimbursed. Plan cash flow accordingly.
Matching funds
Yes

What comparable notices state

69 recordsStated ceilings on open records in the same industry.

Among open records stored under Agriculture, 69 of 84 state an award ceiling. Those that do run:

  • 25th percentile$382,400
  • Median$1,000,000
  • 75th percentile$2,000,000

A statistical estimate, not a prediction. It describes what a set of notices has published in this catalogue on the day you read it, and says nothing about what this programme will award. Records stating no ceiling are excluded rather than counted as zero, and the programme pool — what a funder has across every applicant — is a different column and is never mixed in.

Common questions

8 questionsEvery answer is a stored field from this record. Questions the source did not answer are not asked.
How much can one applicant receive?
$250,000 – $10,000,000 per recipient. The source states: “Up to $30 million set aside for programmatic partnership agreements with Indian tribes, shared by this announcement and FY 2026 Classic announcement”.
How much funding is available in total?
$310,000,000 across the whole programme. This is the total the funder has allocated, not an amount any single applicant can receive.
When is the application deadline?
Aug 24, 2026. NRCS must receive proposals by 4:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 24, 2026
Who is eligible to apply?
City or township governments, County governments, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Independent school districts, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), 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, Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification), Private institutions of higher education, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Small businesses, Special district governments, State governments.
Which locations are eligible?
AS, GU, MP, PR, US, VI.
What can the funding be used for?
projects that use innovative approaches to leverage the Federal investment in conservation, projects that deploy a pay-for-performance conservation approach, projects that seek large-scale infrastructure investments that generate conservation benefits for agricultural producers and nonindustrial private forest owners, as classified by the source.
Is matching funding required?
Yes. This programme requires matching funds.
Is the money paid up front or reimbursed?
Reimbursement. Recipients spend first and claim the cost back, so the money has to be found before it is repaid.

AI summary of the source text

Optional. Every core field on this record is already above, free and complete.

AI summary of the source text

Studio reads this record’s stored eligibility and materials text and breaks it into separate points, each quoting the exact words it came from. It never writes application prose, never guesses at a field the source did not state, and never estimates anyone’s chances.

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What else is open

Also open from Natural Resources Conservation Service
Provenance
Source pagegrants.gov
Retrieved2026-09-18
MethodAutomated check
First seen2026-09-18

The official page governs. If the source and this record disagree, the source is correct — programmes change their terms between our checks, so confirm every figure above before you apply.